Page 61 of The Roommate Remodel

“My pleasure,” I say, watching her savor the food. “To answer your question, I got slammed into the wall by a player who had it in for me. I got a shot past him that he felt deserved a penalty. The referees sided with me. So he slammed me into the wall and then started throwing punches, which earnedhimthe penalty box. My face was a bloody mess afterward, but my shoulder took the brunt of his anger.”

She winces like she’s imagining the play-by-play. “That’s awful, Brax.”

I shrug as I pull up a chair to Jaz’s desk. “It’s part of the sport. I’m used to guys playing rough. That’s what you sign up for. But Felipe has an anger problem. It wasn’t until Vale pulled him off me that I realized how bad the injury was.” I don’t tell her the rest of the story. Felipe has continued to threaten me ever since, sending me text messages and threatening those around me. It’s one thing to take it out on the ice; it’s another to bully people outside of the game.

“Why are you keeping it secret from your team?” she asks, frowning.

I shake my head. “Not their problem.”

“What about when you face him in your next game?”

“I’ll handle it. I can’t risk them getting involved.”

She stares at me. “It seems like this would be important for them to know.”

What she doesn’t understand is that if I bring it up, it uncovers more ugly things, including the reason I had to end things with her.

I cut into a steak, avoiding her gaze. “Trust me. I’ll be fine.” I push the second steak toward her. “You’ve got to try this.”

She digs into the steak as my eyes swing over to her computer screen, where her cursor blinks on the wordsFashion Show on Ice.

I nod toward the screen. “Are you planning something for the local college figure skaters?”

“Um, no,” she says slowly, glancing from her screen to me. “A fundraiser for the hockey team.”

I snort-laugh. “Yeah, right. Good one. Ialmostbelieved you.”

“No, really, it is,” she says, setting down her fork.

I’m still not buying it. “I’d love to see Tate or Vale trying to model. That would be hilarious.”

It’s not until her face falls that I realize my mistake.

“I’m telling the truth, Brax. This is the secret project I’ve been planning.”

She’s not joking. “Thisis your secret project?”

“What did you think I was working on?”

“I thought we were doing volunteer work. When you said fundraiser, I thought you meant something like raising money for a charity. I didn’t think it would involve us putting on a...” I can’t even say the words.

“Fashion show,” she finishes for me.

I try not to cringe. “Alex approves of this?”

“She was ecstatic about it. That’s why she stopped by the zipline. It will raise money for the teamanda charity. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

“People like to see us punch each other. Why not just sell tickets to that?”

“This is for people with money. The business owners who buy advertising space.”

I point my fork at her to make my point. “Yeah, they secretly like the fights just as much as everyone else.”

“I can’t do anything risky that would jeopardize your career. Plus, we need something a little more elegant, like an evening of fashion, a silent auction, and hors d’oeuvres. When we rope them in with your fabulous smiles and winning personalities, we get them to commit to a donation or advertising. They’re the ones with the influence in the community. This could change everything.”

Everything in me bristles against this idea. I never signed up to model clothes. That’s the last thing you’d ever catch me doing. Plus, the team can’t be doing that badly, or Alex wouldn’t have ended up with it in her divorce settlement.

“I’m here to play hockey, not prance around in evening wear.”

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