Chapter 24

With all the excitement,Delia had completely forgotten about her second studio session. Thankfully, Mary had come into her room and reminded her. By the time she'd thrown on a better outfit—and reluctantly, a bra—Jack had already left.

She hadn't texted him on the way to the studio, figuring she'd already taken him away from work and the Blizzard enough for twenty-four hours.

But as her hands trembled getting out of the car, she regretted it. She had to face real people. Cameras.

She ignored the shouted questions from the paparazzi as she pushed through the entrance to the studio behind Mary, then tried to keep a smile on her face as she sat down next to Ethan Hayes. They were supposed to record vocals, and while Delia had run through things over the past week, all of it had evaporated like dew.

Ethan dragged a stool over and gave a small wave. "You ready for this?"

Delia nodded with as much conviction as she could muster, but she could tell by the look on Ethan"s face it was lackluster.

He studied her. "It"s been a shit day."

Delia blew out a breath. He knew. Of course he knew. The whole world knew, and?—

"Your boyfriend's a menace," Ethan said, and Delia frowned. He chuckled. "It"s a compliment. Means he has balls of steel."

"I can"t comment on that, but if you"re talking about his post, yeah. He"s badass." Delia"s chest warmed just thinking about Jack's face on the screen. The words that had come out of his mouth.

She glanced down at her tablet, scrolling through the lyrics they"d written down the last time they"d met. "You know . . . Ethan, do you mind if I change a few things?"

When Ethan gave her the go ahead, Delia started scribbling. She worked at the lyrics until they felt right. She wasn"t the same person she"d been when she initially wrote the song, and there was something cathartic about giving that fact space. Speaking from a new heart. One that had both been broken and opened up.

It was probably the fastest recording session she"d ever done. After a few re-records and adjustments with the backing track, she and Mary left the studio at two o"clock. Alvin accompanied them to the grocery store, and the timing was perfect. The only people there were old ladies who had no idea who she was or moms with kids who gave her a second glance, but were too busy trying to keep little hands from throwing Shreddies in the grocery cart to stop her in the aisle. She did take a picture with a couple as they waited for their groceries to be rung up.

They didn"t mention the video. She wouldn"t have expected them to, but it put her off kilter to stand in front of people who may have seen her fake-naked.

Had her mother gotten her voicemail yet? What was she going to think about all this?

Delia breathed.

She imagined Jack's arms around her.

She envisioned herself a year in the future, not even giving that video a second thought.

They drove home and faced the cameras waiting on the sidewalk, and after Alvin brought in the groceries, Mary followed Delia into the sunlit kitchen. It still smelled like the bacon Jack had cooked that morning, and her heart stuttered.

Delia unpacked, leaving out the ingredients she needed for dinner and putting the rest in the fridge while Mary tackled the pantry items. For a moment, all she heard was the rustle of paper bags, the clink of jars being set on shelves, and the soft thud of produce being placed in drawers in the fridge.

"So. Jack." Mary folded the paper bag in front of her. "His truck was here last night."

Delia"s cheeks warmed. "Yeah. We were at media training when I got the call from Tony. He didn"t want to leave me alone." Mary raised an eyebrow, but Delia didn"t let her respond. "Which begs the question, where were you last night?"

Mary"s eyes flitted to the living room. Delia frowned. Alvin was the only one in there sitting on the loveseat near the fireplace and typing something on his phone. "I went out for dinner."

"At seven thirty?" Delia hadn"t fallen asleep until at least eight, and she hadn"t heard the door open.

"There might"ve been some dancing."

Delia narrowed her eyes. "Have you been swiping right without telling me?"

Mary snorted. "No. Just out with friends."

"And then Alvin drove you home?"

Mary turned and pulled a glass from the cabinet. Delia got the hint. She didn"t want to talk about it, and Delia didn't have the energy to dig, so she put a pin in it.

"Want to help me dice veggies?" she asked.

"I"ve never wanted anything more." Mary filled her glass with water and took a drink. "Where are the cutting boards at?"

Delia laughed. "How long have we been here, and neither of us knows where the cutting boards are?" She turned and started opening cupboards. Once they"d found all the supplies, they stripped the produce bags off zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, and yellow squash. Delia washed the veggies and revelled in the cool water running over her fingers. She"d debated what to make for Clara, but eventually settled on a traditional French ratatouille, a recipe she"d always made with her mother. Clara might not need comfort food, but she sure as hell did.

Delia passed the zucchini to Mary and started peeling the eggplant.

"You deflected." Mary dropped the knife.

"Deflected what?"

"My question."

Delia ignored the impulse to snap that she'd done the exact same thing when she'd asked about Alvin. "About Jack? I told you, he?—"

"He stayed the night."

