Chapter 12

Delia's mouthwas dry by the time they pulled up to Jack's hotel. She was coming down from a mountain of hypochondriac-ish thoughts after searching through articles about the benefits of corticosteroids. Even though she didn't have an inhaler, dry mouth had been listed as a complication, and a part of her was positive her cotton mouth was a symptom of something related. Hashtag worth it since she'd stumbled upon an article stating that chronic inflammation could be as damaging as drugs. Which she'd promptly forwarded to her mother.

Delia grabbed a bottled water from the side door of the car and snuck a drink before the driver pulled to a stop in the circular drop-off zone. No waiting fans. That was a relief.

"Looks like they haven't figured out you're staying here. Bets on how long that will last?" Mary winked. "Thanks, you guys. I'm so sorry I didn't bring a separate car."

"It's almost like you've never been a manager for anyone before." Delia laughed at Mary's expression and squeezed her friend's knee. "I'm kidding, Mary! I'd way rather have you working with me than somebody who's been in the business for twenty years. You still have light in your soul."

Delia met Mary in Vancouver at a music festival back in 2019 before the shutdown, and since they were both living in Toronto at the time, they'd gotten together when they were back in town. Mary had been working for some band from small-town Alberta that broke up a week after the festival because one of their guitarists had to go into rehab.

Mary grinned. "I'm fooling everyone, then." Mary had signed on with her during COVID when Delia dove headlong into social media music creation. It wasn't anything official, Mary had simply started promoting her for fun. Delia kept going to Mary for answers to her music industry questions and sending her coffee money through PayPal as thanks. When her actual agent had been less than impressive during her contract negotiations with IndieLake, she'd asked Mary to be her official manager. So far, Mary had been outstanding.

Delia blew Mary a kiss and slid down the leather seat as Jack pushed out of the car. She trailed him through the glass doors, then through the lobby to the elevators. There weren't many people checking in, but a few of the workers did double takes.

The whole thing felt like some cosmic experiment she'd been thrown into and was directly benefiting from. It made her watch herself from two different angles. Inside and out. Will they notice me here? Will they love my music if it sounds like this? Will they know me in this province? Do they recognize me outside of Canada?

It was like having a split persona. She had an insatiable drive to be a household name, to blast her music to the stratosphere, but also wished she could do it anonymously. Delia wanted a "fame" switch that she could turn on and off when it suited her, and that was likely the most spoiled, entitled thought she'd ever had. She kept it to herself as she and Jack stepped into an open elevator.

Jack hit the number twelve, and that's when it hit her that she was going with him alone to his hotel room. The car ride from the café and then the walk from the car to the elevator was the only alone time they'd ever had, and they'd still had a driver present. Inside the room, it would be just the two of them.

Delia's heartbeat pulsed in her armpits, and she unzipped the front of her coat. Just as the doors were about to close, someone stuck their hand through. "Ooh! Sorry, do you mind?" A plump woman who looked like a stay-at-home mom who'd gotten her first taste of freedom with hair appointments and shopping trips lumbered into the elevator dragging two monstrous designer suitcases.

"No problem. What floor?" Jack asked.

"Ten. Thank you . . ." The woman trailed off as she registered Jack's face. She worked to catch her breath. "Oh you are more handsome in person. And tall. And . . . big."

Jack chuckled. "Thank you, I think?"

The woman's eyes lit up. "My daughter is a dancer for the Stampeders, did you know that?"

Delia pursed her lips, watching the scene play out with someone else for once. It was so much more fun being on the sidelines.

"Sounds like a dream job." Jack leaned against the wall, and Delia grinned. Did he not see where she was going with that or was he trying to act daft?

The woman pressed on. "Oh, yes. She auditioned twice and finally got it. She's gorgeous—long blonde hair and green eyes—and shockingly flexible."

Jack kept his expression serious, and it made the whole thing even more hilarious. "You'd have to be. Those routines are demanding."

Delia couldn't do it anymore. She turned to hide her smile. Demanding? The elevator dinged and the woman tried to beat her bags into submission so she could exit onto her floor.

