Page 21 of The Marriage Policy
I’m married.
To Donovan.
This is gonna be a wild ride.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Donovan
“It’s nice thatEric is moving in with you,” Anthony says as he carries a box into my house. We’re lucky the guys could help, and I’m still trying to get used to the fact thatthe guysincludes a professional hockey player. I’m not hugely into sports, but it’s still cool.
“I think he broke his ankle so he wouldn’t have to help,” Rylan jokes. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Rylan—well, other than he’s probably one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met—it’s that he’s almost never serious. And super cocky too, so there we go. Three things I’ve learned about Rylan Pierce. The fourth is that he’s absolutely head over heels for Hayes. He builds Hayes up in this pure, heartfelt way that almost makes me believe in love again.
“We decided I would move inafterI got hurt, but I have to admit, it’s a perk,” Eric says while resting on his crutches by the door.
“Oh. Ouch. My back.” Rylan does this stumbling thing, and Hayes immediately goes into action.
“Wait. Are you okay? Here, put that down. I knew this was a bad idea!”
“Baby…you’re not the one who’s supposed to believe me. I’m a hockey god with perfect pecs. Carrying boxes can’t take me down.” He flexes said pecs.
I roll my eyes.
Anthony chuckles.
Hayes…well, I’m pretty sure he has to physically hold himself back from burying his face in Rylan’s chest.
“Hey! I can do that too!” Eric is clearly concentrating hard. I don’t know about the rest of them, but I can’t see anything happening. “My shirt’s not as tight, so you can’t see.” He pouts, which makes everyone laugh.
“I saw. You have nice pecs too,” I reassure him.
“What did I miss?” Another voice comes from behind us, and I look back to see Kason Maddox, or Mads as Hayes and Rylan call him, come up the walkway.
“Half of the moving,” Rylan replies.
“I was meditating and lost track of time.” Mads shrugs. He’s Rylan’s best friend and the goalie for the Rebels. He agreed to come over and help us too.
I felt bad when none of Eric’s friends were able to pitch in. When we were younger, he was incredibly popular. Everyone loved him and wanted to spend time with him. But I’ve noticed the older we get, the less friends he has. The thing is, people still love him. He’s the center of attention at every party, people work out with him, play basketball with him, whatever, but they’re not there for the real stuff. They’re like Cliff in that they’re willing to use Eric but aren’t ever there for him.
“You’re two hours late.” We head inside, and Rylan sets his box down.
“Yes. As I said, I was meditating.”
“Just because you can’t stay still for more than five minutes doesn’t mean other people can’t,” Hayes tells Rylan.
“Wanna have a staring contest?” Rylan grins.
Hayes sputters. “What? No.”
Rylan looks at us and pumps his dark brows. “He loves me.”
“Do you confuse him like you do the rest of us?” Anthony asks, and again, we share laughter.
I have fun with them. It’s a reminder of how sometimes you can get something good out of one of the worst things to happen to you. If it hadn’t been for Malcolm, I never would have met them, and they’re good for Eric and me.
“Are we going to do this or what? You guys are slackers,” Mads says, and everyone grumbles at him.
“Says the guy who was late,” Hayes reminds him.
