Page 26 of On the Power Play

Delia pulled out her phone and spun in her seat, then snapped a selfie shot of them at the table. She turned the screen for him to see. “Like that. Not a big deal.”

“I look pissed.”

Delia deleted the photo. “Then try not looking pissed.”

“Perfect. I’ll work on that.” Jack lowered his voice as their server arrived with an overly broad smile and droplets of sweat forming near his temples. One of the most puzzling things to come out of his newfound celebrity was how hard people had to try to act normal around him. It had to be ten times worse for Delia.

The server put down two glasses of water, both with lemon slices floating amidst the ice cubes.

“Thank you.” Delia reached for the glass. “I’m ready to order, if that’s okay?”

The server nodded. “Of course. What can I get—get for you?”

Delia didn’t even blink as the poor kid's eyes bugged out of his head. “I’d like the Birria tacos, please.” Jack gave her a look, and Delia slid her hand up her arm. “What?”

“That’s what I was going to order.” Never mind that he’d planned not to order and get the contract review over with. What were the chances that from a menu with a hundred different items on it, they’d choose the same thing?

Her lips quirked. “Then I guess we’ll get two.” She handed the server the menu.

Delia waited for him to walk away. “Did you do that on purpose?”

Jack frowned. “What?”

“You made it seem like we were having a moment.”

He leaned back in his chair. “A moment? Ordering tacos?”

Delia dropped her phone in her bag. “You know that’s all that waiter is going to be talking about, right? He’s going to tell all his server friends some version of how we both accidentally ordered the same thing, and it’s going to show up all over the internet.”

Jack exhaled. “And that’s why I don’t go out.”

Delia considered him a moment. “This is nice. Better than I thought it would be.”

Jack squirmed in his seat. Nice? Was he somehow giving her the wrong impression, because?—

“I don’t even have to pretend around you since this is just business, but not even real business, you know?” Delia smiled up at him. He blinked. “You don’t have anything to do with my music, so I don’t have to impress you there, and this isn’t going anywhere past April, so I don’t have to worry about you wanting to keep me around.”

“April?”

Delia motioned to the tablet. “Keep reading. There’s a breakup clause.”

Jack scrolled. Sure enough. Staged Breakup. He scanned the next few paragraphs taking in the details. The breakup would occur after the NHL playoffs, exact date determined by whenever the Blizzard either got knocked out or won the Stanley Cup. Not likely, but he wouldn’t write it off just yet. The breakup would be attributed to the pressures of their careers and difficulty of maintaining a relationship in the public eye. They would only talk positively about each other and avoid negative connotations or blame. Their last appearance as a couple would be at a playoff game or one of Delia’s shows, whichever they agreed on at the time.

“I don't do the dating thing either. Just so you know.” Delia took a drink of her water.

Jack swiped up to read the paragraphs he’d skipped. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Hilarious.”

He lifted his head. “Now I'm just disappointed. A few minutes ago you made it sound like I had something to look forward to, but if you've been signed since the summer and dating isn’t looking up . . .”

“I think it's a little different for women versus men.”

“You mean easier?”

“Hell no, I don't mean easier! Normal, well-adjusted men were difficult to find when I wasn't . . . well-known.”

“You mean a celebrity?”

---