Delia couldn't keep the words out of her mouth any longer. "Alvin drove you home."

Mary"s eyes flicked up. She either had to give something up about the friends she was avoiding or let the whole thing go. Mary cleared her throat. "What did you two do all evening?"

Delia rotated the eggplant and slid the peeler from base to tip. "Had mind-blowing sex." Mary rolled her eyes, and Delia scoffed. "What did you think we were doing? I"d just found out there was a porno of me going viral. It didn"t exactly put me in the mood for anything besides pathetic weeping and curling up in the fetal position."

Mary exhaled. "Fair. I"m so sorry, Dels. I can"t even imagine. The second I heard, I came back, but your door was already closed."

Delia sighed. "It"s fine." Jack was there. She dropped the eggplant on the cutting board and started slicing. "I mean, it"s not fine, but I didn"t expect you to be sitting here at my beck and call. I"m glad you went out and had fun."

Mary scooted past yet another opportunity to give her insider information. "It"s incredible Tyler got it taken down."

"I know. I"m so grateful, it physically hurts. I feel guilty for every time I made fun of the computer nerds in high school."

Mary laughed. "You think Tyler was a computer nerd?"

Delia had to smile at that. If they searched the antonym for "nerd," Tyler"s beautiful face would probably be the Google generated response. Delia put the eggplant slices in a strainer, then sprinkled salt over the pale coins and set the strainer in the sink.

"You have a game to go to tonight?" Mary asked.

"Yep. Didn"t have a chance to talk about it with Jack in all the hubbub, but he told me last week I have a spot in their suite if I want it."

"It"s not one of your contracted public appearances?"

Delia licked her lips. "No."

"What about the media training?"

Delia reached out for the peppers. She shook her head.

Mary raised an eyebrow. Her knife went still. "So. Jack."

Blood rushed in her head, making her dizzy. "Mmhmm." Mary pursed her lips, fighting a smile. Delia"s brows pinched. "What?"

Mary shook her head, focusing hard on the zucchini in front of her. "Nothing."

_____

Two hours later, Delia stood on Clara"s porch dressed in khaki trousers and a white tank top layered under a patchwork sweater with baggy sleeves that hung mid-hip. It was Jack"s house, too. Something fizzed inside her at the thought of walking into his living space. She wondered if she could find an excuse to peek into his bedroom, then realized she was being creepy and banished the thought from her head. As best she could.

Clara opened the door, still in her scrubs. Her eyes widened, then she looked down and saw the casserole dish in Delia"s hands. "What"s this?" Clara pushed the storm door open.

"Jack didn"t tell you?"

Clara shook her head and moved to the side so Delia could step inside.

Delia handed her the dish. "This is for you. Dinner."

Clara"s jaw hung slack. "Seriously?" She took the dish and looked up. "You brought me dinner?"

"Technically, Jack brought you dinner. I owed him one and he asked me to drop it by."

Clara motioned for her to come inside, and Delia slipped off her shoes. "Are you going to his game tonight?"

"Yep. I"ll head over early. Get in the box before it gets crazy."

Clara set the dish on the counter. "Good. I"m glad he got you a private spot."

"Are you coming?"

Clara shook her head. "No, I'm exhausted. I'll probably be in bed by the time it starts."

Delia noted the shadows under her eyes. She slipped her hands in her back pockets and looked around the kitchen. It was clean and modern. "I love your place."

"Me too." She paused and pursed her lips. "Maybe a little too small, though."

"Well, you do have Jack taking up a room."

Clara conceded that point, then lifted the foil and lowered her head, taking a long whiff. "This smells amazing."

"You can dig in, I already ate with Mary at home. I made an extra pan for the two of us."

Clara didn"t take much convincing. She turned and pulled a low bowl from the shelf, then plucked a spatula from a ceramic holder and a fork from the drawer in front of her.

Delia didn't mean to notice, but when she lifted her arms, her stomach showed. Clara was thin, but her belly pushed well past the waistband of her scrubs. She blinked, then forced her eyes anywhere but on Clara's midsection as she approached.

Clara scooped a serving of the steaming ratatouille into her dish and blew on it. "This is so kind. I haven"t slept in thirty-six hours."

Delia scoffed. "That"s insane." Especially if she was in the condition she now suspected.

"That"s nursing. And I guess it's not totally true. I did take a couple of power naps." Clara took a bite and closed her eyes, humming in her throat. "So good. Thank you."

"You"re welcome."

Clara set down the bowl. "Do you want water or tea or something? I"m so sorry, I"m being a terrible host."

Delia shook her head, then jumped when her phone buzzed in her purse. She pulled it out and saw Tony"s name on the display. "Do you mind?" Clara waved her on, and Delia turned to answer the call. "Please don"t tell me you have more bad news."

