Page 6

Chapter 6

I should objectify you?

Braydon

Holy shit. I’d just told someone, and now I was petrified. My parents had kept this secret for twenty-five years and I’d blurted it to my new fake girlfriend less than twenty-four hours after I found out.

Most people thought my adopted dad was my real dad—my biological dad. I didn’t look too much like him, but he had a Norwegian background so people expected tall and blond was in the genes somewhere. But if it got out that I wasn’t his, it would hurt him. And my mom—would it bother her if people knew she’d been a single mom? We’d moved to a small town in Montana when she and Dad got married. Would people judge her? It was a conservative place.

What about the Devereaux family? I really didn’t give a fuck about Frank—he’d deserve anything that came to him. But his wife, and Faith—would this blow up their world? I had no idea.

Part of me relaxed though. If nothing else, Jayna could help me when it came to dealing with Faith. I checked, and right now she looked like we’d started a game of statues, and she was the one frozen. “Jayna?”

Damn . She wasn’t going to tell anyone, was she? Had I made a colossal mistake?

She shook her head. “Sorry, that was not what I was expecting. At all. Holy fuck. You and Faith are siblings.”

I had a sister—at least a half-sister. Though after that video she probably wanted nothing to do with me.

Jayna held up her hand. “Don’t worry, I totally agree, that’s not something we want leaked. It’s not going to harm the teams but it will hurt people. If it gets out there, it’s not from me.” She met my eyes. “I promise, beyond pinky swear, that I’ll keep that secret.”

I looked at her, not as part of the PR team dealing with my “problem.” Not as one of the suits, but as my new girlfriend. I hadn’t dated anyone since high school, and that hadn’t been serious. It had coincided with a streak of bad play so I’d decided to avoid dating. Probably not cause and effect, but why take a chance?

Jayna’s blonde hair was curly, twisting over her ears and forehead. Her eyes were a warm chocolate brown, and she had a short nose and a pointed chin below surprisingly lush lips. She was cute, but not tiny. When I’d walked behind her, I’d had six inches on her, so that would make her about five-eight. I’d played with guys her size, and something told me she’d be hard to get off the puck. What position did she play? Not goalie. Didn’t give off those vibes—we tended to be different from the skaters. I could see her as one of those fast and sneaky forwards, buzzing around the crease and making a goalie’s life miserable.

The way she talked and handled herself—she had her shit together much better than me. I didn’t know how long she’d been on IR, but she was fit, and had a good body. She wasn’t so short that I’d have to bend over to kiss her?—

I was staring at her lips, which she was currently chewing with even white teeth while she worked on the problem I’d created. I pulled my gaze off her mouth. She didn’t know me, and I didn’t need to stare at her mouth like a creeper. She was only doing this for her job. Kissing wouldn’t be part of that.

Her brown eyes were focused on me again. “Can I ask you some questions?”

I nodded.

“Who else knows?”

“My parents. They told me last night.”

Her eyes bugged. “Seriously? That was the news you got after the game?”

Fuck. If they’d told me before… “Yeah. They asked if Faith’s family was there, and then my mom got weird when I said her dad showed up at the end. And after that, she told me. In case I met Frank. I looked them up while I was still in the parking lot, and…”

“And?”

“I was angry. He could have helped me, but he didn’t bother. I was jealous of the sister I didn’t even know existed. And with enough alcohol, it all blurted out. At least I didn’t tell anyone why.”

“Wow.” Jayna shook her head again. “Wow. That must have been…something.”

That was as good a way to describe it as any I’d come up with.

“You’d never met Faith, not till the game last night?”

“Nope.” I didn’t know much about women’s hockey. I’d been at a small conservative college that didn’t have a women’s hockey team, so I’d ignored it. Now I felt like an asshole about that. But I’d ignored other men’s athletic teams as well. Total tunnel vision.

She rested her chin on her hands. “Are you adopted?”

“Yes and no.”

Her eyebrows rose.

“My mom is my mom. My biological mom. She kept me, after he gave her money for an abortion, and never told him. She met my dad later, and he adopted me legally, so I guess you could say I’m half adopted.”

She smiled at that. “Your bio didn’t mention anything about adoption, and I don’t think it needs to come up. We’ll work with the story Kira and I made up. The only thing we have to worry about is how you’re going to get along with Faith. And Frank.”

Before last night I wouldn’t even have noticed him. I had an agent, Stacy Chu, and she’d done well by me. I wasn’t looking to change, and agents hadn’t been asking me to. I wasn’t one of the prospects they’d been fighting over. “I have no idea how I’m going to act around them.”

