Page 16 of Thoroughly Pucked

“Yeah, I think I learned that today,” I say. “About timing.”

“Just be glad you found out before you saidI do,” Ledger adds.

I look in his eyes, trying to find the subtext of what he’s saying. Maybe an observation about his own brief marriage ending?But I don’t know why he and his wife split, and he leaves his comment for me to take at face value.

Dev jumps in to say, “Don’t beat yourself up, Aubs. You said you were about to tell your friends. Your gut was telling you something and you listened to it.”

“I got lucky,” I say, guilt still pricking at me.

Dev laughs. “I can’t tell you how many times luck saves my ass in a hockey game.”

Ledger gives a soft smile. “Same here. Maybe this was your lucky shot.”

Maybe they’re right. I had no way of knowing Aiden was heading down thegimme all the sexpath until he confessed that he wanted to bang anyone and everyone. Perhaps my gut was warning me.

I smile past the guilt and shame, through the relief and the levity. “I guess I’ll take luck.”

Dev squeezes my hand. “Even if you wanted to end things with him before you walked down the aisle, and even if you were seconds away from telling your friends, that doesn’t mean it hurts less when someone says shitty things to you,” he says, his green eyes flashing with vulnerability. They look darker now, bordering on hazel. “When someone treats you like you were nothing. Like the time you spent with them was absolutely unimportant.”

That sounds like it’s spoken from his experience.

“Don’t you dare think Aiden’s anything but a total flaming jackass,” Ledger adds, patting my arm a little awkwardly.

I picture Aiden earlier leaving me to clean up his dirty work. Peeling out of the lot. He didn’t even have the guts to face the guests. Garrett had to handle all that. Oh. Wait. “I nearly forgot. This is the cherry on the jackass sundae. He asked me to fuck himtonight,” I add, with acan you believe his nervesmile, “before he leaves town.”

Dev sputters.

Ledger’s eyes turn into livid slits. “No, he did not,” he hisses.

“Yes. He did,” I say, and I tell them the rest of Aiden’s sex invite.

“He left the room number?” Ledger asks.

“And he thinks you’re going to meet him there?” Dev asks.

“I never RSVP’d. I was a little too shocked.”

Dev’s grin turns dastardly. “Did you know I’m the king of dares and pranks?”

Actually, yes. “Seeing as you dared Ivy and Hayes to get married, I did know that,” I answer, flashing back to Ivy’s tale of her Vegas wedding to Hayes last season, when this handsome goalie right here dared her and the new guy to get hitched, claiming it was a team tradition. She Vegas-married Hayes but went back to her hotel room with both himandthe team captain, Stefan. Thus began her very own throupling, and she’s happily married to both men now.

Dev lets go of my hand. “And I’d really like to let Aiden know he fucked with the wrong girl.”

I’m a little giddy at the prospect of his pranks. “What do you want to do?” I ask. Make thata lotgiddy.

Dev licks his lips. His eyes flicker with sweet revenge. “Would you be willing to tell him you’ll be there at eight and he should answer the door in his boxers?”

Oh, this just keeps getting better. “I absolutely would.”

Dev’s got his phone out and is studiously tapping away on it. A minute later, he swivels it around to a site that ships…dicks. “They have an express one-hour service. A giant cardboard dick will be standing outside his room at eight. Say the word, Aubs.”

I guess they aren’t mad at me at all. “I would love to get a picture of his reaction, though,” I say.

Ledger clears his throat. “Hold on.”

Uh-oh. “Is Stern Brunch Daddy going to be the voice of reason?”

Ledger gives me a long, curious look. “That’s what you call me?”

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