Tony barked a laugh. "Nope. Amazing news. Where are you?"

"Just visiting a friend before the game. Mary and Alvin are in the car."

"Perfect. You need to go to the Saddledome now."

Delia frowned. "Why? We still have forty-five minutes?—"

"Not anymore. The children"s choir that was scheduled to sing the national anthem had a breakout of strep. Kels just texted and said you"re in."

Delia blinked. "What?"

"They want you to sing the national anthem for the game tonight. Both of them, actually. You know the Star Spangled Banner, right?"

Her hands started to buzz. "Yeah, I haven"t sung it in a while, but I"m sure?—"

"Great. Good luck, kid."

Good luck.Delia groaned. "We don"t say "good luck" Tony!" she hissed at the phone before putting it back in her purse. She turned to find Clara looking at her. "Sorry. I didn"t mean to say that out loud."

Clara swallowed the bite in her mouth. "I didn"t mean to eavesdrop."

"You heard?"

"He talks pretty loud."

Delia snorted. "Yeah. He does."

"You"re singing?"

Delia nodded. "Looks like it. I"m so sorry to drop food and run." Her heart fluttered in her throat, but surprisingly, her thoughts were still. If she could get through the past day and a half, she could get through two national anthems.

Clara set her bowl down and followed her to the door. "Do you need anything? Lemon water? Lip gloss?"

Delia exhaled. "Unless you can download the lyrics of The Star Spangled Banner into my head, I think I"m good."

Clara winced as Delia bent to slip on her shoes. "Yeah, can"t help with that one." When Delia stood, Clara stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. "You"ll be amazing." She pushed back and held onto her shoulders, stifling a yawn. "I"m really glad you"re fake dating my brother."

"I"m really glad you"re my fake sister-in . . . not-in-law. Now get some sleep." She wanted to force that woman into bed. After she had another two helpings of dinner.

Clara grinned and pulled her into another hug. "Break a leg."

_____

Delia adjusted the mic in her hand and looked up at the empty stands. The doors were set to open within the next fifteen minutes, which meant she didn"t have long to rehearse. Mary had drilled her on the anthems on the way over. She didn"t have time to make it fancy, and she would"ve preferred to bring her guitar.

As she waited for the accompaniment, it occurred to her that she was living her literal nightmare. Standing in a stadium naked. Not actually naked, but with thousands of people imagining her naked.

That video wasn"t you.Her mom had said that at least three times when they'd finally connected in the car on the way over. Delia told her about what Jack had posted, how she'd kissed him, and how she was singing at the game.

Why she'd worried what her mother would think, she had no idea. Her mom had barely paid attention to the news about the deep fake and had skipped right to the kiss. After skirting the line between embarrassing herself with Alvin in the front seat and satiating her mother's curiosity, Delia had ended the call.

The relief was as palpable as setting down a twenty kilogram backpack. She'd wanted to curl up in the back seat and weep. Instead, she'd clenched and released the muscles in her hands and feet, somehow managing to keep her tears from smearing mascara down her cheeks.

That video wasn"t you.Delia squeezed her eyes closed and lifted the mic to her lips as the music burst through the speakers. Singing felt like lifting the lid off a pot of boiling water. All her stress and tension faded behind the resonance of her voice in that vast open space.

When she was a kid, she"d made noise purely because she loved the physical sensation. The warmth in her throat. The gentle buzz in her jaw. It was comforting and fascinating. That she could expel air from her lungs and make different sounds? It was pure magic.

In her mid-twenties, it still hadn't lost its lustre even though she was constantly trying to complicate it. Delia relaxed and absorbed the waves of sound bouncing off the boards and plastic seats, hitting her from all angles. Listen to yourself, not the echoes. She"d learned that early when singing in baseball and football stadiums. On stage she had an earpiece, but not here, and she didn"t want to get lost in the overlapping sound.

She finished with a lilting land of the free and the home of the brave, then moved on to the Canadian anthem. She almost blanked in the middle, but caught the words and added a stylistic pause to catch her breath. When she finished, she turned back to the marketing manager, Lisa, and the sound guy who"d handed her the mic.

"Perfect." Lisa clapped her hands. "Thank you so much for filling in at the last minute."

Delia walked back over the mat they"d laid out on the ice for her and returned the mic. "You"re welcome. Thanks for the invitation."

Lisa winked. "So glad to have you. We put your pop-up appearance in all our socials, and we"ve already seen a last-minute ticket surge."

