“Congratulations.”
“And you’re a…physicist?” He seemed uncomfortable even saying the word and I wanted to laugh, but I managed to nod instead.
“I teach physics and study astronomy. Black holes, to be exact.”
His eyes rounded slightly, but I wasn’t sure if he was overwhelmed or impressed. Didn’t matter to me either way since I had no interest in dating him, but it was occasionally fun to mess with the guys Granddad brought around.
“Isla’s always been a little too interested in books and her studies,” Granddad said. “It’s high time she started living a bit.”
“Granddad, we’ve just sat down,” I said with a chuckle. “Let me catch my breath before you attempt to find new extracurricular activities for me.”
Luckily, my mother took pity on me and turned the conversation to the excellent meal our housekeeper, Merrie, had prepared. Finn and Mac, two of my younger brothers, were also in attendance and they kept up a steady stream of conversation so I didn’t have to. Gideon paid polite attention to me, without making his interest too overt, but I figured an invitation to go for a walk or see the grounds or some such thing was forthcoming. Instead, he surprised me.
We’d just started dessert when Gideon met my gaze. “Isla, I have a proposition for you. My family and I will all be attending Ian’s wedding, and since I hate going to weddings without a date, I was hoping you’d accompany me.”
I froze. He wanted me to be his date for my twin brother’s wedding? Bloody hell, this was worse than I thought. There would be five hundred guests at the wedding and it was going to be quite the event. Anyone that saw us together would immediately assume it was serious, and I wasn’t on board with that at all. Luckily, I was pretty quick on my feet.
“Going to weddings alone is no fun,” I said with a friendly smile. “But I’ve been spared that plight this time around. I apologize for any misrepresentation on my grandfather’s part, but I’m involved with someone, so I’ve already got a date.”
Gideon looked chagrined, murmuring an apology while Granddad frowned. “What are you talking about, Isla? You haven’t brought round any young men.”
I’d hoped he wouldn’t push me for details in front of company, but now I had to think fast and I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Of course not. He lives in Las Vegas.”
“He—what? Is it one of Ian’s friends, then?” Granddad looked confused and Mum was giving me side-eye, but I’d gone too far to back down now, especially since Gideon looked as interested in who it was as my brothers did.
I smiled and gave a little shrug. “Sorry. I should have told you.”
“Yes, you should have.” Mum gave me a pointed look that told me I had a lot of explaining to do.
“Well, are you going to tell us who it is?” Finn pressed, looking at me intently.
I hoped I wasn’t blushing, but now I had no choice but to go full steam ahead with this, and I definitely hadn’t thought this through. Fuck, I was in so much trouble and every eye at the table was now on me.
I swallowed, mentally cursing my grandfather for putting me in this untenable situation.
“Is it a secret?” Mac asked, arching a brow.
“Of course not.” I breathed in and then out, slowly and methodically, summoning up my courage. “It’s Dax.”
“Dax?” My mother looked startled and my brothers immediately started teasing me, threatening to call my twin brother, Ian. Who just happened to be Dax’s best friend. Oh, this was going to be a mess.
“Another hockey player in the family!” Mac chirped.
“But then we’ll be outnumbered,” Finn said.
“Better than American football, though.”
“Aye.” Finn grimaced before bursting out laughing.
I wasn’t paying much attention to them, though, as I contemplated my next move. Dax was my twin brother’s best friend, and though I’d had feelings for him for a long time, I didn’t think he returned them. However, we were good enough friends that he might go along with this if I approached it right. Just for the wedding. I had no idea how to approach it, though, so I was going to call Ian immediately. He’d help me come up with a plan before my family figured out I’d lied, and if I was lucky, he’d talk to Dax for me too.
Bloody hell.
What had I done?
2
Dax
The end of any season was hard, but losing in the final round of the playoffs sucked more than usual. We’d won the whole damn thing last year, so going home early was a bit more poignant. Normally, I handled the inevitable last game of the season without much emotion beyond a day or so of disappointment, but something about tonight’s loss hit me harder than normal. I wasn’t even sure why.
“This sucks balls.” My best friend and teammate, Ian Campbell, shook his head.
“Yeah.” I motioned to the waitress to bring us a round. We came here often enough for her to know our drinks.
We were at a local sports bar called Kendall’s, which was a hangout for the professional hockey team I played for, the Las Vegas Sidewinders. A group of us had come here to lick our wounds and hang out for a few hours, probably for the last time until next season.
“To better seasons.” Our head coach, Jared Wylde, raised his glass.
“I’ll drink to that.” I raised my glass and clinked it against Jared’s. There was a small group of us right now, but more guys were arriving and I had a feeling this was going to be a long, rowdy night. Which was fine with me. Frankly, I needed a wild night. If there happened to be a pretty lady who wanted to show me a little sympathy after a big loss, that would be okay too.
It had been a while.
A long while.
Jesus. How long had it been?
I glanced around the
