Page 10 of Power Pucking Play

I clear my throat. "Yeah. I'm here."

"So, will you do it?"

Every instinct screams at me to say no. To run as far away from Lexi Brookes as possible.

But I can't. Not without raising suspicions. Not without giving her the upper hand.

Not without potentially screwing up my pro hockey career.

"Fine," I growl. "But if she pulls anything, I'm out. Got it?"

Gabi lets out a relieved sigh. "Thank you. You won't regret this."

"Trust me, I already do, Gabs."

I hang up without saying goodbye, tossing my phone back into my locker with more force than necessary.

My best friend Jacob, who's been quietly sitting on the bench next to me this whole time, raises an eyebrow. "Trouble in paradise?"

I give him a glare. "Shut up."

Jacob holds up his hands. "Hey, I'm just trying to lighten the mood. You look like you're about to go into battle."

"Because I am," I mutter darkly. "Your wife just roped me into pretending to be her best friend's chew toy to 'boost my image'."

He nods. "Ah, she may have mentioned an in-depth feature on you forSports News Now. She's been wanting to do a televised feature on a Blades player for a while now."

"I know," I grumble. "But why me? Why not one of the other guys?"

Jacob smirks. "Because you're Gio 'The Icebreaker' De Luca. You're a human cannonball with the good looks of a supermodel. You'll be perfect for this."

I roll my eyes. "Great, because being a human cannonball is exactly what I want to be known for in the hockey world."

"Come on. This is good, right? Some good publicity and all that?"

"Sure," I mutter, tossing my jersey into my locker. "If you enjoy having your life dissected by a piranha with a laptop."

Jacob chuckles. "Come on, man. Lexi's not that bad. She's actually pretty cool once you get to know her."

If he only knew how well I'd gotten to know her.

"I doubt that," I say, heading for the showers.

The hot water does little to ease the tension in my shoulders. I brace my hands against the tile, letting the spray beat down on my neck.

How the hell am I supposed to do this? How do I spend weeks with Lexi, pretending that nothing happened between us?

Pretending that I don't know what she looks like when she comes undone. That I don't know the exact curve of her hips, the softness of her skin.

I grind my fists into the shower wall, welcoming the sharp sting of pain. It's a reminder of why I can't let this happen again.

As I step out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist, I catch sight of myself in the mirror. The dark-haired, green-eyed man staring back at me looks tired. Conflicted. Nothing like the cocky player the world sees on the ice.

Maybe Gabi's right. Maybe I do need to show people who I really am.

But not like this. Not with Lexi holding the pen, ready to write my story as she sees fit.

I grab my phone, dialing Gabi's number. She picks up on the second ring.

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