"Here, let me help." Jack grabbed one of the suitcases and hoisted it over the other, then reached for the second one and dragged it out onto the blue swirled carpet.

"Well, aren't you just the sweetest." The woman stopped between the doors with arms out like a bouncer, blocking Jack's path back to the elevator. "Can I give you Allison's number? I have to tell you, she's talked about you—well, she and her friends talk about you all the time. Hoping they'll run into you at the bar in Calgary or something. They see other Blizzard players there sometimes."

Jack smiled like he was meeting his girlfriend's parents on grad night. "Well, maybe we'll run into each other?—"

"Let me give you her number and maybe—" The woman stopped as Delia tapped her arm.

"Ma'am, do you mind letting my boyfriend back onto the elevator?" She smiled sweetly as the buzzer on the elevator started to complain.

The woman's eyes widened. "Oh! I didn't even see you there." She turned back to Jack. "I'm sorry, you're dating someone?" she asked, like she couldn't believe he'd two-timed her Canadian-Football-League-dancing daughter.

"I am." Jack slipped past her outstretched arm to stand next to Delia again in the elevator. It was all instinct that sent Delia's arm around his waist. Jack was still in his coat, so it was like she was holding a marshmallow, but her heart still doubled its beats.

The woman watched in dismay as the doors closed, and once they started to move, Delia stepped away and dropped her arm. "Sorry, I?—"

"No. It was logistical." Jack smirked, parroting her words from earlier.

"Right." Delia nodded. Once she saw that Jack wasn't put off by her little show, she finally let out the laugh she'd been holding in. "Can you believe she just tried to set you up with her daughter? By telling you how flexible she was?" Jack raised an eyebrow, and Delia's laugh turned into a groan. "Right. Hockey player. You have irrational confidence."

Jack snorted. "What is that supposed to mean?"

The elevator doors opened on their floor, and Delia stepped out only to realize she didn't know which room they were heading to. She waited for him to take the lead. "It means you guys all believe the sun shines out your asses. Of course every mom would want their daughter to sleep with me."

"Please, tell me more." Jack walked past her and turned right. "And that was a terrible impression, by the way."

Delia ignored him. Her impressions were excellent. "Every hockey player I"ve ever met thought he was God"s gift to women, that"s all I"m saying."

Jack stopped in front of room 1228. "You sound a little jealous." He fished in his pocket for his key.

"Jealous? Uh, no. Annoyed, maybe? Here are all these attractive men who aren't emotionally available because they've had boobs in their faces since high school. Maybe if women ignored their thirst for men in uniforms or their twisted biological propensity for latching onto anything resembling toxic masculinity—" She stopped, realizing that Jack was leaning against the doorframe, watching her. The walls pressed a little too close.

"No, please. Tell me how you really feel."

Delia pursed her lips. "I think I'm done."

"Are you?" Jack smirked. Delia nodded, then glanced down at the key in his hand. He swiped it over the door handle.

As the door clicked open, any remaining thoughts jumbled together and lodged in her throat. She was going into a hotel room with Jack Harrison. Her fake boyfriend whom she'd just touched in the elevator because she didn"t want some mom to set him up. Maybe he wanted to be set up with a CFL dancer, had she considered that? This wasn"t a real relationship, and she"d prevented him from meeting some woman who was apparently quite flexible.

She on the other hand was not flexible, not even after doing pilates and yoga in her living room twice a week for the last month. She"d pulled a hamstring trying to lower her heels in downward dog, and it still wasn"t fully functional. Then she'd berated him for liking boobs and?—

"Delia?"

"Hmm?"

Jack waited, holding the door open for her. Delia clenched her hands and walked through.

"Have you ever dated a hockey player?" he asked, shrugging off his coat.

"Uh, no."

He threw his coat over the back of the armchair. "Well, there's your problem."

Delia gave him a skeptical look. "I don't need to have firsthand experience with a hammer to know it pounds nails."

