Page 72 of Play Your Part

I didn’t dare say the words because they could mean nothing at all. All part of our act mixed with a heavy dose of lust. The guests at the party weren’t the only ones buying the narrative though. She made me believe it too. Either she acted her ass off or some part of her had blurred the lines between fake and real, like I’d done.

She shook her head slowly as she opened her door. “No, I don’t.”

I followed her lead, climbing out of the car, hoping my confession didn’t freak her out. Kennedy yanked her dress into place but didn’t bother fixing anything else—the strap that slipped from her shoulder, her tousled hair, the smudged lip gloss across her lips turned thoroughly pink from kissing me. Once she reached my side, she gasped in surprise. I followed her line of sight, spotting the shadow rising to its feet on Matt and Gemma’s porch. Instinctively, I stepped in front of her.

“Kennedy?”

Motherfucker.

The shadow took several steps until the streetlight slanted across his face, revealing that the worst possible end to my night had, in fact, come true. Justin Ward paused halfway through the yard as he realized who else stood in front of him.

Kennedy didn’t move a muscle, not to walk toward him or to give a single inkling on her face of how she felt.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. I was prepared to meet him on the ice in two days. Not here. Not in my personal life. Professionally, I would continue to see Ward until one of us retired from hockey, and that was too damn often.

“Kennedy,” Ward repeated, ignoring me. He didn’t so much as look in my direction. “I need to talk to you.”

“How did you know where I was?”

“Lucky guess.” He grinned, as if this was part of their history, an inside joke.

I wanted to knock his teeth in.

She looked at me, and before she said anything, I knew our night was ending. Never mind he trash-talked her to the media, she would choose him. Jump because he deigned to show her an ounce of attention.

“Talk to him,” I said loud enough for Ward to hear, so he knew he hadn’t won this round. “Find me after.”

“Bold of you to assume there will be an after,” Ward sneered.

Kennedy scowled at him. “I’ll only be a couple of minutes,” she whispered, leaning into me. “I’ll—”

“Don’t bother,” I whispered back, my voice all ice. “I don’t have time for distractions before the game.”

Kennedy flinched. “You’re right. You’re not cut out for it.”

I fixed my expression in neutral, not wanting her to know how much it bothered me to have my confession from earlier thrown in my face. Why should it matter if Kennedy thought I wasn’t cut out for a relationship? We would never have one. After one more month, she would let herself be dragged back to Ward. That the first steps toward that outcome were happening earlier than expected was the only surprise.

She pasted a smile on her face, one I saw her flash plenty of times tonight, and said loud enough for Justin to hear. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Playacting, that was all we were.

“Can’t wait to see your ass on the ice, asshole,” I said to Ward before stalking toward my house, refusing to give either of them another look.

30

KENNEDY

Tonight,JustinWardwouldreturn to Palmer City to face off against his old team. Everything led to this moment—the trade, the picture of Alexei and me, our fabricated relationship, the antagonizing press conferences. Deandra gleefully texted this morning to share that the game had the highest ticket sales of the season, nearly selling out for the first time in half a dozen years.

I hadn’t watched a hockey game since my mom died, but tonight, I would tune in from home.

Everything played out exactly as we’d intended. The Wolves had a winning record. Media coverage was boosted. People filled the arena. Alexei led the team in goals.

And in a month, we’d part ways after successfully milking everything we could from this “scandal.”

The idea of pulling this off should have filled me with a glimmer of happiness or a sense of accomplishment. The team wouldn’t move, not after the way this season electrified Palmer City.

Dating Alexei made Justin jealous, a small punishment for how he’d treated me. He wore the emotion all over his face the other night. Not that I could celebrate it. After Alexei stalked off, I couldn’t think of anything but what I snapped at him. I refused to talk to Justin, instead storming into the house like the coward I was.

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