Page 127 of Rebel Bride
“Let’s not, Carter,” Jason said. “You want the world to know your business?”
The world already did—or at least had a heads-up. The rest of the team was watching us, double-fisting metaphorical buckets of popcorn.
“How long?” Carter bit out. “How long have you been fucking my fiancée?”
“Nothing happened …” I caught my uncle’s eye. “Until after the wedding.”
Jason winced.
Carter’s mouth fell open. “Don’t believe you, dude! Do. Not. Believe.”
“It’s the truth.” Maybe Summer had told him? I had to admit the punch would be worth it if that was the case. It might mean she was ready to move forward.
Ready for us.
“You took her to your secret little love nest? Acted like a couple mere freakin’ hours after she left me? What kind of teammate does that?”
I had no defense, but I tried all the same. “It was over between you before anything started. I might not have behaved well, but I can assure you of that, Carter.”
His expression shifted from anger to disgust. “You want my sloppy seconds, Kershaw. Have at it.”
This prick. “You know what? I feel sorry for you. You had this amazing, loyal, incredibly special person in your life and you couldn’t see it. But let’s be clear here. If you say one more harsh word about Summer or so much as breathe in her direction, make no mistake, I will fucking annihilate you.”
His eyes widened, and his mouth moved wordlessly. Finally, he yelled, “Asshole!” and broke a stick against a bench before crashing out of the locker room.
“Holy shit,” New Kid Asher said.
Gaultier muttered something in French that didn’t sound all that complimentary.
“How do you think he found out?” Jason asked.
NoBo held up his phone. “Tabloids, dude. Someone saw you in Saugatuck.”
I retrieved my phone from my cubby. The screen flashed several missed calls from Special Agent Lauren, along with a text notification from her.
Urgent. What the FUCK is this?
A link blared ominously from the message bubble. I clicked into an article from everyone’s favorite tabloid, Hot Goss:
Dash Carter’s Ex in “Summer” Hideaway Shocker!
It looks like Summer Landry, ex-fiancée of Rebels player Dash Carter, has found comfort in the arms of his teammate, Hatch Kershaw, son of Rebels legend, Theo. We all wondered where she had run to after her wedding day escape—and it looks like it wasn’t very far. The new couple were spotted in a coffee shop in Saugatuck, Michigan, where the Kershaws have a vacation home, the day after the wedding that never happened. While Summer was wearing a Detroit Motors ball cap pulled low to hide her pretty features, there was no doubt that this was the blonde beauty who threw the entire wedding day congregation into turmoil when she jilted Dash at the altar. And just in case you have any doubts, Hot Goss spoke with various townsfolk who confirmed that Summer stayed at the Kershaws’ lake house and was even spotted with Hatch at dinner and on a boat outing during her stay there.
* * *
Neither Hatch nor Summer have been seen together since. We do know that, until recently, Summer had been rooming with Hatch’s sister, Adeline. Sounds like they’ve had plenty of opportunities to build on their acquaintance, though we have to wonder if they knew each other better than everyone thought prior to the abandoned wedding? And what impact will this have on the Rebels team dynamics this season? Now that Theo Kershaw is no longer around to shield his son from criticism, Hatch will have to skate solo on this one—or call on his uncle Jason Isner’s defense skills to come to the rescue.
A hush had fallen over the locker room as everyone read the article. What a joy for us all to have this united experience. Team building par excellence.
“Someone gave them the photo,” Jason said, referring to the one in the article.
“Coffee Shop Gemma sent it to Mom, and she sent it around.” I stared at Jason. “You don’t think someone in the fam leaked it?”
He gave me a look of how dare. “More likely they got a tip-off that Summer was seen in the Tuck, and they headed down there and started showing her picture around. Once they got to the coffee shop, I’ll bet the woman who runs it handed over the goods. End of the summer season, probably looking to juice her sales.” He leveled a serious gaze at me. “Better out than in, H.”
“Is it? Summer doesn’t even want to see me. She told me to stop sending her cheese.”
“Cheese?” NoBo, who had been pretending not to listen, weighed in.