Jayna chewed on her lips again and I tried to ignore it. “Let’s make sure I’m with you, at least at first. I planned to set up something with Faith, to show the two of you getting along, but I’ll try to find an opportunity for you to meet in private first. With me, and maybe Hunter or Cooper around. Small, contained, and people we can work with if they figure out something.”

Figure out what? That we were related, or that Jayna and I weren’t really dating?

I’d have to apologize to Faith. I couldn’t explain to her the real reason I’d been upset. But she deserved the apology.

Jayna cocked her head. “I don’t know if this helps, but I know Faith isn’t close to her parents. Her dad isn’t her agent and she rarely sees him. I don’t think he was a great dad for her either.”

Maybe not. But he had hockey connections that had played a part in Faith’s career. Things I’d missed. It was easy to say I might have been better off without him, but my messed-up thoughts didn’t agree with that.

“You’re close to her?”

Jayna nodded. “We’ve played on the same teams. The Bonfire, Nationals—we bunked together for a while and talked. In fact…”

She was chewing her lip again. What problem did she have?

“I was the one who suggested Faith play last night. Both that they call her as the EBUG and to start the third period.”

“Oh.” Right . Jayna was Faith’s teammate first. Jayna wasn’t my ally. She was doing a job, but if there was a problem, she’d be on Faith’s side. Maybe I should have figured that out before I told her my secret.

I needed to focus on the future. Where I had a chance to play in the NHL and possibly stay. I had to set aside personal issues, do what I needed to make this work.

I hoped I could.

* * *

Jayna

Outside of a few heart-to-hearts with a lot of wine involved, Faith didn’t talk about her father. When people asked why he didn’t represent her, she said she preferred to keep the personal and professional parts of her life separate. I’d kept the cheating information to myself. Faith was protective of her mother.

And now, a half-brother. Faith would hate to have that spread across the news outlets. I wouldn’t tell anyone. Any possible benefit to Braydon’s reputation was offset by how many other people it would harm.

But with the guy sitting on the other side of my desk? I couldn’t help comparing him to Faith, trying to see the family resemblance. He had the same thick blond hair, but his was cut short. Faith had always kept her hair long, braided back most of the time, especially when she played. Most of us did—I’d cut mine when I knew I’d be out for a while, just for a change. Braydon’s hair looked darker, since anything the sun highlighted had been cut off over the winter. Blond hair was common enough that it wouldn’t make anyone suspect they were related.

But his eyes—they were the same blue, under the same brows. Would that give it away? His chin was squarer, and his nose had been broken, distorting its natural shape. Both of them were tall, with long limbs that helped them protect their goal. They were each fit, strong and flexible to do their job.

He was a good-looking man. If I’d met him in a bar—and he hadn’t been a hockey player—I’d have definitely been interested. But this arrangement was only for my job, not real dating. At least the guy I had to pretend-date for the foreseeable future wasn’t a complete misogynist. He’d resented Faith because her father claimed her, not because she was a woman and had stolen attention from him at the game. But since that was a secret, back to the story I’d come up with.

“Okay, no one finds out you and Faith are closely related. Instead, last night you had your first NHL start, your parents couldn’t be here, your AHL team was out of town, and your girlfriend”—I pointed to myself—“went out with Faith after the game instead of with you.”

He cocked his head. “That’s what you really did? I was invited, but I was…not ready to be around her.”

I understood, because I knew what had happened. Other people didn’t. “I posted a lot on social media last night. For our story, you wanted me to come and celebrate with you, but instead I went out with Faith, so you were pissed because you needed someone close last night and I bailed.”

He looked down at his hands. “I suppose that’s a better reason to sound like a whiny brat?”

I shrugged. “You obviously resented Faith. Better over me than the real reason.”

“So why doesn’t anyone know we were together?”

“Because of my job. The Blaze are really strict about players and employees not dating.”

He pulled his brows together. “But I was on the Inferno.”

“Made it a gray area. We didn’t want to risk my job until we knew this was serious. Now we have a special dispensation from the team.”

“But if you’re my reason for that video, how do we tell people that we’re dating?”

“We’re not going to have a press conference, not at first.”

He leaned back, eyes wide. “A press conference? About dating?”

He didn’t understand that here in Canada, playing in the country’s biggest market, the lives of popular hockey players could be examined like celebrities. Especially if the player was good. Playing in the AHL, he hadn’t felt the full force of it. But now he was in the NHL, and things were going to change.

