Page 82 of Play Your Part

TheentireWolveshockeyteam descended on the small mountain town in upstate New York that Matt and Gemma had chosen for their wedding ceremony, barely beating the predicted snow.

After an ass whooping in New York, no one seemed up for celebrating, though Matt sternly ordered us to put on a good face at the rehearsal dinner. Usually, rehearsal dinners included only the wedding party and family, but since we all traveled as one unit, every member of our team had a place at the table.

We settled into our rooms before going to dinner, something I did alone since Kennedy already left the room we were apparently expected to share. A room with only one bed. Gemma had taken her meddling up a notch, but it was her wedding so no way in hell would I say shit to her.

“Enjoying the view?” Matt’s voice pulled my attention away from Kennedy, who stood talking with Gemma and her parents near the windows. She wore a tight green dress that barely reached her knees, immediately vaulting me back to our phone call while I was on the road.I like you in anything, but something about that color on you… it’s stunning.

“The snow is a nice touch,” I replied.

He clapped me on the shoulder. “We do what we can for our women, right?”

“Like divert an entire team from a road trip to get married?” I wanted to celebrate my friends for finding each other in this impossible world, but the wordsour womengrated on me. Kennedy wasn’t mine. “Sorry, man—”

“It’s fine. You’re always a crabby ass after losing,” Matt said, though I could tell my words bothered him. “Gemma wanted a winter wedding. She told me when we first met, before she knew how impossible it would be given our schedule. She would’ve waited until after the season, but I didn’t want to. Her dreams come first.”

I elbowed him in the side. “Way to set the bar high.”

“It’s the only way relationships work, if you both want what’s best for the other person more than what’s best for you.”

Matt clapped me on the shoulder, excusing himself to find his family. I headed to the bar to avoid the emotions pushing to the surface. I stayed away for as long as I could, until servers brought food to the tables starting with a fancy shrimp appetizer and tomato soup.

“There you are,” Kennedy greeted me as I slid into the seat beside her.

“Here I am,” I said hollowly, picking up my spoon. My need to eat was less about recovering after that intense game and more about distracting from her. That she wore the color I liked most had affected me in ways it shouldn’t.

“Sorry about the game,” she said quietly. We’d started talking hockey after she watched us play against Ward. I hadn’t asked if she watched any other games. “But you’re still top of the division. You’ll get ’em next time.”

Her hand landed on my thigh, squeezing once. I placed my hand over hers before she could pull back. Her eyebrows rose in surprise, maybe concern.

“I want to have fun tonight,” I found myself saying.

Soon everything would change between us. Kennedy and I would “break up.” Gemma and Matt would move to their new home, and Kennedy would no longer be a quick, two-minute walk from my house any time I wanted to see her. Not that I would have the ability to see her whenever I wanted. We would go back to our usual routines.

But for tonight, for the rest of the weekend, I didn’t have to focus on that. We were on a snowy mountain without a tinge of real life.

“Well, it is a wedding,” she answered, half smiling. “And there is an open bar.”

She lifted her glass to clink it against mine. I followed suit, gulping my drink down. “You should get through your speech before you hit that bar too hard.”

She flashed me a wicked grin. “Why? Worried about what I might say without a filter?”

“Since Gemma will kill you if you ruin this night for her, yes, I’d say giving your maid of honor speech plastered would worry me.Outsideof that, no. I will always want to hear what you say.”

She pointed a finger at me. “You say all the right things, you know that?”

“You know that’s not true,” I said, thinking of the night in her front yard when Ward interrupted us.

Her smile slipped a moment, the reference dawning on her. “I didn’t mean what I said that night. You’re cut out for this.” She motioned between us as she said the words.

My throat bobbed. “You don’t know me well enough to say that.”

“Is that a challenge?” she asked in a lilting tone. “Because you know how I feel about challenges.”

I wondered if there wasn’t a situation she wouldn’t stubbornly take on to prove she could—including showing me I could be an attentive partner, even if it meant sacrificing herself to do it. I would lose her from my life before I ever let that happen.

Before I could let that thought take root, I replied, “And we all know how I’ve beaten you at every single one of our challenges.”

She scoffed. “I bet I could get someone to offer to take me upstairs tonight before you do.”

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