Page 2 of Best Man
Freed, the jet charged down the runway with an explosive burst of speed. Katerina frowned and squeezed her eyes shut, but Niko loved it—the sweet tug of gravity in his belly, the way his spine was sucked into his seat. Speedalwaysbrought a smile to his face; stomach churning, exhilaratingspeed.
Which shouldn’t betoosurprising, considering he was one of the fastest and most explosive players to ever play the game.
With plenty of runway left to spare, the jet suddenly jerked its nose back and became airborne, making every passenger’s stomach flop. Katerina whimpered as they rocketed into the sky at a steep angle.The other passengers, impressed and awed, burst into a round of laughter and applause.
Niko sighed happily and watched the ground outside his window shrink by the second.
The Devils were on their way to Montana for Jax and Piper’s wedding, and they were flying in style.
***
Once they were at cruising altitude, Niko left his seat for the minibar. He poured two glasses of white wine, one for Katerina and one for Derek, and a glass of sparkling cherry cider for himself. He carried all three back to their table.
“Cheers.” Their glasses met in the middle with a crystaldingand everyone drank.The cider was bubbly and tart. Not bad, but not a replacement for the real thing. But some people couldn’t responsibly handle the real thing. That’s why it’d been nearly three years since a single drop of alcohol had touched his lips.
Can I still say that, though?a part of him wondered with a somber frown.
“Well, the wine’s pretty good,” Katerina said, sounding almost disappointed.
Niko quirked an eyebrow at his sister. “Come on, Katya. You can admit it.” He made an encompassing gesture—the wine, the cabin, theexperience. “This is nice.”
“Of course it’s nice. I never said itwouldn’tbe nice. I said it soundedexpensive,” she reminded him, taking another sip of wine.
“It’s worth it, though,” he said. “I can’t stand flying commercial. There’s always some snot-nosed little punk sitting behind me, kicking my seat. Or a baby in coach screaming its head off all flight long.” He blew out a perturbed gust of air. “Ugh. Kids. Man, I hate kids.”
“Don’t say that. You’re supposed to be a role model for kids, remember?” Katerina scolded with a note of disappointment in her voice. “Besides, you know Derek and I are planning to have a baby.”
Derek chimed in. “Yeah, bud, you might be an uncle someday soon.”
They weren’t the only couple trying to get pregnant. These days, it seemed like all the Devils’ wives were begging their husbands for a baby. Niko didn’t get the baby craze at all. A kid was thelastthing he wanted.
“I can do uncle, no problem,” Niko said with a wink. “I just don’t want any kids on my flight. Hell, that alone was worth the price.”
Katerina leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Speaking of price. Be honest, how much did it cost you to charter this jet?”
Niko spread his hands. “Don’t worry about it.”
“But Idoworry.”
“Why? It’s my money, Katya.”
“And I want you tokeepyour money, Sasha! But I’m afraid you’re going to burn through it all. You know how you waste a fortune? By eating out every single meal. By living at theRitzinstead of buying a house. By chartering an expensive jet on a whim . . .”
Her rant continued, but Niko tuned out. She had recently watched a documentary called “How Millionaire Athletes End Up Broke.” Ever since, she’d been haunted by a nightmare vision of her brother ending up broke after his career ended, and had been relentlessly nagging him about his bachelor lifestyle and spending habits. But hell, his contract paid twice as much as Derek’s! Did she really think Niko spent twice as much as they did?
“How about this,” Niko began with a grin. “If I go broke, I move in with you guys.”
Katerina wasn’t impressed. On the other hand, Derek laughed so hard, he choked on his sip of wine. “Nope. Sorry, bro,” he said, coughing. “Love you and all, but we arenotdoingthat again.”
But Katerina wouldn’t let it go. “Seriously—I want to know. How much did this cost you?” When it was clear he wouldn’t tell, she folded her arms. “You never tell me anything anymore, Sasha. I hate it.”
“I do tell you things,” he protested, slightly hurt.
She glanced at the empty seat next to him. “Then what happened with Belen?”
He’d dated the Spanish supermodel for a few months. Belen wassupposedto be his date for the wedding, but, well …
Niko downed the rest of his cherry cider in one swig. A long silence followed. He wanted to talk about Belen even less than he wanted to talk about the cost of chartering a private Gulfstream.