“Not at first. If we do, it’ll look too obvious. We’ll drop some hints on social media, and when the press ask questions, we’ll answer.” Mostly, he would. The press didn’t have as much interest in women hockey players, especially someone like me out with an injury.

He swallowed. “I hope we won’t have to. What are we supposed to do on socials?”

Did he not remember what my job was? “I’ll be in charge of that. You don’t have to do much—like my posts. Give me access to your accounts and I can post some photos. We should start following each other now.” I reached out my hand for his phone. “I’ll take your number so I can send you instructions if needed.”

He shifted in his seat to pull his phone out of his pocket, showing the way his biceps flexed in his shirt sleeve and the strength in his thighs. He held the phone to his face and passed it over. I didn’t touch his email app, but found TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat and opened those to friend myself on each of them. I didn’t need to look at them, since I’d scanned them from my own accounts earlier while I was researching him. I sent myself a text, listing myself as just Jayna in his contacts.

“What we need to do now is set up our relationship.”

“Our relationship.” He drew in a breath. “Okay.”

I considered the best way to explain. “We met while I was at the practice arena for the Blaze when your team was there. I’ve been there, just not when the Inferno were, but no one will remember that.”

He nodded.

“After I saw that video, and knew why you were upset and that your reputation was being trashed because you couldn’t explain that you were hurt I’d ditched you for Faith’s party, I told my boss. And the organization has decided our relationship doesn’t cross any lines. We can go public.”

He looked like he was following, but I couldn’t forget he must still be feeling the effects of his hangover.

“Now we can start sharing our couple stuff on social media, and then we’ll officially explain. We’ll spend time with the Bonfire because now we don’t have to protect our secret. Instead of being resentful of women’s hockey, you’ll be our biggest fan. Do you have a problem watching women’s sports?”

He shook his head. “I feel stupid I’ve mostly ignored that. I’ve been focused on getting to the NHL and kinda of blanked out anything else.”

He wasn’t the only one who “forgot” we existed, so I’d try not to hold it against him. “We pretend we’re dating, and that you know nothing about Frank and that you’re Faith’s friend. Okay?”

He stared over my shoulder and shook his head. “I don’t know if I’m any good as an actor.”

“Do you want to stay with the Blaze? Because this is their plan, not mine.” Could he at least pretend that spending time with me was better than a root canal? I might not be drop-dead gorgeous, but I’d done my share of dating and there wasn’t anything particularly objectionable about me. Unless it was that I was an athlete. Maybe Braydon wasn’t as into women in sports as he’d like to think he was.

Men . Seriously, life would be easier in many ways if I was into women. Wouldn’t it?

He nodded, meeting my gaze again.

“So first you’re going to have to appear to like spending time with me.”

His cheeks flushed. It looked good on him. “I’m sorry. I’m still a little hungover, and the last twenty-four hours have been a lot.”

I got it, I did, but he had to catch up with the program now. “I understand, but if you want to salvage your professional reputation, that means you have to sell the story that you find me attractive.”

A corner of his mouth kicked up, and that looked even better. He let his gaze fall from my face, down what he could see of my body behind the desk and back up. Goose bumps pebbled my flesh, and I was glad I was wearing pants and long sleeves.

“So I should objectify you? To sell us?”

My cheeks were heating up, because that ? Totally checking me out, and he looked like he appreciated what he saw. Whatever had been his problem before, maybe he did find me attractive.

“Let’s start with an exchange of the basics. If we’re dating, there are things we should know about each other.”

Now he was looking back at my face and frowning. “You probably know all about me.”

He’d never crossed my radar before last night, since I didn’t work with the Inferno. But now I knew where he’d grown up, where he went to school, and a lot about his hockey life. I also was the only person who knew his biggest secret. “Well, I had to research you for my job before last night’s game. I can give you my basic story.”

He rubbed his temple with a forefinger, eyes closed. Yep, hungover, still feeling like crap. He did have a lot to take in, but I wasn’t sure how much he could keep in his memory banks at the moment.

“Have you taken painkillers?”

His eyes shot open. “Like, illegal ones?”

“No, for your hangover.”

“Yeah, Luke gave me something.” I must have looked questioning. “My roommate. He plays D for the Inferno. My phone died last night, so he had to wake me up and give me the news.”

Right . We needed someplace with privacy while we caught up on each other’s life stories. He had a roommate and so did I. This office was our safe space for now.

“We need to do this, but you also need food and beverages. I’ll bring something here. I’m going to email you some info on me you can look at till I come back. And tonight we’re going on a date.”

It was a good thing this was fake, because Braydon looked like he’d swallowed battery acid again. And when someone was dating me for real? That was not the look I got.