Page 11 of Puck Love

“Rossman’s camp partner is Jake,” Denny intercepted.

Silence.

I grimaced. “Well, switch it.”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean? It hasn’t even happened yet. Of course you can.”

He sucked in a deep breath and exhaled theatrically. “Look, this is a publicity event too. Jake and I have the same agent…Gary McDermott, who has been trying to get a hold of your agent and?—”

“Why?”

“Because you and Jake at the same fund raiser with the kids and parents is nice and all, but putting you together to survive in the forest gives your feud a charitable edge. It’s good for Elmwood, good for the camp, good for the NHL, and maybe good for your careers.”

I was speechless. I sat with my mouth open for a full minute before shaking my head.

“Are you kidding? He’ll kill me. Or I’ll kill him. How is that good for the league?”

Denny shrugged. “Hey, this isn’t my idea. But…it’s sort of my fault that it snowballed into a media circus.”

“How? What did you do?”

He bit his lower lip sheepishly. “Vinnie told me about Rossman, and I suggested you. I didn’t realize he was paired with Jake. Vinnie laughed and said it would be a bloodbath. And great for business. He contacted McD, who’s his old agent too…and the rest is history. I’m here to give you the heads-up. Obviously, you can decline, but…McD will probably find a way to make that into a social media win for Jake. I’m assuming your agent will agree that it’s a good move too. Talk to him, and let me know what you decide.”

I rubbed my hand over my scruffy jaw.

“Bonding with the enemy for publicity. This is like a bad episode ofSurvivorin the making.”

Denny quirked a brow. “If it’s a hard pass for you, I can make some calls and find a replacement.”

“Yeah, right.” I snorted derisively. “I get the impression I don’t have much of a choice.”

“You started this, dumbshit. You’re Mr. Hashtag Shiny Jacket,” he huffed, chuckling when I flipped him off. “C’mon,seventy-two hours in Elmwood isn’t so bad. You love Elmwood. And there are some good perks…Grams will make you pancakes, JC said he’d throw in complementary poutine whenever you want it, and I’ll hook you up with a private jet in and out of Burlington.”

“Grrr.”

Denny squeezed my shoulder and straightened. “I really had no clue this was a powder-keg situation. Sorry it blew up so fast. I can work on an alternate, but just…think about it and let me know soon. We’re running out of time.”

I sighed heavily. “I’ll talk to Marty.”

“Cool.”

“Hmph. If I magically end up in Elmwood this weekend, I’m gonna need stacks on stacks of pancakes and poutine out the wazoo.”

He chuckled. “That can be arranged. Thanks, Mase.”

Damn, Mellon only called me by my first name when he was at his most serious and sincere. My slight nod of acknowledgment might as well have been a loud “Okay, asshole, I’m in,” but I figured I deserved a few minutes to brood about camping with the enemy.

Talk about a head-spinner. An hour ago I’d been celebrating my Jake Milligan takedown and now…we were going to be camping buddies.Fuck. The only thing that made this wacky idea seem marginally palatable was knowing Jake would hate this a thousand times more.

Maybe a million times more.

I grinned. Good. I could work with that.

3

JAKE