Chapter 11

Of all the ways I'd dreamed of being proposed to, this wasn't it. In all the romance books Maria made me read, I'd seen proposals galore in every situation imaginable. A hunky hockey player still sweaty from a game, fake proposing, didn't even make the list.

My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as I blinked at this gloriously handsome man standing in front of me. His hair didn't even have the decency to be hideous after being stuck under a helmet for so long. No, his hair had avoided becoming hideous hat hair. Instead, it looked like he'd professionally finger-combed it into a surfer style worthy of a Instagram influencer.

I blurted out, "Do you wake up with good hair?"

"If I say yes, does that mean you agree to my proposal?" Nate asked.

I shook my head to clear it. Hannah let out a short laugh and walked down the hall far enough to give us a little bit of privacy for this conversation. Her fingers were busy typing on her phone once more.

Nate's eyes were hopeful and pleading. "Please, Lia. I'm trying to get full custody of Penelope and my lawyer says getting married will help."

My stomach flipped, and I worried the nachos would make a comeback. "You said fiancé, not marriage."

"We won't actually get married. Show up to court with me, tell the judge how awful Erin is to Penelope. After I get custody we can break up."

Penelope had told me a lot about her dad as we'd watched the game in the suite. She'd told me all about their ritual of making waffles together on Sundays. Nate went overboard and had all the toppings and then some. I'd never heard of putting ice cream on waffles, but then again it made a sort of sense when thinking about how popular waffle cones were. Clearly she loved him just as much as he loved her. When I'd asked if Erin and she had any traditions like that she'd clammed up and put her cup of hot cocoa down.

"And Penelope?" I asked. "What will she think about lying to a judge?"

He grimaced. "She'll need to think it's real. I'll tell her the truth after it's all over."

"You don't even know me. I could be a terrible person." I said, running a hand through my hair.

His lips twitched as if he were trying to hide his amusement. "I see how you talk to people at the bakery. I know you risked your job for Penelope, a terrible person wouldn't do that. Only a person as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside would do that."

His words touched a part of me that I hadn't realized was craving acknowledgment. He'd called me beautiful and saw more than my clothes or my hair. My stomach did that flippy thing it did when I saw his smile. I shook it away, it would take a lot more to get me to agree to this outlandish farce.

"What will Penelope think about losing her mom?" I had no love for Erin, but she was still Penelope's mom at the end of the day.

His shoulders dropped, and the spark of hope in his blue eyes was slowly dying. "I'm not fighting for Erin to never see Penelope again. But I want her to only have supervised visits. You saw how pushy she is, how she puts her wants above Penelope's needs. You've seen how quickly Erin will tear someone down without a second thought. Do you know how hard it is to pick up the pieces and build Penelope up after spending time with her mother, who's supposed to love and support her?"

My heart broke for him and Penelope.

Hannah walked over to us and looked up from her phone apologetically. "I'm sorry to interrupt. But I need you in the press room, Nate. Do I need to type up a new statement for you?"

He just watched me, and I could tell from the look on his face that he expected me to say no. The spark in his eyes was completely gone now.

I looked between Hannah and Nate. "I want to help you and Penelope, Nate, but I don't even know if I'll be able to stay in the city. I lost two jobs yesterday."

Hope sparked in his eyes, and his shoulders lifted, "That's something I need to make right, and I'll help you find a better-paying job, and I'll pay all your bills in the meantime. Even if you say no to my proposal, I'll still make that right."

One by one he'd broken down all my objections. "I'll do it."

Hannah grabbed Nate and pulled him down the hall as I followed. "Congratulations! We'll have to keep it simple, just confirm the relationship for now. We'll release something better later."

"The press needs to know she's my fiance' so the courts have evidence."

She looked at me, "Lia, I need you to hide your left hand until Nate gets you a ring. If they ask to see it, tell them it's being resized. Sam is on his way with a jersey for you for the photos tonight."

"I don't need a ring," I said, trying to keep up with them. "Or a jersey."

Nate exchanged a look with Hannah. "I'll take her ring shopping Monday."

"Wait. What if I have plans Monday?" I didn't, but I also didn't want him to make all the decisions without my input. I'd been in a relationship like that before and I wasn't about to do that again.

"Do you?" Nate asked. "Tomorrow is my rest day with Penelope, and then the team is flying out Tuesday for games in the Falcon's hometown. Monday Penelope is in school, so it's the only free day I have until I fly back next Sunday."

Feeling a little sheepish I felt my cheeks heat. "Oh. I just wanted to be asked instead of told. Fake or not, for this to work we need to be a team."

Nate stopped walking. "You're absolutely right. I should have asked."

Hannah smiled, and she gushed with excitement as she waved her hands around excitedly. "Make it a whole date day. Let the press take photos of you two being cute and couple-y. You should take him to La Petite. Speaking of sweets, Penelope may or may not be eating all the sweets in the suite, so I suggest hurrying up with the press before she gets a stomach ache."

We stood outside the doors to the press room. The moment a light blue jersey, Nate's name and number were on the back, was delivered, she shoved it over my head. The jersey had long sleeves that fell over my hands, and it was long enough it could be worn as a dress.

"This is huge," I told them.

Hannah shrugged, "I can get you a better-fitting jersey for the next game. But this is perfect. It looks like you're wearing one of Nate's jerseys and not one from the gift shop. I'll need to get Sam one of those chocolate muffins to thank him."

I had a moment to fuss with my hair, which now wanted to frizz, before Nate took my hand and we strode into the room of story vultures.

The press room was packed wall to wall, Nate squeezed my hand in reassurance as we walked to the table for him to sit. Hannah guided me off to the side of the room as soon as Nate let go. I could hear the click of camera shutters, and I tried not to fidget as more than one was pointed in my direction. Nate wasn't the only one on the team being asked questions, but it was clear that the reporters just wanted to talk to him.

A particularly vocal reporter, a man in a light gray suit, stood in the front row with his microphone out. "Nate, is it true? Are you engaged?"

Nate looked at me, giving me a chance to change my mind. I gave him a little nod and a shy smile. He didn't look away from me as he told the room. "I am."

The press went crazy, shouting questions over one another. I should probably call my mother to let her know.