Jack leaned on the kitchenette counter, and Delia took in the space. It wasn't just a regular hotel room, there was a living area and separate bedroom. A T-shirt and possibly a pair of boxers sat rumpled on the couch. "Okay. Maybe I am a little jealous."

"Of which part?"

"Of that." Delia pointed at the clothes. "Of the fact that you had no hesitation inviting someone over to your hotel room even though you knew it wasn"t perfectly clean."

"It needs to be clean?" Jack took a step toward the couch, but Delia stopped him.

"No, it doesn"t need to be clean. That"s the point." She took off her coat and dropped it next to his. "But I"d have thought about it for a solid few minutes, trying to figure out whether it would make me look like a slob if someone else saw my clothes out. Then I"d worry about what we"d do once we got there and how I could be a good host so whoever I was inviting wouldn"t be bored, or worse, think I was boring.

"I would've thought about snacks, whether it smelled funny, or if it was a guy I was interested in, all of that would be multiplied by ten because I"d also be wondering what his expectations were or whether he"d find me attractive—" Delia stopped, realizing Jack hadn't moved. She bit her lip. "You just get to give out hotel invitations willy-nilly. And get asked in an elevator if you want to sleep with flexible girls. So. That was all information you probably never wanted to know."

Jack shifted on his feet. "You go through all of that anytime you invite someone over?"

Delia swallowed. "Yeah. So that"s what I"m jealous of. It would be really nice to only think,"Of course he"s into me, why wouldn"t he be?" or "My house is great as it is, take it or leave it.""

Jack considered her for a moment, then strode forward. His arm brushed hers as he passed, and the hairs there stood at attention. "It"s not that we don"t worry, or at least I do. We"ve just had a lot of practise pretending like nothing ruffles us. It"s necessary on the ice. And in the dressing room." He picked up his boxers and shirt and tossed them through the open door to his bedroom.

"You didn"t need to do that."

Jack sat down on the couch. "Just give me a sec. I"m thinking of options for how to keep you from getting bored."

Delia groaned. "And I"m never going to let my inside thoughts out again."

"Doubtful. I'm at three for three." Delia's cheeks warmed. He'd been counting? Jack looked up. "I"m kidding. I like your inside thoughts."

"I don't think our contract stipulates you have to lie to protect my feelings."

A smile spread across Jack's lips, and it was like the sun peeked out through the clouds. Had she noticed how long and thick his lashes were? Had she seen those smile lines at the corners of his eyes?

He looked away and grabbed the remote. "I already had a boredom plan, by the way."

"Which was?"

"We go down to the concierge lounge and get snacks and then watch a movie." Delia winced, and Jack held up a hand. "I have an extra toothbrush in the washroom. I forgot mine, and when I phoned the front desk last night, they sent up two."

She opened her mouth but nothing came out. How had he known what she was thinking? Her mind buzzed with an explanation. She"d talked about it when they"d eaten together in Calgary, but hadn't said anything that morning, had she? "You must think I"m crazy."

"A little. But I"m the one who rubs his hockey stick three times on both sides before a game, so . . ."

"Is that a euphemism?"

Jack laughed and stood. "Let"s go make your teeth fuzzy."

_____

Delia popped a mini quiche into her mouth and pulled the blanket higher on her legs. "This is so classic. Every Bond girl is like that, and you know she"s going to die. Like, how did the Hero"s Journey even become popular? It"s all about some macho guy losing everything he"s ever loved and being so strong he can live a life of isolation and sadness. How is that a fun story?"

Jack broke a chocolate chip cookie in half. "Probably because he saved the world. It"s the price he has to pay."

"So he can"t save the world and have a healthy relationship?"

"They kill anyone he's with, so why waste time on a relationship?"

Delia scoffed. "So you think he knows those women are going to die? He just has to hurry and bang them first?"

Jack shrugged. "I mean, saving the world is stressful. Gotta blow off some steam. Plus, if you knew you were about to die, wouldn't you like to go out with a bang?"

Delia snorted. "So he's doing them the favour?"

"God's gift to women, right?"

