8. Sophie

eight

Sophie

I don’t know a thing about hockey, but one look at Axl in the rink and I melt.

Still heartbroken, I came here to get revenge on Rocco, but three seconds into this and I’ve leaped out of heartbreak. I’m ready to tell my mama about us .

Book me a chapel and start folding those nappies.

I fan myself, despite the freezing temps. He’s wearing his blue and orange jersey, and I never thought about the color orange before, but I’m pretty sure it’s my new favorite color. Like a delicious persimmon, sun-ripened to perfection, just waiting for something to pluck him— I mean it —off a tree. Drool puddles in the middle of my mouth as I can’t stop thinking about persimmons. Yes, that’s what I tell myself. The drool is because I’m hungry.

I’m perspiring just watching Axl be so effortlessly hot.

He’s a jaguar on skates.

Not to mention those shoulder pads. I fan myself, scanning the arena. No wonder they have the air cranked so much in this place. All the women would be passed out on the floor. All the men look amazing, but Axl’s coordination—and how he naturally maneuvers his stick like it’s an extension of his hand, keeping the puck perfectly in line as he skates around the rink—explodes my mind. If a genie showed up and offered me one wish, I don’t doubt for a second that I’d trade places with that stick.

I don’t understand a single thing about the game other than getting the puck in the net, but by the time the game is over, I’ve entered my I-love-hockey era. Not only have I entered it, but I’m also ready to buy all the merch along with season tickets.

“We sold every seat in the house tonight for the first time since we started this team,” Bill explains over the crowd cheers. “Tons of your fans showed up to catch a glimpse of you, just like I knew they would.” Bill winks at me, adding, “We’re onto something.”

Tossing a shoulder up in a modest shrug, I avoid any credit. “You seem to have a pretty good team here.”

Bill stands, nudges me with his elbow, and quietly leans over. “Why don’t you follow me to the tunnel, and we’ll snag another photo of the two of you. The fans will go crazy for it.”

He’s really pushing this fake-dating thing.

The thing is, I don’t mind taking photos. It’s part of my job, and I’ve posed with the most random people over the years. Being in front of a camera is easy for me. However, I spent the last two and a half hours drooling over Axl, and I feel like I’m keeping a secret from him now. It’s so much different than when I showed up here the other day. Now there are rumors about us. People are watching, interested in our story, and well, I’m sort of intrigued by Axl—to put it mildly.

Bill leads me to the private elevator, allowing us to skip the mass exodus down the steps and the hordes of people. From the elevator, we take a tunnel and end up next to the locker room. A couple of the guys are already dressed in street clothes, carrying their body-sized hockey bags toward the exit. There’s a meeting room directly across from the locker room with the light already on, and Bill raises his arm, ushering me to go inside.

I mindlessly enter and my breath hitches in my chest.

Axl’s standing in the corner chugging water out of a glass water bottle. He’s stripped out of his jersey and wearing a team-colors hoodie with the hood up, partially concealing the side of his face. I easily find the drops of sweat that left a trail from his temple across his flawless cheekbone. The way he devours the water while maintaining a perfect pose makes him look like a model for a bottled water company. I will buy all of whatever he is selling.

When he hears the shuffle of us entering the room, he lowers his bottle and turns his gaze on me. For the first time in a long time, I’m nervous about what someone thinks of me. His lips part, but his words are directed at Bill. “Do you mind telling me what you’re up to?”

Bill saunters into the room, pulling the door closed behind us, and he doesn’t stop until he takes a seat at the head of the empty table. While he joins the pads of his fingers with those on his opposite hand into a perfect contemplation position, he speaks as if the room is filled with people. “I asked you to meet me here because it’s working.”

From his spot in the corner, Axl flashes a cryptic expression at me, which I return because I’m as lost as he is, and he blurts out, “Do you mind being a little more specific? Why is she here, sitting in your box, and wearing that dress? ” The word dress comes off as if it’s a timebomb, threatening danger to everyone in the room.

Bill chuckles, a hearty series of sounds.

Feeling defensive, I take a step closer to Axl and spew, “I picked the dress.”

“Why?” Axl narrows his gaze at me. “Don’t you know how to dress for a hockey game? It’s fifty degrees in here.”

“I didn’t.” I shake my head back and forth, anxiety bubbling in my gut. Nobody has ever complained about how I looked before. I’m not a diva or anything, but this was Rocco’s favorite color on me, and I didn’t expect Axl to fawn over me, but I also didn’t think he’d be so vocal about not liking the way I looked. “How was I supposed to know that? This is my first time going to a hockey game, and I picked the dress because I wanted to make my ex-boyfriend jealous.”

“Jealous of what?” His tone is extra sharp, and he doesn’t soften his stony gaze.

“You.” A lightning bolt slams through my chest, as I hate admitting how catty I’m being about my breakup. His perfect teeth dig into his bottom lip as if he’s lingering on what I said. It’s oddly distracting how his lip flushes light pink, then white, and I do everything I can to steal my gaze away from his lips.

His perfect lips.

