Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 67991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Laughing, I dip my bread in marinara. “You must do the same with me if this is to be believed.”
“Got it. Plenty of PDA in both directions. Can I kiss you again?” he asks, eyes flashing with humor.
“Sure.” My tone is light, breezy, but damn if my pulse isn’t pumping a little faster at the thought.
We talk more about the details we’ll need for the photo shoot, the little touches that will make our relationship seem real. Our food comes, and we continue to iron out how we’ll behave so we don’t come off as fake. During the meal, we learn more about each other in a rousing game of twenty questions. I know Rafferty’s favorite food is buffalo chicken wings—he can apparently put away twenty in one sitting—and he knows my favorite movie is A Time to Kill. If this hadn’t been a business meeting, which he confirmed he’ll hand over a thousand dollars in cash at the end of the photo shoot, it would have felt like a date. Which is fine. We are trying to be authentically a couple, but I wonder what it says that the nonstop conversation flowed so well, we sat in the restaurant for two solid hours. I realize I’ve spent the evening peeling back layers of a man I thought I’d figured out in minutes, only to find depth and sincerity.
Rafferty pays the bill and walks me to my car, a beat-up Honda Accord with over two hundred thousand miles on it. “Thanks for dinner.”
He grins at me, hand on my car door as I slide into the driver’s seat. “Thanks for being my accomplice in this nefarious plan.”
“My pleasure,” I quip.
“Drive safe,” he says so earnestly, I believe he actually cares about my safety.
“See you Monday. And good luck in Arizona and Denver. I’ll be watching.”
“I’ll play my best then,” he says and closes the door.
I don’t know that I’ve ever watched a full hockey game by myself. I’ve watched some here and there with Cooper who loves the sport, but I know without a doubt, I’m going to watch because I think it’s cool that now I actually know one of the players in real life.
Hell, I had a player’s tongue in my mouth and there’s a good chance it’ll happen again on Monday. That shouldn’t excite me as much as it does, but these days, I’ll take whatever fun I can find.
CHAPTER 5
Rafferty
The morning of the marketing photo shoot is clear and chilly—a typical winter day in Pittsburgh that turns exhaled breath into white plumes. We’re using a community ice rink on the south side of the city for a promotional event to launch our outreach program, “Titans Together,” aimed at encouraging youth involvement in ice hockey. I was chosen as the face of the program due to my active involvement in community sports programs when I played in Edmonton. It’s a program to bring athletics to underprivileged kids, something I’m passionate about, especially since I saw it firsthand through my dad’s coaching.
I walk into the lobby, trying to ignore the flutter of nerves in my stomach—not about the shoot itself, but about Tempe and Tansy. The place is already bustling with activity, photographers setting up, marketing staff rushing around, and of course, Tansy is in the center of it all. She spots me the moment I step through the door.
“Rafferty, there you are!” Tansy calls out, her tone overly cheerful. She saunters over, her heels clicking sharply on the tiled floor. She looks around, past my shoulder and then back to me with a smirk. “I see you’re here alone. No girlfriend?”
“She’s on her way,” I respond tersely, my jaw tightening. “Had another commitment that ran late.”
Tansy steps closer, her perfume overwhelming, as she places a hand a little too low on my back. “Sure, Rafferty. If you say so. But you know, it’s not too late to grab that drink after.”
Before I can peel her hand off me, the main doors swing open and I look back, expecting Tempe to walk in. She said she had a morning commitment that she couldn’t miss but promised to meet me here. My stomach about bottoms out though when I see my teammate, North Paquette, walking in.
While North is one of my best mates on the team and in ordinary circumstances, I’d be happy to see him, I am not prepared for any of the players to be here because I can’t quite explain my ruse with Tempe, who should be arriving at any time.
“What’s North doing here?” I ask Tansy as I step back from her. North locks eyes with me and raises a hand as he walks our way.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” Tansy croons. “We invited him to do the shoot with us. Just one big happy family.”