Hopefully they knew she"d be fully clothed. "Glad to hear it." Delia settled nicely into her performance persona. The one who didn"t twitch her fingers or ask inappropriate questions. She"d played the part for so long, she hadn"t realized how much her act compressed like restraints until she had something to compare it to. The last day with Jack was like crisp oxygen in her lungs. Even when she"d been breaking. Even when she'd wanted to crumple. She"d been herself, one hundred percent. The good and the ugly.

And he"d stayed when she asked.

Delia clenched and unclenched her hands as Lisa motioned to an area just off the main player tunnel. "You"re welcome to wait here if you want to be in the middle of things, or we"ve got a room?—"

"I"ll wait here." Delia smiled. "Could be fun to watch the stadium fill up." Not the whole truth. She wanted to see Jack the second he came out of the dressing room. The idea of him walking out in his hockey gear made her internal organs flip places.

Lisa nodded and held up her phone. "If you change your mind."

Mary and Alvin joined her once she was alone and they waited together. Music played over the loudspeaker as fans poured in through the entrances and found their seats. The energy in the air built like static, growing in intensity like a swipe of socks over carpet every ten minutes. When her ribs felt like they were cinched into a corset, Delia finally heard them. Stomps down the tunnel. Deep voices.

"Don"t get worked up if people sing during the Star Spangled Banner."

Delia did a double take. Was Alvin talking to her? "Okay."

He drew a deep breath. "They always shout out "sea" and "glare." It"s tradition. Because you can't see in a Blizzard."

"Right. Thanks." She turned to Mary to share a look, but the stomps grew louder, breaking the dam on the thoughts she didn"t know were waiting patiently in her subconscious. What if she choked? Should she have posted on her socials? Should she have— Delia gasped and grabbed Mary"s arm. "Jack doesn"t know I"m here."

"He didn"t know you were coming?"

"No, he knew I was coming to the game, but he doesn"t know I"m on the floor. Singing the anthems."

Mary shrugged. "So? It"ll be a good surprise."

"But what if I can"t—" She grappled for the confidence she'd felt at Clara's. Why was she suddenly freaking out? It wasn't the music. It wasn't the thousands of people in the Saddledome. It was only one.

Mary"s eyes lifted past her. "I don"t think you need to worry about that." She grabbed Delia"s shoulders and turned her. There, stopped in front of her while all the other white jerseys continued on to the ice, was Jack. He held his stick in one hand and his helmet in the other. With his pads on, he looked like Thor.

"Hey." Delia stepped forward with a little help from Mary.

Jack looked between the three of them. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong? I wasn"t checking my phone?—"

"No, nothing"s wrong. They had a cancellation for the anthems." She twisted her hair around her finger.

Jack blinked. "You"re singing?"

She nodded. "I"m going to double-oh-do it." Delia winced. "Sorry. That was . . . I shouldn"t be allowed to talk to people when I"m nervous." Or just you. You make me nervous.

Jack stepped toward her, towering above her head with the added height of his skates. "I was thinking we were overdue for a Bond night."

Delia grinned. "We could watch something tonight, or . . . " She stopped as Jack"s smile slipped. "Or in a long time. A scheduled time." She smoothed her hair from her face, her lungs screaming for a normal breath.

"No, I"d love to, it"s just that the team is going out after the game. Then tomorrow we have a thing. Before playoffs."

He was saying no. She wanted him to say no. She wanted him to do what he needed to. "Right. Of course."

Jack shifted on his skates. "Maybe in Edmonton?"

Delia"s brows knit. "When are you going to Edmonton?"

"Monday. For the first round of playoffs."

Her eyes narrowed. "You know your placement already?" She was slowly absorbing pieces of his hockey talk, filling in those letters of the puzzle.

He gave a smug smile. "We will in about two hours."

She raised an eyebrow. "Ah. Arrogance. It looks good on you."

He leaned in, the cage of his helmet hovering over them like an umbrella. "C"mon. You know the Sharks don"t stand a chance."

Delia"s breath quickened. She knew someone that didn't stand a chance. She wet her lips. "Sharks sound deadly."

"And ‘Blizzard' doesn't?"

She looked up into his eyes. They were quickly becoming her favourite colour. Like smooth melted chocolate. "Edmonton isn"t in our contract."

"Neither is sleeping over. Seems like we've already been breaking the rules."

Delia"s insides liquified. They were instant soup plunged into boiling water. She swallowed hard and tugged on the fingers of her gloves. "I"ll-I think I can watch Bond with you in Edmonton."

He grinned, his lashes brushing his cheeks when he blinked. "Okay, then. Monday."

Delia nodded, then watched as he retreated through the now empty tunnel. She turned and walked back to Mary on Bambi legs. "So. Jack."

Mary smirked, and as they cheated closer to the boards to watch the players warm up, Delia could"ve sworn she saw Alvin brush a hand over Mary"s backside.