Page 76 of The Roommate Remodel

I stare at him for a long beat. “Why?”

“Because I’m tired of watching you hold back. Every guy on this team would like to date her, but you’re the only one she has eyes for. Why wouldn’t you pursue her?” Leo’s words hit me like a fist I didn’t see coming. Jaz always seems so controlled, like she’s trying so hard to help everyone. How is it possible that I missed what was so obviously right in front of me?

“If only it were that simple,” I mutter.

“It is,” Leo says. “What’s holding you back?”

“Alexandra, for one.” I glance over my shoulder to check that she’s not spying on us in the locker room. Alex wouldn’t hesitate for a second to walk in here unannounced. “She doesn’t want players and staff dating. Jaz is worried about her job.”

Leo balls up a towel and throws it at me. “Forget her. Shewon’t find out. And if she does, she can’t fire you for that. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

I glance at Lucian. “What about that girl you dated in the office? I heard she was fired for dating you.”

Lucian shakes his head. “We’d already stopped dating by the time she got fired. Truthfully, she was just terrible at her job.”

Relief blows through me. I should’ve asked Lucian before, but I was too afraid he’d guess my secret.

“If you’re afraid the team is going to spill your secret, I can assure you they’re not.” Leo glances around at the guys circling us.

Everyone nods in agreement.

“I can vouch for the entire team,” Lucian says. “Coach Thompson values loyalty over everything else. As team captain, I’d call out anyone who isn’t backing up a player. If we can’t trust each other off the ice, then how are we going to trust each other in a heated game?”

More heads bob in agreement.

I’m normally the guy who’s all in. But I was holding back from my teammates, afraid that by telling them how I really feel about Jaz, I’d jeopardize her job and our relationship.

What I didn’t understand is that I need these guys’ support—on and off the ice. And it starts with trusting them to keep my relationship with Jaz a secret from Alex and the rest of her cronies.

“If I’m taking a leap of faith trusting you...” I step back so I’m part of the circle, instead of in the middle. “Then I need to convince Jaz you’re all trustworthy.”

“She got us to agree to the fashion show, right?” Leo says, grabbing his jacket from the locker. “If that doesn’t prove it to her, nothing will. Because we wouldn’t do it for anyone else.” He heads for the door before I stop him.

“Ego,” I call.

He looks over his shoulder.

“Thanks,” I say. “I needed to be called out like that.”

He nods once and, remarkably, doesn’t make a sarcastic comment before heading out the door.

Proof that he does have a heart, after all.

Vale straddles the bench next to me. “That ended better than I thought it would.”

I sit next to him. “I wasn’t expecting Leo to do something nice.”

“Nobody did. You’re not the only one who feels like Leo is a wild card.” He glances around to make sure no one is left in the locker room before he goes on. “I noticed you left out one piece of important information.”

“Felipe?”

He nods. “He won’t go away on his own. If the team knows, they can prepare.”

I lean my elbows on my knees. “He hasn’t contacted me recently. Gives me hope that maybe he’s finally grown up. And if not, I’ve got you on my side.”

“You put too much trust in my abilities. If you want to actually win the game, I can’t track Felipe and you the entire time.”

“Nobody can. That’s why the team doesn’t have to know. It’s my job to take care of Felipe.” I take my bag from the locker and slam it shut.

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