14:59 Thu, Sep 17
The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
Chapter 135
-OLIVIA-
Family beach house. This weekend. No arguments.
That was dad’s announcement this morning.
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He wanted us out of the city and away from cameras especially after the Luca clip, which he did not mention by name because he did not have to.
Tessa cheered like someone had handed her a holiday. “Finally. I need salt water and a bed that is not in this house. Caleb, if you hog the good room again I will drown you.”
Caleb did not look up from his phone. “All the rooms are good. You are just picky. Is there good wifi this time? I am not spending three days buffering.”
“There is good wifi,” Mom said. “There is also a rule about phones at dinner.”
Blair shot me a look over her glass that said do not start. I had not started. I was already somewhere else.
I immediately wondered if Roman was going.
I tried to make it subtle. I waited until Ethan was loading plates and asked, too casual, “Is it just us, or did you invite your usual friends?”
Ethan snorted. “If you mean Roman, I invited him. And Eden. Not sure if they’ll show.”
Eden.
Why would he invite Eden?
I groaned before I could swallow it.
Ethan frowned. “What?”
“Nothing. Eden and Roman. Great people.”
Tessa leaned in, already packing her outfits in her head. “If Roman comes, I want him on the volleyball team.”
“He has not even confirmed,” Ethan said.
“He will confirm,” Tessa said.
Caleb finally looked up. “Can we take the boat this time?”
“Maybe,” Dad said from the doorway, because of course he had heard the boat. “The boat is used when I say it is used. No night runs. No friends I have not approved.”
He looked at me when he said it.
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The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
I was not taking him on.
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I couldn’t believe my brother had invited the woman who had told me Roman was going to propose to her soon. I couldn’t stand her.
Would he still bring her after that kiss?
The thought made me sick and angry and hopeful in a disgusting mix. If he brought Eden to the beach, I would lose it.
If he did not, I had to pack the sexiest bikinis I owned.
Blair found me in the kitchen. “You look like you swallowed a lemon.”
“Ethan invited Eden.”
Blair winced. “Of course he did. He thinks they are a couple.”
“They are a couple. According to the internet. According to her. I cannot stand her. She needs to be uninvited.”
“Lower your voice.” Blair glanced at the door. Tessa’s laugh carried in from outside. “You cannot go to the beach house and start a war. Dad is already in arranged marriage mode. If you pick a fight with Eden, everyone is going to realize you have a thing for Roman.”
I hated when she was right.
I leaned on the counter.
“Do I ask Roman if he is coming? And if he is bringing her?”
“No. You pack. You look deadly in a bikini. You let him decide whether he is brave enough to bring her into a house after what happened the last time.”
“That is not helpful.”
“You’re the one that asked.”
I hated that I laughed.
From the dining room, the planning kept going without me. I listened anyway, half in the conversation, half in the memory of Roman’s kiss.
“I want the room with the balcony,” Tessa announced.
“You had the balcony last time,” Caleb said. “You used it to scream at seagulls.”
The funny part was that Caleb wasn’t even kidding. Tessa could do weird shit at times.
“They started it.”
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14:59 Inu, Sep 17
The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
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Mom listed rooms like a general. “Blair and Grayson get the quiet one near the stairs. Ethan takes the first room on the bottom floor. If Roman comes, there is an extra room for him as well. Olivia, you are next to Blair and Grayson. Tessa and I will argue about the rest later.”
“Are we doing the long beach walk at sunset,” Blair called, “or is that too wholesome for this family now?”
“Sunset walk,” Mom said. “Dinner on the deck. No clubs. No surprises. It’s going to be a fun trip.”
No surprises. I had already had one against a wall.
Ethan texted someone I pretended was not Roman. Every time his phone lit up I wanted to look. I did not.
I stood in the kitchen and wondered what Roman would say.
Family beach house. You and Eden. Would he decline? Would he accept and leave her in the city? Would he show up with her hand on his arm?
Would there be more action between us this weekend if he showed up?
The thought arrived uninvited and stayed.
If he came without her, I would be happy.
If he came with her, I would have to watch her in a swimsuit on my family’s beach house and remember she had called me pathetic while claiming Roman as hers.
“Olivia.” Ethan leaned in the doorway. “You packing tonight or tomorrow?”
“Tonight.”
“Remember not everyone needs to see your ugly bikinis.”
I gave him the finger and rolled my eyes.
“Remember not everyone needs to see your chest.”
He almost smiled as he lifted his shirt to show off his abs.
“Ew. It burns my eyes!”
“I hope your phone has been boring. No boys that shouldn’t be allowed near you.”
“My phone is boring.”
Though, I did want to message his best friend.
“Good.”
He left then. I stared at the counter.
The rest of the afternoon was more preparation. Mom listing sunscreen and groceries. Dad listing rules a
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14:59 Thu, Sep 17
The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
second time because once was never enough.
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Tessa making a playlist called salt and poor decisions. Blair murmuring to Grayson about not being overprotective the entire time.
I packed the bikini Blair would approve of.
It was a test.
Would he come?
Would she?
Would he look at me like he had in my room, defeated and hungry, if we ended up in the same kitchen with sand on the floor?
I already knew I would spend the drive to the beach replaying the kiss.
If he showed up with Eden, I was going to need therapy.
If he showed up without her, I was going to need a better strategy than staring at his mouth all weekend.
I zipped the bag.
I touched my lips once.
Then I went downstairs and listened to Tessa argue about the room choices. This happened on every vacation. We were used to it by now.
Then I thought about Roman again. I wanted another kiss. How could I make it happen again?
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15:00 Thu, Sep 17
The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
Dex Morgan
Dex works to elevate each story with clean writing, emotional balance, and thoughtful flow for readers.