Page 14 of Puck Love

No…no way.

No fucking way.

Vinnie squeezed my right arm. “Hear me out, Jake. I?—”

“This is a joke, right?” I scrubbed my jaw, gritting my teeth as Mason Trinsky high-fived his way into the diner, stopping to sign a napkin and chat with Mr. and Mrs. Cabot, an octogenarian couple who lived across the street from my dad’s real estate office.

I listened with half an ear to Vinnie and McD yammering about algorithms, social media frenzies, and contracts while I observed the smug jerkwad holding court like a fucking rock god.

Trinsky oozed confidence with a good-natured, laid-back vibe. He was a favorite with Denver’s fans who were amused by his showmanship and cocky persona. He was popular withthe campers in the juniors program too. But I rarely interacted with Trinsky in Elmwood if I could help it. There were tons of campers and other hockey players around, and I wasn’t a glutton for punishment.

So…what the fuck was happening here?

This was my hometown, my turf, my safe space.

“Two rivals at a family camp fund raiser. ThinkAmazing Race. Can you see those headlines? It’s awesome, free publicity, and the timing couldn’t be sweeter. Be realistic, Jake,” McD pleaded. “You’re thirty-two going on thirty-three. Ticket sales have been down for two years. And that’s not all on you. Maybe you’re not Boston’s franchise anymore, but you’re still a high-profile star and an asset to the organization. They need you to be more visible, and this right here is a fucking softball. Hockey fans across the league will eat this up.”

“There’s got to be someone else,” I mumbled. “Anyone.”

“It’s forty-eight hours, man,” Vinnie cajoled. “You can do anything for two days.”

Could I?

I had doubts. Big doubts.

4

TRINSKY

If looks could kill, I’d be a dead man.

Right here, right now, on the floor with Xs for eyes.

Jake’s nostrils flared with barely concealed contempt that I met with an uber-congenial grin…’cause I knew it would piss him off. Maybe it wasn’t a bright move. If I was really going to be stuck with this tight-ass for a weekend, it might have been smarter to go the nonconfrontational route and maybe…just maybe…admit that my big mouth was responsible for our current “situation.”

But damn, I didn’t have it in me. Jake was snobby and too fucking perfect…a poster boy for the all-American sports hero. I wanted to wring his neck and?—

“No introductions needed here,” Vinnie said, flashing a friendly smile as I pulled up a chair, scooting as far from Jake as possible. “Let’s keep this short and sweet. We’ll meet the day after tomorrow at the rink. The plan is to head to the lake for a couple of early activities before hiking to the campsite. You’re with the Glandiche family—Dad, Grandpa, two fourteen-year-old twin brothers. I’ll email you the interest form they filled out, so you have a little background info.”

“Oh, and Ray Gilbert will join you too,” Ronnie added. “He’s that videographer who?—”

“Videographer?” Jake hissed.

“Yeah, the public will want in on the story, man.” McD spread his arms wide. “ESPN, Hockey Network,Peoplemagazine…No one knows about this yet. Ronnie and Vinnie don’t want the town overrun by curious fans just as camp is set to begin. And don’t worry about the campers. They aren’t allowed to bring their phones. All communication with the outside world is through the hockey-pro-slash-acting-counselors. You don’t have to worry about leaked conversation or unflattering videos. We’ll control the narrative.”

Vinnie tipped his chin to me. “I’m assuming you’re in since you’re here.”

Truthfully, I had a lot of questions. “Is this supposed to be entertaining? Is there a script or something? There must be. Otherwise, you’ll get a bunch of boring footage of some guys fishing. Sounds like a snooze fest.”

“The story is that you’re together. You don’t have to skinny dip or pick your nose on camera. We’ll have a few competitions, but nothing out of the ordinary. The point is to have fun.” McD’s cheerleader routine didn’t hit the mark.

At all. An awkward silence fell over the table.

Three long quiet seconds, four long quiet seconds, five long quiet seconds…

I didn’t want to be the first to speak. I’d shown up. That was my agreement. If Jake wasn’t on board…not my problem.

“Shoot, I didn’t realize it was getting late. I should go.” Ronnie waited for me to stand and gestured for me to take his place at the booth next to McD. “I told Mary-Kate I’d help her at the bookstore this afternoon. I’ll catch up with everyone tomorrow at the parade.”