Delia was about to launch into another diatribe, but her phone buzzed and she hunted for it underneath the blanket. She grazed Jack's hand and jumped. "Sorry."

Jack didn't say anything, but her fingertips burned as she finally located her phone between the seat cushions. It was Mary. Delia checked the time. Had it already been two hours? Yeesh. Almost three. She answered. "Hey, are you all done with tea?"

"Yes, it was perfect. The egg salad sandwiches were the winners. Thank you again so much for being willing to put your day on hold so I could do this."

Delia looked up to see double-oh-seven double-oh-doing it on the counter of his washroom. She rolled her eyes extra dramatically so Jack wouldn"t miss it. He laughed, and she couldn't keep from grinning. "It was totally fine. Jack and I are watching old movies."

Mary was silent for a beat. "What kind of old movies?"

"We watched the last half of ‘Sleepless in Seattle' and now we"re onto one of the Bond movies with that British guy."

Mary laughed. "They"re all British guys, Dels."

"Yeah, but you know the one."

"Pierce Brosnan?"

Delia laughed. "Yes, see? Perfect description."

"She got Brosnan off of "that British guy?"" Jack shook his head and reached for a can of Coke.

"Is that Jack?" Mary asked.

Delia pulled off the blanket and stood, then walked past Jack to the washroom so she could brush her teeth. Again. "Are you here? Should I get my coat and come down?" She turned the phone on speaker and used some of Jack"s toothpaste. It was straight peppermint. Different than her typical, but she liked it.

"Is that water running? Are you on the toilet?"

Delia shoved the toothbrush into her mouth and scrubbed. "No, just brushing my teeth."

"You"re using Jack"s toothbrush? What the hell, Delia?"

Delia laughed and sprayed a bit of toothpaste on the mirror. "No! He had an extra!"

"I don't even know who you are right now."

Delia finished and rinsed her mouth and the toothbrush, then used a square of toilet paper to clean off the mirror. "He had an extra toothbrush from the front desk." Another silence. "Mary, are you still?—"

"Yeah, I"m here. Like, on the phone but also at the hotel. I"m just at the roundabout where I dropped you off."

"Okay, I"ll be down in a sec." Delia ended the call and slipped her phone into her back pocket, then walked back into the living room.

Jack craned his neck. "You missed it. She"s already dead."

Delia laughed. "Damn it, I was hoping for one more non-committal lay."

"Title of your sex tape." Jack looked up with an almost repentant look, but couldn"t quite get the corners of his mouth to lay flat. Delia almost succeeded in convincing him she was offended, but couldn"t keep the laugh from bursting out of her. She reached for her coat but hesitated with it in her hands.

"Mary"s here?" Jack asked.

Delia nodded. "Thanks for letting me crash."

Jack sat straighter on the couch. "What are fake boyfriends for?"

Delia twisted the coat around so she could find the arm holes. "Your flight leaves early?"

Jack nodded. "I have meetings in the morning."

"With your team?"

He shook his head. "No, for my actual job."

Delia frowned. "Wait, your actual job?"

He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. There was just enough light filtering in through the closed curtains to make the motion look almost erotic. Delia looked down at her coat even though she already had a finger on the zipper.

"I do product distribution and development for a snowboarding company," Jack said. "I have no idea if I"ll last through this season with the Blizzard, let alone next, so I"m doing double duty."

"Double-oh-duty," Delia murmured, and Jack"s brow pulled together.

"What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing." Delia pursed her lips. "So you"ll just be hanging out, getting some sleep tonight?"

Jack nodded. "I was thinking about reaching out to some friends while I was here, but I realized anyone I would want to see isn"t around anymore. It"s been a few years."

A banner popped up on Delia"s phone. Mary was texting, but she ignored it. Her arms were jittery. "Do you—I don"t want to be presumptuous, but do you mind if I stay and finish the movie?" Her heart pounded like a gavel. What if Jack was waiting for her to leave so he could be alone? Or maybe he hated that movie and didn"t want to watch the ending?

