Page 63 of Hockey Halloween

Archer

Archer stared out the window of his Uber all the way to the arena, early morning Las Vegas sliding by in a blur of blinking lights.

He didn’t track it. Mentally, he was still back at that museum, glued to the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about since the day he met her.

It had really happened, hadn’t it? It wasn’t just a fever dream that they’d gone past fake dating into real dating?

He’d confirm it later in the day just in case.

In the meantime, he had a practice to make.

When they reached the arena entrance, Archer made his way down to basement level, hustling into the locker room just as guys were getting ready.

He released a slow breath of relief. He would not be late again.

His teammates looked at him then away with little smiles that made his gut tighten. He sat on the bench next to Cole and raised a brow. “What’s with everyone?”

Cole looked…embarrassed? That couldn’t be good. He cleared his throat and said, “You’re kind of famous. A video was posted last night of you and Teddy getting pretty close at the museum.

Archer felt the blood drain from his face as he thought about other people watching his momentary lapse of insanity. “What do you mean famous?”

Looking like he very much didn’t want to, Cole pulled up the video that already had two thousand likes and five hundred comments.

When he pushed play, crystal clear, there was Archer, Teddy’s legs around his waist, the hem of her dress riding high as he kissed her like he was trying to consume her.

He looked away, and Cole tucked his phone in his bag.

“This isn’t good, is it?” Archer’s stomach sank.

Cole didn’t answer, which was answer enough.

A brunette in a suit poked her head in the locker room.

The guys chorused, “Hey Miranda.” She waved at them with a smile then looked right at him, and it faded a little.

“Reid. Come with me. Saralynn wants to see you.” Her tone was professional, though her eyes were a little sad.

She had to know practice was about to start.

If she wasn’t waiting until after, it had to be bad.

This can’t be happening . Archer stood numbly and followed her out to the elevator.

The ride to the executive floor felt like walking the green mile.

He’d barely had a chance to earn a spot here and it was already over.

When he got to Saralynn’s door, she glanced up from her desk.

Teddy already occupied one seat in front of it.

His heart contracted hard. They couldn’t fire her too. Not because of him.

Saralynn nodded. “Reid. Have a seat.”

He walked to the chair then more fell into it than sat down, his legs like lead.

He looked at Teddy, trying to project how sorry he was, but she stared straight ahead.

She’d seen this coming. Of course she had.

She was much more plugged in than he was.

She’d have seen it as soon as she checked her phone this morning.

Saralynn sighed. “Off the record, I personally don’t have a problem with the video.

Yes, it’s racy, but the shares and tags are off-the-charts.

People around the world are talking about the Sinners today.

You know hockey romance has become big in the book world.

It’s gotten some bad press, but fans of those books are going crazy for a real-life hockey hero going caveman with his leading lady.

There are already memes and gifs spreading like wildfire. ”

Archer winced. He didn’t know what half of that meant, but it all sounded bad.

Teddy was keeping a poker face. “But?”

“But.” Saralynn took a deep breath and spread her hands out on the desk.

“It made the news this morning, local and nationwide, and a snapshot made the paper. With a few exceptions, the Sinners try to be a family organization. Mostly because the league requires it. This team is no stranger to romantic scandal. Unfortunately, that means we’re already on the league’s radar.

We have to take some kind of action to please them. ”

He bowed his head. “Am I going back to Carson City, or are they cutting my contract altogether?”

“Neither.” Teddy stood up. “I’ll quit. I was probationary anyway.

I’ve got a following I can fall back on.

I’ll be all right. Archer deserves his spot here.

He’s worked for it, earned it. If I go, there’ll be talk for a few days, then it’ll go away.

He’ll just be seen as an NHL bad boy, which we both know will actually be good for him and the team publicity-wise.

I can address it from my channel to my fans in a way that respects the team and him. ”

Archer stood and took Teddy’s hand, though she let it fall away, and his chest tightened. From the pain in her eyes, it hurt her too.

“Wait. Stop. I can’t let you do that. The whole thing was my fault.”

She shook her head with a sad smile. “I kissed you first.”

“Yeah, but I’m the one who took it to eleven in public. You don’t deserve this.”

“Neither do you. And I wasn’t trying to stop you. Let me do this, Archer.” She looked back to the PR manager. “Are those terms acceptable?”

Saralynn glanced between them and sighed. “None of this is acceptable. But everything you said is true. If this is really what you want…”

Teddy met his eyes again, and the tenderness there nearly took him out. She nodded. “It’s what I want.”

“Then I’ll start the paperwork. Reid, go back to practice. Teddy, you can take the day to clean out your desk.” For what it was worth, the typically manic and calculated Saralynn seemed genuinely upset like she had to force the words out and couldn’t believe what she was saying.

But all Archer could focus on was Teddy. He followed her out of the office, around the corner to her desk. With her back to him, she opened a drawer but didn’t take anything out. “It’s better if we don’t do this.”

He stepped into her line of sight and waited until she looked up at him. It was early enough that most other staff hadn’t come in yet, but he kept his voice low anyway. “Teddy, stop. You can’t do this. Not for me. This job is important to you.”

She bit the inside of her lip and took a slow breath. “Not as important as your job is to you. And I know we haven’t known each other long, but I…I care about you. You’re a good man. Your first chance here got cut short. I won’t take your second.”

This was happening too fast. The sound of a distant whistle broke the quiet, summoning him, but he couldn’t move. “Can’t we still see each other?”

Her eyes closed briefly. When they opened again, she wouldn’t look at him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. The sooner the media forgets about us the better it’ll be for the team. That’s why I’m doing this.”

“Teddy—”

“Archer. Let me do this for you. You need to get down there. Cement your place here. Make my resignation worth it.”

He stared at her for a long beat, waiting for her to meet his eyes. But she wouldn’t. He sighed and walked slowly to the elevator. When he was almost there, her voice stopped him.

“You should know. I was never pretending.”

His shoulders slumped as the words struck him like an arrow. Neither was he. If he looked back, he’d never make it to the ice. He walked straight onto the elevator and hit the button for the basement, unfamiliar and heavy feelings weighing him down.