Page 24 of Power Plays & Proposals

"Get checked out." He ordered, and I saw Daniel's wife, one of the team trainers and sports medicine experts, was already by the bench waiting for me. I plopped down and watched Coach send someone else out to take my place on the ice for the new faceoff. By the time Alexis cleared me, Mercer was sitting in the penalty box, and the clock on Matt's penalty had run out. The tables had turned and my team now had the power play. The crowd roared in approval, and I could feel the shift in the air from all the energy. Matt was also benched to make sure he was over whatever had set him off.

He sat next to me and took a drink from his water bottle before asking, "You good?"

"Yeah." I looked up at the window where Penelope was standing by the glass next to Lia and Hannah. I waved at them so they'd know that I was fine. "Want to talk about it?"

"Nope."

"If you do..."

"Not going to happen."

But I caught the way he looked up at the suite as well. He looked away as soon as he noticed that I saw.

I lifted an eyebrow in question.

He looked around real fast. "Not now."

We turned back to the game, and watched as Lou took the puck and scored. We were tied up and still had a full minute left on the power play. The fans were going crazy, and the announcer was hyping them up. Lights flashed around the stadium to celebrate the goal. Matt and I leaned over the boards to stick out a gloved hand so we could high-five Lou as he skated by.

Matt and I stayed standing as we watched the rest of the game play out. Mercer was still stuck in the penalty box as we watched Lou take possession of the puck again. He was still riding the high from his goal, as he brought it to the goal, and slapshot it right between the goalie's legs. The roar of the crowd was deafening as we led the scoreboard two to one.

There's nothing like a good power play, and it was what had won the game for us. Spirits high, we circled the ice and did all the PR things until it was time to head into the locker room. Back to the real world and all the things that can't be solved on the ice.

Just like that I was thinking about the mess with Erin, and how I could make up for this disaster to Lia. I hated that Penelope was so used to Erin's theatrics, and that I didn’t have full custody. I hoped that my lawyer would have good news for me soon. Hopefully Hannah had finished the statement she wanted me to give.

My phone buzzed. I took off my helmet and gloves, setting them to the side, so I could check my phone. My lawyer’s name flashed on the screen.

Why didn't you say you were getting engaged!? This is a game changer, there's no way the judge will refuse your request when you're getting married. Let me know where you want the prenup sent, and don't forget to send me an invitation to the wedding.

And like the power play that won the game, I saw what I needed to be able to protect Penelope and win against Erin. I needed an extra player. I dialed Hannah on my phone.

"I need to talk to Lia, without Penelope."

"Sure, I can put her on the phone."

"Face to face, before the interviews."

Hannah sighed. "I can give you a couple minutes, but that's it."

"That's all I need."

I didn’t bother changing anything besides my skates so I could talk to Lia sooner. Hannah brought her down to just outside the locker room, but there wasn’t much privacy to be had, with the rest of the team able to walk by at any moment. Lia smiled when she saw me, but I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was a little confused at why Hannah had brought her down.

Hannah looked at her watch. "Two minutes, Mr. Hockey."

"I need your help." I got right to the point as I looked at Lia, "I need you to be my fiancé."

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.

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