Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

JACOB

T wo hours later, Sloan leaned back against me like she’d always been doing as I sat on a tall barstool, going back and forth with Ethan and one of her cousins about the last game I’d played.

The one where I added another shutout to my tally.

“The pipes saved your ass,” Ethan said. He raised his beer and pointed it at me. “And if LeCavalier was in the net, he wouldn't need them.”

I scoffed. “That’s because he relies on his line.”

“Don’t go knocking our goalie just because your line isn’t as good,” he said with a laugh, teasing more than meaning it for real. “Too bad we got Sunders in that trade. Come to the other side, Hale. If Sloan’s going to date you, the least you could do is make it so the family isn’t ashamed.”

“Okay, enough. Don’t make me get Annie over here to rein you in,” Sloan said as she leaned back against me.

As much as I knew this was all fake, getting ribbed by her brother and enjoying holiday for once felt…right. More than right. The last few hours, I watched as Sloan let herself enjoy the ribbing and even joined in even though she claimed to hate hockey. Her laughter ingrained in my mind forever, sexy and free. The worries she had about her family were more about letting them down in some silly way than rooted in truth.

Even not her not having a job seemed to not be a big deal, though Hannah ran through a ridiculous number of dream jobs. Like male romance cover wrangler or Christmas cookie taster and even social media manager for the most hated yet loved goalie by the Michaels.

The last one had me wondering what it would be like to keep Sloan by my side for longer than just a few hours.

Then my phone vibrated in my back pocket, Sloan stepped forward so I could check it.

JJ: Daddy, we are done but I saved you a cookie!

And reality made its appearance, reminding me that this wasn’t real.

“Everything ok?” Sloan asked, eyes filled with concern.

I nodded. “Yeah, but I-”

“Have to leave,” she said wistfully, coming in closer to whisper in my ear. “Thank you, hockey boy.” She squeezed my upper thigh, and fuck if it didn’t hit me that this might be the last time I see this girl.

“Give me your phone.”

Her brows drew together. “Why?”

“Humor me.”

Sloan reached behind me to where she had set it earlier. Annie watched, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Phone, as requested.”

I held it up, and snapped a selfie as I pulled her against my body and nuzzled her cheek.. “Send it to me. I want to remember this day. No matter what the future brings.”

A second later, my phone pinged, and I saved her in my contacts. I leaned in closer, hating that I had to leave, but at the same time, knowing it was my little girl I was going to was everything. “And now you will always remember the day you stopped worrying about enough for the people who love you.”

I said my goodbyes, betting hugs from her mom and grandma, Hannah, Annie, and her cousin that held in a little longer until Sloan pulled her off me. Sloan walked me to the door and handed me my jacket.

“Thank you, Jacob. For…everything.”

“Hey, look up! One last one for the road,” Annie called from the kitchen as she peaked her head out, pointing over our heads.

Mistletoe .

“One last kiss?” I asked.

Sloan’s cheeks pinked, and fuck I wanted to kiss her so badly.

“Yes, please.”

Right before my lips touched hers, I murmured, “And now you have my number if you ever need me, Sloan.”

“I should’ve known you had a plan, hockey boy.”

Then I kissed the girl I never saw coming, and hated to see her face as I left her behind.

Three weeks later…

“Letty’s nice, but I like when you’re here, too,” Josie said as she bounced at the table. Letty, the nanny the Revenge HR department helped me find, laughed as she gathered the dishes and cleared the table. “We both agreed you tell better jokes.” Her eyes widened, red curls flying as she looked at the older woman. “But I do like you, Letty, promise!”

“Oh sweetheart, I know. But yes, your daddy tells better jokes.” She hid her mouth behind her hand with a wink. “Even if they’re dad jokes.”

“I can clean this up,” I protested.

“Nonsense. Now, go and get ready for your game, Mr. Hale. And Miss Josie and I will figure out what she’s going to wear tonight so we can cheer and eat all the soft pretzels.”

Josie sighed. “I do love pretzels, Daddy. Especially when you’re in the box.”

Three weeks of having Josie with me, two since Mary and Hal went back to Colorado. They FaceTimed with Josie every night, and had helped me interview the nannies. Mary and Letty hit it off right away, and I trusted Mary to know more than I did about what Josie would need. Letty watched Josie during practice and my games. When I bought the house this summer, I had a gym outfitted so that I could do my workouts at home when I could.

“And we’re going to see my puppy with Miss Corey before the game, Daddy!” Her eyes lit up, and made a mental note to thank Oliver again for taking the little rascal and letting Josie see him. “Oliver said I could still call him mine, but he thanked me for sharing so good. I made good choices. And Miss Corey said she’d make sure I could do the family skate without falling on my bottom-”

“Josie! That’s a secret!” Letty laughed.

The day after Christmas, the Revenge planned a family skate at the arena and Letty had hinted that Josie had something special planned.

