Page 33 of Chips & Checks
“One who was also on the team and could walk into the therapy room at any time…” Cam adds.
“No,” Violet says.
“But Violet doesn’t have a boyfriend,” I say, feeling like I’m about ten steps behind everyone else.
Ash flutters her eyelashes at me. “Doesn’t she?”
My stomach drops. I know where this is going. And the worst part? I don’t hate the idea.
Chapter Seven
Violet
I’m going to kill Ash. And Camden. And then I’m going to have a problem, because I will have killed the two people most likely to help me hide a body, and the only other person I could ask for help is the one staring at Ash like she just revealed that Santa isn’t real.
“You want me,” he says, drawing out every word, “to dateViolet?”
“No!” I shout. “That’s crazy. She’s joking.” I let out a sound that’s supposed to be a laugh, but I sound more like a Furby that’s spent the last three years slow-cooking under the scorching Vegas sun. I sound unhinged. I take a deep swig of wine to cover up my embarrassment.
“No.” Ash points at Bowen. “We want you tofake-date Violet. It’s the perfect cover. You guys already have chemistry, and Chad clearly views you as competition, so he’ll totally believe that you swooped in and swept Violet off her feet.”
“Because you did,” Cam says.
“Oh.” Bowen absentmindedly grabs a mini-quiche and stuffs it into his mouth. He chews slowly, biding his time. I know what he’s going to say. He’s going to tell Ash that this is the stupidest idea ever, because even if it did work, Bowen doesn’t date. AndIdon’t date hockey players. We might have chemistry, but we’re a total mismatch.
In body composition… in everything.
But to my surprise, Bowen swallows and finally tells her, “So we just tell everyone that we’re dating. Make it look like we’re dating. But don’t actually date. That’s not a bad idea.”
My stomach drops. Not because he said no. But because he didn’t.
Because he said yes.
And suddenly, this isn’t just a stupid, Hallmark-ass plan to keep Chad away. It’s a script I’m going to have to act out with a man who already ruined me with a single night and a barbell between his legs.
“Of course it is!” I exclaim. “For one thing, the ruse is going to fall apart as soon as you pick up some puck bunny after a game. You said so yourself, you can’t go without gettingsomefor any reasonable length of time.”
Bowen turns his shocking blue eyes on me. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle at the intensity of his gaze. “So I don’t hook up with anyone until Chad’s no longer a problem. That’s doable. I should be focused on bonding with my new team and elevating my game, anyway.”
“But—”
“And we already have sessions together, so I have plenty of excuses to spend time with you. We won’t even have to go on fake dates, right? We can just pretend while we’re at work and on the road. A few photo ops here and there for the socials. Yeah, that could work.”
“But…” I try again. This time, Bowen waits for me to elaborate. There’s only one problem: I don’t know what to say. I don’t have a better idea of how to keep Chad at bay for now, and Bowen and Idohave chemistry…
“It’s just a bit silly, isn’t it?” I look around the room in search of solidarity but find none in my friends’ faces. “I mean, nobodyactuallydoes that in real life, right? It’s a goofy Hallmark movie trope.”
“Which is exactly why Chad will buy it,” Ash says.
I pick at my thumbnail, which is already tender around the edges. “Bowen, won’t this be weird for you?”
He doesn’t miss a beat. “No. It’s just for show. I have rules, and I’m not going to break them. If you want, I can send you the list just so there aren’t any misunderstandings?”
“You… have an actual list?”
“Yeah,” he says, as if we’re just swapping PDFs on office policy. “It’s saved in my notes app.”
Of course it is. Of course, the man who made me come so hard he knocked the air out of my lungs has a list of guidelines like we’re prepping for HR compliance training.
