Page 96 of The Trophy

“That isn’t the only strings attached to our deal,” Luca sighs. “One of his conditions is no scandals. Nothing that could reflect poorly on our image. It’s especially important before the referendum he’s fought so hard to get. Transferring here was my last shot at this. I had to spend my summer break at the royal palace pleading with him to give me another shot, because after all the noise that followed me everywhere at Yale, my father was convinced I couldn’t honor my end of the deal. So I think having an official girlfriend, would help get the press off my back.”

I’m not convinced about that.

“Would it? I mean, look at Harry and Meghan.”

Luca barks out a laugh. “Yeah, I know what you mean. But look, Lake isn’t a famous actress. And don’t tell my father, because he definitely has a chip on his shoulder that we have such a small kingdom, but we aren’t the Windsors. What Montebello does, is relatively unimportant in European politics, regardless of what the King might like to think. So I think if the world knew that I’m off the market, that I’m no longer the playboy prince that gives them so many juicy stories, they would eventually lose interest.”

I hate to admit that it makes sense. “We’d have to be really careful anyway. Like I said, I’m not ashamed of our relationship with Lakyn, but I don’t want her to get any negative attention if we can avoid it.”

Cash frowns. “Yeah, I agree. Do you think if our relationship came out, our future team would care?”

“It’s hard to tell,” I shrug. “In theory, as long as we play the way they expect, we act professionally, and we stay out of legal trouble in our private lives, they should be ok. But maybe we should be particularly careful until we sign those contracts. Just in case they thought an unconventional relationship is a reason to question our character.”

Luca nods. “Yeah, we don’t want anything to jeopardize getting signed. But I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I definitely have a reputation, and they’re still interested, so hopefully who we love behind closed doors isn’t something they’d care about.”

Cash claps Luca on the back. “If Blaze agrees, I have no problem letting you be our team captain. After all, you are the only one in this room who has won a national championship and is still the reigning champion.”

I was so focused on Lakyn, that I hadn’t thought about that. “You’re right. In that case, as long as you agree to make sure that we all get a fair amount of one on one time with our girlfriend, congratulations, Captain.”

“Thank you, I promise you won’t regret it on both fronts.” Luca sounds sincere and I walk into his open arms, for what feels like a brotherly hug.

I guess loving the same woman makes us even closer than blood siblings. Truth be told, while I like a lot of my teammates, I couldn’t have chosen two better men to be in this position with me.

“What do we have here?”

Luca and I separate and flinch in unison as the sound of Topher’s voice.

I swear to God, I’d rather listen to someone scratching a blackboard or to the dentist’s drill than to our frat president’s voice.

Cash tenses up, his fists clenched at his sides.

I answer Topher’s question before our goalie can get into a fight with our center. “We were just congratulating Luca on making team captain.”

His smirk widens, a malicious glint in his eyes. “Is that so? Does it mean that Lakyn made her choice?”

God, I want nothing more than to sink my fist into his smug face. “That’s right.” I growl, keeping my temper in check by the skin of my teeth.

Fortunately, Topher takes my attitude as chagrin for losing the dare rather than desire to kick his sorry ass. “Aww, are you a sore loser, Fire?” he snorts.

I grab my hockey stick, barely resisting the temptation to hit him with it. “Mind your own fucking business, asshole,” I grind out. “All I know, is that I’d rather have Luca as my team captain than you.”

It’s a good job that he pisses me off, because my fury makes our whole charade more credible. In reality, I’m glad we figured things out and I can’t wait to tell my pretty girl that we can all live together. If she wants to.

Would I have been happy if she had chosen me over the others? Fuck, yeah. But at the end of the day, all that matters to me is to see her happy. Maybe I’ve read too many reverse harem books, but having Luca and Cash in the picture, isn’t the worst thing that could happen. I respect both of them and I’m not gonna lie, seeing Lakyn with them is hotter than I ever thought possible.

Obviously I’m not naive enough to believe that there won’t ever be jealousy or problems, but isn’t that the case in every relationship? We’ll figure things out together. The four of us.

The main thing is that I’m in love with Lakyn and I can’t wait to tell her.

“What the fuck are you smiling about?” Topher snarls, getting in my way as I head out of the locker room, headed to the rink. “Do you really think I give a fuck about not being team captain?”

My smile widens, because I know he’s lying. “If the shoe fits,” I shrug. “I think you hate that Luca is team captain.”

That was the wrong thing to say.

“Who the fuck cares about being team captain, when I’m not even pursuing a pro career? I’m frat president and the connections Gamma Delta Tau will provide once I graduate and start working for my family’s law firm will be invaluable. That’s what counts. Besides, the way I see it, I’m fucking Bay, the upgraded version compared to Lakyn. I’m winning on every front. The same thing can’t be said about you and Cash. You didn’t get the girl and you didn’t get to be captain. Suckers.”

I know he’s just provoking me. He’s been doing that since after the auction.

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