“You see.” Bill cuts in, still flexing his fingers together, “we have an opportunity to help each other out. Axl, I know your goals are to make more money and move up to the NHL. That can’t happen if we don’t succeed as a team. We need to sell tickets, and you need eyes on you. The NHL wants players who put on a good show, and they aren’t going to recruit anyone from a dead team. Did you notice the energy tonight? All the seats were filled. It was magical.”

Axl is silent as his Adam’s apple bobs up and down. Bill goes on. “And Sophie here, she’s in town for the week, healing from her heartbreak. The press was brutal to her about her cheating fiancé—”

“Not my fiancé!” I override him. “He was just a boyfriend, and now he’s an ex.”

Axl’s gaze falls to the ground as a line of contemplation pins between his brows. Silence drags on before he finally lifts his gaze back to me. “I’m sorry you got cheated on. I know how that feels.”

Swallowing back the flashback of Rocco and I promising to love each other forever, my jaw quivers. “It hurts.”

“You both are dealing with some serious situations,” Bill’s voice infuses so much enthusiasm you’d think he was leading us to an Olympic medal. “There’s no harm in giving the press more positive stories for them to focus on. Then Sophie doesn’t have to hear about her ex’s infidelity all over.” He raises his hand toward Axl, before tacking on, “And you don’t have to have the press obsessed with your unlikability. It’s a perfect solution for both of you. Plus, we’re selling tickets, which means I can offer a bonus. Keep these ticket sales up, and the bonus only grows.”

“This is absurd,” Axl rasps in disgust. “I’m not lying to people to sell tickets.”

Slowly rocking his chair, Bill stares above Axl’s head. “Did I ever tell you that when I was in college, I had a roommate for a year. His name was Mike Stevens. You might know the name. He’s one of the most successful coaches—”

“In the NHL,” Axl cuts, he lowers his voice before continuing. “Are you saying that if I do this, you’re going to talk to him about signing me?”

“It’s a possibility.” Bill nods slowly. “Let’s give this thing a good month.”

“The NHL has always been the dream.” Axl’s gaze turns to me, and without pause, he says, “I’m in if you are.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I wave my hands in front of me as if someone is coming to crash directly into me. “I’m not sure. All I needed was a photo or two to make Rocco jealous. I also have to get back to work. I can’t camp out here in Mapleton for a month. What’s in it for me?”

Bill’s gaze locks on me, but it’s what Axl does that makes my heart motor up. He’s clearly all in, already seeing the NHL, and he latches those gorgeous blue eyes on me. “What do you want?”

Triple blinking, I fight the soooo many words that come to my head, words I shouldn’t even be thinking. Most of them have to do with his lips on mine. I didn’t hate the chance to meet him. I enjoyed watching the game tonight and would look forward to seeing him play again. But I’m in this to make Rocco jealous, and Axl’s going to have to play, too. “Rocco went on a vacation with some woman, but we had planned that trip together. We also planned a black-tie charity fundraiser together, and neither one of us can cancel, despite our breakup, because it’s this weekend. I’m sure he’ll be there with her, or some other bimbo. I want you to come to New York with me so I don’t have to face him alone.”

“Deal,” he confirms too fast, and he throws his hand out in front of me. “Shake on it.”

I chuckle as this whole thing seems foolish. Yet, as his calloused palm scratches at my skin, it lights a spark in my arm that assures me his weathering is the best kind. He’s strong. Focused. Determined. And I take comfort in that when he gives my palm a confirming squeeze.

“We have to set rules, though.” Axl drops my hand, placing both hands on the back of a chair in front of him. “This is professional. We take photos in public together, but nothing ever crosses that line.”

“I think we’re safe there.” I motion toward the exit. “We’re at a hockey arena, and I’m watching you play. There’s no chance for anything to cross any lines.”

“What about in New York? That’s obviously different because it’s going to look like a date.”

Heat burns my cheeks as I think about spending time with Axl, even if it’s a fake date.

“I think we only need one rule. No kissing.”

He nods. “Right. There will in no way be any kissing. That’s an absolute must. Anything else?”

I tip my head, thinking. I have the upper hand in this negotiation. I’m going to move on from Rocco no matter what happens, and frankly, after tonight I mostly have. I don’t want to appear too eager to agree to this, and there is something that would be fun to throw out there. “One more thing.”

“What’s that?” His face becomes alert, eyes pinning on me with laser focus.

“Grow a beard.”

His eyes shift from side to side before he smirks awkwardly. “Why? Does your ex not like beards?”

“This isn’t about him.” I run my tongue over my bottom lip, hydrating it. “I like beards.”

His gaze hovers over mine, and for a moment I swear I see a flicker in his eyes, but Bill inserts himself back into the conversation. “Sounds like a plan. And like any good plan, we need to review. Sophie agrees to come to the games and watch Axl, posing for a photo or two. Axl agrees to go to New York for a charity thing, and both of you agree that under no circumstance will there be any kissing.”

Without pause, Axl nods. “Agreed.”

I hang back against the wall. This is happening sort of fast, and I don’t have time to think about any potential downsides.

I guess it can’t hurt anything. “Same.”

Bill declares, “It’s settled.”

I bite the inside of my cheek, trying hard not to flush warm, as an announcer calls in my head, “ Let the games begin.”