Down and Dirty (Hot Jocks #5)(15)

“That’s great,” I hear myself saying.

He nods. “I need someone I can trust at the helm of our first international operation.” He grins like he’s pleased with the sound of that.

“I don’t know what to say.” I squeeze my knees under my desk where he sits in front of me with a scrutinizing gaze. David has been a widower for nearly two decades. He lives and breathes this job because of it. He’s a great boss, and very hard to say no to.

David smiles at me expectantly. “Say yes.”

“Um, yes,” I say slowly, still in shock.

“Perfect. We’ll talk details soon.” He stands up and strolls away with a satisfied expression, while my stomach is in knots.

This opportunity is all I’ve been working toward—better pay, more responsibility, and, of course, the idea of impacting more people as we take the charity international. It’s just—wow. Of course I’m excited, but everything feels so unsettled, which is something I’ve been feeling a lot lately. My life feels like one giant knot I need to untangle.

But for now, it will have to wait. There are thank-you notes to write.

I pop in my earbuds and get in a full half hour of work before the next interruption. This time, it’s a welcome one, a text from my friend Ana.

Do you have any lunch plans?

Nope.

Perfect. Meet me in 30 at that new ramen place?

Damn her—tempting me with spicy noodles.

You just want all the dirty details from Vegas.

I click SEND on my message and barely have to wait ten seconds for her reply.

Girl, you know I do, and you’d better not hold out on me.

Ana has been one of my closest friends and most consistent yoga buddies for the last year. We met right after she moved here from her hometown of Las Vegas to live with her Hawks defenseman boyfriend, Jason Kress. He’s kind of an outcast and doesn’t hang out much with the team.

But even though Jason and Ana weren’t part of the Vegas festivities, I have little doubt that conversation about the rookie’s brand-new marriage has dominated the locker-room chatter. Even if it is the off-season, and a lot of the guys are off taking much-needed vacations, plenty of them are still around—hitting the weight room with gusto, working with team personal trainers on plans to improve weaknesses before training camp begins. There’s little doubt in my mind that both Landon and Jason are among them. And if Jason knows, then Ana knows. I have a sinking feeling that this lunch offer on Monday is coming from the kindness in her heart.

I’m not sure if I should just go and get this over with or avoid it altogether. But then again, Justin and Elise have jetted off to hike Machu Picchu while Sara and TK are in the Virgin Islands for the next ten days. Which means I do need some girlfriend time, so I should probably take Ana up on her offer for ramen, even if she is going to pump me for information. Plus, some outside advice might not be the worst thing in the world. And, really, my love of spicy noodles can’t be underestimated. I love me some carbs.

So I text her back.

Fine. I’ll be there. But be nice.

I’m always nice, Ana replies.

Ugh. She really is, so I can’t even argue the point.

? ? ?

“Is it true?” Ana’s shiny brown ponytail swings as she tilts her head, waiting for an answer to the question she’s asked me three times now.

The restaurant is packed to capacity with the lunchtime crowd, but we were able to snag a tiny table for two in the back, barely large enough to hold our two big plastic bowls of ramen. But while all my focus is on my green curry shrimp and delicious noodles, Ana is much more interested in the train wreck that was my weekend in Vegas.

If there were any doubts as to whether she’s caught wind of my marital status shift, they were cleared up the instant we sat down and she pointed out that, while there’s no ring on my finger, there is an indent where one used to be. Sometimes I think she’d make a better detective than a massage therapist.

With my expert chopstick-handling skills, I pick up a shrimp and several noodles and pop them into my mouth. It’s more than I can comfortably chew, but that will keep me from being able to answer questions, right?

Ana’s caramel-colored eyes bore into me, squinty and suspicious. “Just because you have a mouth full of ramen doesn’t mean you don’t have to spill the deets.”

I blink up at her, one noodle hanging out of my mouth, and grumble some nonsense from behind closed lips. She laughs, which was my goal, but it’s not enough for her to ditch her one-woman crusade for information. Unfortunately.

“Eventually, you’re going to get to the bottom of that.” She nods toward my red plastic bowl of noodles. “And then you’ll be out of excuses. So you might as well just tell me now.”

I gulp down both my noodles and my pride. “Fine. It’s true. Landon and I got married.”

Ana lets out an excited squeal, which is the opposite of the reaction I was hoping for.

“It’s not legit,” I hiss, trying to quiet her down. I don’t need the whole restaurant staring. “Well, I mean, it is legit in that it’s legally binding. But he was drunk, and I was, well, drunker. It’s not like I actively made the decision.”

“But your subconscious thought it was a good idea to marry him!” Ana says, a little louder than I’d prefer.