Six-year-olds were notoriously bad at keeping secrets, she said, and wanted to make sure I was ok with her learning how to skate.

The ache in my chest bloomed into the Grinch’s heart growing when I thought about taking my little girl out on the ice. Last season, I hadn’t told anyone about Josie until I knew what the future looked like for the two of us. But when I finally told the guys and the organization, the support floored me. And now, over half a year later, my little girl sat in the kitchen going on and on about which jersey she was going to wear because Sophia and Coach sent over a slew of them. I blame Sophia, the girl I had thought was the one for about a split second before I found out Coach was the guy for her. Once Josie said she liked the cropped Venge Hype Team hoodie she wore one day, Sophia had her named an honorary member. And now JoJo’s closet was filled with what seems like a thousand variations.

“Didn’t hear a thing,” I laughed as I stood and planted a kiss on her head. “Time to get ready, JoJo.”

“Kiss the pipes for me, Daddy,” she beamed as I ruffled her hair.

“On it.”

“You keep getting shutouts, and that girl’s family might switch teams,” Kas teased. “And who knows, maybe it won't be so fake , after all.”

I scrubbed a hand over my face as I sat down after the game. A hot shower soothed the spots the fucking puck had flew into me like a missile, but even so, I was high not just on the shutout, but from seeing Josie cheering behind the glass with Letty and Sophia. And when Sophia took Josie out on the ice between periods, I hid in the hallway to watch as Corey helped my little girl teeter on her new skates. She thought I didn’t know Hal had bought her as an early Christmas present.

Cutest thing ever.

Sloan texted me a few days after Thanksgiving, thanking me again, and once more after we beat Montreal to let me know Ethan had told her I deserved the win, even if Sunders had scored on me.

Sloan: Even a hockey hater like me found that butterfly hot.

GOALIE: You know what it’s called? Impressive.

Sloan: Annie told me while Ethan feigned outrage. It was loud, but kinda fun for the first time in my life.

GOALIE: If I knew you were watching, I’d have given you a secret signal.

Sloan: I told Ethan when you kissed the posts that you were kissing me.

GOALIE: Now that’s all I’ll think of…kissing you. Definitely better than the pipes.

Fuck .

I glanced at the Revenge Captain, and sat back as the rest of the guys finished removing their equipment. “Not happening. Fake dating means no feelings.”

He snorted. “Keep lying to yourself. But if she’s suddenly watching a sport she claims to hate and texting you? There’s feelings, Hale.”

Letty ended up taking Josie home after popping into the family area so my girl could give me a sleepy hug.

“I think the between periods skate wore her out. She was trying so hard to not fall so you’ll be impressed,” she whispered over Josie’s red curls as her eyes fluttered shut.

“I should only be a few minutes behind you,” I grinned and kissed the top of my daughter’s head. “Sweet dreams, JoJo.”

I slung my gym bag in the passenger seat of my SUV, adjusted the mirror, and stuck my phone in the holder just as it pinged.

Sloan: Emergency fake boyfriend situation. Can you talk?”

Hell. Yes. I started the engine, my dick already excited at the prospect of hearing Sloan’s voice.

I hit the call button, and she picked up before it even rang.

“You can absolutely say no, because I can pretend we had a big blow out or something, but my mom told Ethan and Annie you were coming to town from Mary, and they asked if you were coming over for Christmas Eve because Hal and Mary do Christmas morning and you’d be free and then Hannah butted in and I might've said we were getting serious because she teased me about watching your games and-”

“Woah there, Sloan, take a breath.”

“This was a bad idea, never mind, I’ll just say we had a fight and then figure out how to hide all night,” she said, her voice raising an octave.

“Yes.”

Shit . Did I just agree to go to Sloan’s family’s Christmas Eve?

“Wait, what?”

“Yes, I am coming to Archer and I’m visiting Mary and Hal. And yes, I’d love to fulfill my fake boyfriend duties again on Christmas Eve. They have plans that day, anyway, and I was going to find a way to occupy myself, so…”

“We can totally break-up after and I promise I won’t bug you ever again.”

Oh hell, no. I wanted her to bug me.

And I wanted to kiss her again. Along with other naughty things that would land a fuckton of coal in my stocking. “Sloan, breathe. Let’s take this one fake date at a time, okay?”

After we solidified times and places, her grandparents' place again, she sighed. Sexy and sleepy, as if she’d worn herself out and the adrenaline had worn off. “I feel like I am always saying this to you, but thank you, Jacob. I owe you.”

“I’ll take a kiss if you really feel like paying me back.”

“Don’t tempt me, lumbersnack.”

“Lumbersnack?”

“Did I say that out loud?”

“Oh, you did. Better hide the mistletoe, Sloan.”

“Who needs mistletoe? Oh God, I just did it again, didn’t I?”

“Oh, yeah. And you’re definitely landing on the naughty list.”

“So worth it,” she laughed.