Playing For Keeps

33-Double Date Disasters

Casey

I was super excited for tonight.

After the interesting dinner at my parents house a few weeks ago I needed a group dinner with Rowan to run smoothly.

So when Fallon called and asked if we could have a double date while we were all in the same place I was quick to agree.

I couldn't wait to catch up with my best friends.

Rowan was coming off a high of back to back wins and so when I brought up the dinner one night after my day at the hotel he was happy to say yes.

He told me how Crew and Carson were finally starting to work together on the ice and I told him how we had a girl planning her sixteenth birthday party and couldn't decide on a color scheme to save her life.

Then we talked about how Leo and Rowan would be facing off on the ice this weekend which brought up the following game.

For the first time this season Rowan and Eric would be playing against each other.

I knew it was a game both of us were dreading and all I could hope for was that Eric kept it civil.

I didn't have much faith in that statement but I hoped if Eric didn't know about me and his brother he wouldn't play as dirty as he would if he knew about us.

Truly there was no reason for him to know, even Rowan said he had no plans of telling his family.

Not because he was ashamed of us but because he didn't want me dragged into the Monroe drama and truthfully I was grateful.

I knew what his family thought of me but I didn't care. I had the one Monroe opinion that mattered.

My mom had called the night after we had dinner at my parents and she told me how much she liked Rowan and how proud of me she was.

I knew she knew about Eric using me to get to my biological dad so when she said that he reminded her of Marcus a bit I sort of cried.

Not because Rowan reminded her of my stepdad but because she saw how he fit with me.

I was in love with Rowan Monroe and each day we were together seemed to solidify what I've always pretended I didn't know.

Love finds you when you're not looking for it.

I'd never been more glad that Grandma Jo had left me her house and I hoped whoever bought it loved it as much as we did.

"God you look stunning." Rowan groans as I finish applying my lip gloss.

I turn to see him in his suit and that sight made me flustered.

Don't get me wrong I'd seen Rowan in a suit before but sometimes I forgot that the man in the suit belonged to me.

"Come here." I crook my finger and he walks towards me.

Once he's close enough I grab his tie and yank him in for a kiss.

"You look so good right now." I say against his lips and he rests his forehead against mine.

"I think we need to leave soon Case, or we might not leave at all."

Knowing what he meant I kiss him again before grabbing my purse.

If I wasn't so excited for this dinner with Fallon and Leo I would've said fuck it and stayed in.

It was such a tempting thought.

More tempting than it should have been.

We meet them at a nice but quiet restaurant on the outer part of town.

It wasn't like the guys were actively always being following by paparazzi but with the game this weekend I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into someone willing to make a buck by ratting us out.

The dinner was filled with chatter about the game before Fallon decides we need to shift topic which we all fall into with ease.

I like how easily Leo and Fallon accepted Rowan and how he just fit into our group.

The dinner had run smoothly... until it was time to leave.

Rowan had me under his arm as we walked towards his car and at the time we didn't know it yet but someone had gotten a picture of us.

And they knew exactly who Rowan and I were.

🏒 🏒 🏒

It was four a.m. when the texts started piling in, waking Ro and I up from our deep sleeps.

"What the fuck?" I grab my phone to see how bad my phone had blown up.

"Shit, Case." Rowan grumbles and I look over to see the picture splashed onto the front of the article.

The caption was worse, "Why Pick Just One Brother When You Can Have Them Both?"

Jesus Christ.

In the next second Rowan's phone rings and I see the caller ID is Eric

No, no, no.

"I'm going to go take this." Rowan says before getting up and heading to the bathroom before closing the door behind him.

I sit there patiently as I scroll through texts and emails full of the article.

Just one article but it blew up.

Fuck me.

I hear muffled yelling and I know Eric said something to piss Rowan off.

A few minutes later he comes out, his shoulders tense.

"What did he say?" I ask but he just shakes his head.

"Trust me,, you don't want to know."

He grabs his sweats and throws them on

"where are you going?" I ask as Rowan reaches for his headphones

"A run, I'll be back in a bit I just need to blow off some steam."

Then he's out the door.

I just know their game is going to be bad.

———
A/N Are yall ready for Monroe vs Monroe on the ice??? 🥶

I'm also at the airport, so I just wanna say thank you guys for reading my book!!

The rest of the chapters will be posted by the time my flight takes off so be prepared 😱😱