Page 13 of False Play
I leaned in, our faces a few inches apart. Just because she was engaged, didn’t mean I couldn’t have a little fun. Harmless flirting never hurt anyone,right?
“You never call me by my first name. I kind of like it. Do it again, please.” I grazed my tongue across my bottom lip then gave her a cheeky grin.
Honestly, I’d only been half-joking. But there was no mistaking the way my heart quickened in anticipation, anxiously waiting for her to repeat it. Fuck me if I wasn’t going to keep insisting she called me by my first name now. Ineededto hear it again.
She pushed me slightly and flicked her hair off her shoulder with a dry expression. A laugh got lodged in my throat as Ifollowed the movement, and my eyes landed on her ring finger. Hervery naked,no-ring-in-sightring finger.
Ithadto be a mistake. She’d probably lost it. Or maybe they finally pulled the trigger and got hitched and her wedding band was being resized. I was grasping at any excuse I could think of, because the other possibility was much worse.
But I knew it was already too late. Hope sneaked up my spine like an adrenaline rush at the prospect of Kennedy fucking Jones being single.
I wanted to ask her. It was killing me not to. The question was on the tip of my tongue, but before I could even speak, Hayes interrupted us. “Val here is telling me you’re looking for a new place to live, Kenny.”
Her shoulders tensed, and she gave a quick nod. “Yeah. It’s hard to find an affordable place so close to downtown.”
Okay, that was odd. Didn’t she live with her fiancé?
“What a coincidence. Anderson here is looking for a roommate.” Hayes clasped my shoulders.
My thoughts screeched to a sudden stop like a vinyl record. “Huh?” I tilted my head and frowned at Hayes in confusion.
My best friend loved being a clown; we all knew that. The man had a natural talent for pushing the envelope too fucking far.
Owens gaped at Hayes in disbelief, while Parker, Morgan, and Donovan hid their shit-eating grins behind their drinks.
I looked at them and mouthed,What the fuck?but all they did was roll their lips and look at Hayes expectantly. “Wha?—”
Hayes cut me off. “Yeah, the place is just too big for him. Plus, he needs someone to take care of Captain Sushi,” he said with aduhtone.
Captain what?!
“Hayes, weren’t you and Parker talking to some girls?” I blurted. This conversation had taken a turn I didn’tunderstand, but I had the sneaking suspicion I needed to do everything in my power to stop it.
He waved dismissively, not missing a beat. “We already got their numbers. But that’s not important right now. Your child, however, is.”
Pardon my language, but what in the fuckity damn fuck is going on?!
“Who’s Captain Sushi?” Val asked, tilting her head.
I blinked at Val, at a loss for words. What the hell was I supposed to say?
“His cat,” Hayes replied before his green gaze met mine. The mirth in his eyes was so bright, I had the urge to punch him in the throat. By some miracle of God, I managed to hold back. “You haven’t told anyone? Shame on you, Anderson.”
What. The. Fuck.
“His cat,” Kennedy repeated, her tone laced with suspicion as she squinted at Hayes.
It was deadly silent for a beat or two, until Hayes elbowed me in the ribs a little too hard, and I slightly bent over with a small cough. Breathing had become difficult, and finding my words? Practically impossible.
Think, Anderson. Think.
A light—not the brightest, if I was being honest—turned on over my head.Okay. This was easy. I could do this.
Why are you even entertaining this in the first place?my brain so gracefully pointed out.
“You remember that photo op you had me do last season at the animal shelter?” I chuckled nervously. “I signed up to receive emails of pets looking for a home, and when I saw the little guy with black fur?—”
“And white paws,” Hayes added.
