Page 22 of Play Your Part

“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?” Gemma hoisted a container bigger than any found in grocery stores and gave it to Kennedy, who took it as if it were made of glass.

“I thought we were having dinner,” I said.

“We are.” Gemma looked over her shoulder from where she was moving cookies from the baking sheet to a plate.

Kennedy didn’t spare me a look, too focused on the task in front of her. “I like dessert first.”

I stood idly to the side of the kitchen, watching Kennedy sandwich an enormous amount of icing between two cookies. When she’d packed the cookie sandwich to her satisfaction, she bit into it and let out a satisfied sigh that had blood flowing to parts of me with no business reacting to Kennedy. Her tongue darted out to catch a smudge of icing on the side of her lips.

Fuck.

I cleared my throat. “Matt around?”

Gemma smiled knowingly at me, as if she could hear every unsavory thought. “He’s picking up pizza. He should be back soon.”

“You won’t tell Matt,” I said to Gemma. A statement, not a question.

Gemma and Matt seemed like the kind of couple who shared everything, but she sure as hell should not mention a word about this. Matt wouldn’t say anything on purpose, but the risk was too high. He could slip during the countless hours we would spend with the team.

Gemma moved her fingers across her mouth, miming a zipper. “I think we should be more worried aboutyoutelling Matt.”

“I know what’s at stake.”

“You can stop being all growly,” Kennedy said. “She won’t say anything.” She took the last bite of her cookie sandwich, then ran a finger across her lower lip to catch excess icing.

“How long have you lived here?” I asked Kennedy, eager to paper over my reaction to her.

Her shoulders tensed. “Since Gemma brought me home from the party.”

She hadn’t been home in days? It couldn’t have been a coincidence—Kennedy moving in with Gemma and Matt the same day Justin was traded to another team. Was she living with that prick? A strange feeling of defensiveness on her behalf flooded me. Maybe it was the fake boyfriend title. Or the sadness in her big brown eyes, enough it was difficult to look too long into them.

Kennedy quickly added, “It’s temporary.”

The front door swung open, and Matt breezed in carrying about five bags in one hand, as if they were filled with cotton rather than a week of groceries. In the other, he balanced two pizza boxes. No surprise—he hated making more than one trip to carry anything anywhere. I once saw him carry the equivalent of one hundred pounds of hockey equipment because he refused to walk fifty extra yards for a second trip.

His whistling stopped at the sight of his fiancée with the two people at the center of the biggest hockey drama this year. Clearly, Gemma was the only person aware all four of us would be here tonight. He plunked the grocery bags on the counter, then carefully slid the pizza boxes down beside them.

“You’re home,” Gemma said as she strode to him, straight into his arms.

“Hey, baby,” Matt murmured into her hair, the words audible in the silent room.

“Y’all are so cute, it’s disgusting,” Kennedy said, smiling. “But save it for the honeymoon.”

I pitched my voice low. “When’s the wedding?”

“In December,” she said slowly as if I should have known that. Maybe she was right, even if I had plenty of valid excuses for not knowing. “Before Christmas. The whole team is invited, so clear your calendar.”

“Maybe if I play my cards right, it won’t be the only reason I’m invited,” I said, trying out a line on her for the first time.

Kennedy’s eyebrows shot up, pure alarm entering her features at the idea I might be flirting with her. But then, realization dawned on her face that I’d slipped into my role. “We’ll see,” she said.

This would be a long three months if that was all she gave me to work with.

“Are we supposed to pretend like this isn’t fucking weird?”

“Matt!” Gemma hissed as Kennedy raised pizza to her mouth to avoid having to say anything.

He held up his hands. “A week ago, Kennedy was dating my old teammate, and now she’s with my new teammate?”

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