Jack leaned over his knees. "Yeah, of course. I mean, no, I don"t mind, but is Mary?—"

"I was going to invite her up." Delia started typing. "I think we pay the same for the car service today no matter how long we have it. So maybe she could join us for a bit? She wanted to go out for dinner, but I kind of . . . I don"t know. I don"t feel like going out right now. Maybe we could order pizza or something."

"I was going to order from One Night Only. It"s been forever since I"ve had their pies."

Delia sent the text, and Mary responded instantly.

You want . . . to keep hanging out with Jack?

No, he"s just by himself. He was thinking of ordering pizza, so I thought we could keep him company

She left out the part about her asking to stay before she knew he didn't have plans and wanted to order pizza.

Mary

Since when do you want to keep people company?

If you don"t want to, it"s fine. I can come down

Is this because he got you a toothbrush?

MARY

I"m coming up. Chill. What room?

Delia gave her the information and was about to put her phone away when she saw one last text come through.

I know you"re trying to be nice, but he"s not your boyfriend, Dels

Shame washed over her. Deep down, she knew she didn't care how Bond ended.

Well aware, thanks

Delia clicked off her phone and slid it into her back pocket, then set her coat back on the chair.

"She"s coming up?" Jack kicked his feet up on the coffee table.

He could sit there like nothing was amiss. Like it was normal for a girl to choose to stay here rather than make other plans. Jealous. Delia nodded. "Yep."

"Everything okay?"

Delia smiled tightly and took off her coat. "Mmhmm."

"I"m glad you"re staying," Jack said, and Delia looked up. "One Night Only has a better deal on full pizzas and I wanted two flavours, but I definitely can"t eat two pizzas by myself."

Delia's heart dropped as she walked back to the couch. "Have you ever tried to eat two?"

"Once. Didn"t end well."

Delia sat down in her spot and picked up her glass of water. "Pictures or it didn"t happen."

_____

At just after midnight, Delia yawned, waved to Mary on the curb, then walked in her front door. There weren"t people parked outside her gated neighbourhood, probably because of the hour. Also possibly because the paparazzi were all at the hotel when she and Mary left Jack"s room. They hadn"t intended to watch a second Bond movie and then play beer pong after eating enough of those two pizzas that Delia was already gassy, but it was what the night had demanded.

Jack was cool. Just like the first night they met, it seemed impossible to have a filter with him. She couldn't help but blurt out what she was thinking, and somehow he didn"t think it was weird or off-putting. Or if he did, he was excellent at not letting it show on his face. We've just had a lot of practise pretending nothing ruffles us.

Earlier, Delia admitted she didn"t love watching hockey, but she hadn"t thought twice about it since Jack had already admitted he didn"t listen to song lyrics and wasn't a fan of her music. Maybe he still wasn't? Maybe he wasn't a fan of her?

Maybe he was just pretending. Getting a kick out of her. Texting his teammates about the ridiculous things she said.

A rock settled in her stomach as she hung her coat and took off her shoes. No. It didn't track. She"d seen his face during the recording session that afternoon. She"d tried not to look at him so she wouldn't get distracted, but she couldn"t help it. Even through the tinted glass, she saw him sitting off to the side watching her. His brow had been furrowed, not in anger, but in concentration. Like he needed to make sense of it. Make sense of her.

He liked her singing. She knew it like she knew what word should come next in a poem. And he'd been the one to invite her to the hotel. Maybe it was so he could mock her in private, but she was going to try and erase that possibility so she could sleep at night.

Delia shivered as she walked into the kitchen and set her bag on the chair, then filled the tea kettle with water. The idea of eating anything after all that pizza made her want to die, but some lemon tea sounded like just the thing before bed.

She thought about asking her mom if she wanted anything, then realized she would"ve left over an hour ago for her night shift. Not much longer.

Every time she thought about how her mother had kept food on their table and a roof over their heads for twenty-five years, solo, her commitment redoubled. Her mother had made whatever sacrifices she needed to to get Delia lessons or opportunities in summer music camps. Now it was she who needed help, and Delia would give whatever it took to get her healthy.

