Gauging the Player: A One-Night-Stand Sports Romance (The Playmakers Series Hockey Romance Book 3), стр. 24
No, no! Not his date. This was business, though Lily couldn’t correct Paige at this moment. That would be rude.
A round of feminine “Hi’s” chorused, sprinkled with a few “Gage’s,” as his warm, reassuring hand pressed into the small of her back. A pair of curious brown eyes fixed on her from across the room. They belonged to a familiar woman whose mouth hung open and whose gaze traveled between Gage and her.
Incoming. Girlfriend number one?
Making her way toward them, the woman’s gape transformed into a warm smile when she reached Gage and pulled him into a hug.
“Hey, you,” she trilled. “T.J. said you’d be here.” Then she turned her smile on Lily, who developed a shameful urge to slink away when she recognized the bride from July. Without the wedding dress, she hadn’t recognized Natalie.
Gage cleared his throat. “Hey, Nat. This is Lily Ev—”
“Yes, I know! You sang at my wedding, and you were wonderful!” Natalie clasped Lily’s hand in both of hers and shook. Her eyes returned to Gage. “So how did you two, um …”
Did Natalie know about that night? Not unless Gage was the kiss-and-tell type, but the label didn’t fit. Still, Lily felt a tomato stain oozing up her neck, and she began talking just as Gage did. Their words tumbled over each other like an overflowing, gurgling stream. Paige’s and Natalie’s eyebrows scrunched in unison as they looked from Gage to Lily and back again.
Though their mixed voices were a garble, they both spewed the same message, which equaled, “We’re not together.”
Lily’s face had to be the color of a roasted beet by now.
“Sorry. I just assumed …” Natalie said.
Gage gave her a friendly wink. “You know what they say about—”
“People who assume,” she finished for him, dismissing him with a wave.
Gage’s hand slid from Lily’s back to cradle her elbow, and she felt an urge to lean into it. Something told her he would hold her up, and an electrical surge connected him to her for an instant.
The room returned to its chatter, and Paige pointed out drinks and munchies before tottering over to a few guests.
“Drink?” Gage asked Lily.
“White wine, please, if it’s available. Otherwise, water’s good.”
“I gotcha. Natalie?”
Natalie held up her mostly full beer bottle and shook her head. Gage excused himself, leaving Lily and Natalie in a shared awkward bubble. It was then that Lily noticed Natalie was a good four or five inches taller—because damn if she didn’t seem to be looking down at her, inspecting her as though she were a bug under a microscope she wanted to pull apart with tweezers.
Lily took a calming breath, telling herself this woman was obviously important to Gage, and her scrutiny—uncomfortable as it was—was natural. She also found herself wanting Natalie to like her.
Okay, Lil. This is your chance to learn about the man under the hockey helmet. There be nuggets to mine! In her head, a pirate growled, “Arrr!”
Lily resisted the urge to tug out her chain and twiddle. Instead, she ventured, “So how long have you known Gage?”
“Almost two years now.” Natalie’s features seemed to soften. “Forgive me, but we’re not used to seeing Gage with anyone unless one of us wives or girlfriends has twisted his arm into a blind date.” She paused to sweep her hand around the room, indicating the women scattered throughout. Then she leaned in conspiratorially. “To my knowledge, those have never worked out. One and done.”
Lily blinked. Okay. False Assumption Number One bites the dust: These women are his teammates’ SOs, not lovers. The thought gave her toes an unexpected lift. Then she embraced False Assumption Number Two: he didn’t hook up with their friends. But logic cautioned her about possible False Assumption Number Three: he hooked up with them once, like he had with her.
A random flashback popped into her head, threatening to combust her pretty new panties. Despite what he’d said, was he at all tempted to sleep with her again?
Where did that come from?
She buried the images deep. Focus, Lil, focus!
Just then, a strapping, curly haired man came up behind Natalie and snaked his arms around her waist. Mumbling something about amber, he nibbled her neck, and she broke into a fit of giggles.
“T.J., stop! I’m talking to Gage’s date.”
T.J. did stop—abruptly—raising his head to survey Lily with unabashed curiosity. “Oh wow. He did bring a date,” he said as though said non-date wasn’t standing two feet away.
Seriously? Are they all lying, or is a Gage Nelson date-sighting rarer than spotting the Loch Ness Monster?
“I’m not … we’re not …” Lily stammered.
Natalie turned in her husband’s arms, whisper-shouting, “They’re not dating.”
He gave Lily a skeptical grin, then a light seemed to wink on. “Hey, do I know you?”
Safer ground. “I sang at your wedding, though I wouldn’t expect you to remember. You were a little preoccupied at the time.”
The grin widened. “That’s it! Sorry I didn’t recognize you at first, but you’re right. This one had me preoccupied. Like now.” He cinched Natalie close and bent to her neck with a playful growl.
“T.J.!” she shrieked. “PDA!”
“Oh, you want more PDA? Happy to oblige.”
Self-conscious, Lily darted her eyes about, landing on Gage, who’d been waylaid by a blond woman and a man in a wheelchair. In one hand, Gage fisted a beer; in the other, a full glass of white wine. Mid-speak, he captured her eyes with his and smiled. Then he pointed, and the man and woman turned their heads toward her and smiled too.
A tendril of warmth tapped her on the shoulder, which was when she remembered she’d felt the same way when she’d been with Gage last July. Before she’d freaked out and sprinted away.
Guilt shivered up her spine right before the unhappy remembrance of everything she’d had and lost with Jack suddenly swelled, wrenching her gut. A cleansing breath pushed the tears away. Her eyes continued sweeping the room, and the romantic inside her feasted on the warmth surrounding her. The ever-present practical side of her, however,