Singing and performing didn"t feel anywhere close to the same level of sacrifice her mother had made, but recording IndieLake's music did require her to give something of herself. Would she have signed with them had she not needed that advance? Could she have taken her time and worked her way up with her own songs? Maybe. But maybe not. It really didn"t matter at that point.

The teapot started to whistle, and just as Delia was about to take it off the heat, her phone buzzed on the table. Her heart leaped, and she only realized she was hoping it was Jack when she saw Tony"s name at the top of her screen.

"You know it"s after midnight, right?"

Tony exhaled. "I was planning to leave you a message. I didn"t expect you to pick up, I was just too lazy to type everything out."

Delia pinned the phone between her shoulder and ear and walked back to the stove to make her tea. "What"s going on?"

"Well, first of all, you and Jack are absolutely killing it with your public appearances. Kels sent me a picture of him wrapping you in his arms and walking you into the recording studio. Insert awwws heard around the world."

Delia grinned, then tried to sound nonchalant as she said, "That"s already up?"

"Definitely. Oh, and I also found a TikTok from someone working at the Radisson. They saw you two walk in together and head to the elevators."

Delia poured the hot water into a mug. "Right, that was an extra bonus we thought we"d throw in." It had been all strategy.

"I heard about the media frenzy at the recording studio and at the hotel when you left, but Delia, you were there till midnight?"

Delia sensed the judgment in his tone. "Mary was there, too. We were hanging out and eating pizza."

"But you didn"t have to spend more time with him, you know that, right? Your contract only stipulates?—"

"I know, Tony. I was being nice. He was all alone for the night." Delia ripped open the tea bag and plopped it in the mug, then threw out the paper wrapping. "Is this why you phoned? To make sure I understood the contract?"

Tony blew out a breath. "No, though I"m glad we hit on that. I wanted to leave you a message about two things. First, I got you a spot on ‘Late Night with Ken Massey.' Films there in the city, so it's easy enough to get to for tomorrow night."

Delia froze. "Tomorrow?"

"Breathe, I'm not finished. I also heard back from Ethan on that collaboration."

Delia wrapped her hands around her mug. "And?"

"He's in. But, he doesn't want to work together online. I told him that was perfect because . . . you're moving to Calgary for a bit anyway."

"What?" Delia nearly sloshed hot water onto her jeans.

"Think about it, Delia. Your popularity is skyrocketing, and every time you and Jack are seen together, we reach a new shelf. Plus, it might be good for you to be seen supporting him in his endeavours."

Her head spun. A late-night appearance. A collab with Ethan. Moving to Calgary? "Does Jack know?"

It sounded like Tony was rubbing his eyes. "No, I'm working with the Blizzard's marketing lead on this. It's a win-win. They're hitting him with a bunch of media opportunities which will compliment our efforts."

What about her mom? Delia was already running the logistics of leaving her home. She'd have to talk to Finn. See if they needed any retakes before she left, and what about her mom? "How long would I be there for?"

"Just until the NHL playoffs are over. Maybe a little less if the Blizzard are knocked out early. At which point you and Jack will publicly break up, and you'll start your promo for the album."

Delia blew on her drink and inhaled the scent of peppermint. "And Mary?" She scrambled for anything to talk about until she could come up with an appropriate ask. She couldn't leave her mom there working by herself. She needed someone to at least check in on her, and that was the bare minimum.

"Mary will come with you. We already have our eyes on a bed and breakfast on the north side of town."

"Okay. Okay." Delia blew out a breath. "Tony, we'll need to hire someone here at the house. Someone to grocery shop and clean once a week."

"That's money, Delia."

"I know. But it's not optional if I'm leaving." Delia bit the inside of her cheek. She could post more on socials. Get more pics out and about. With the collaboration official, Ethan's audience could be tapped as well.

"Fine, have Mary set it up. We still have a few logistics to work out. I was thinking you could wait until tomorrow night to shout this turn of events from the rooftops. Preferably on national TV."