Page 66 of Faking the Shot

“By keeping the girls away?”

She nodded. “That’s what he said.” He’d meant it, right? “And yes, it’s supposed to help me with my reputation as well, but I’m not going to hurt him. He knows what this is about.”

“I hope so.” Diana smiled. “Because you surprised me. I like you—”

Wait—she did?

“—and you’re a lot more down to earth than I thought, so I think you’d be good for him. And not just in a fake relationship.”

She winced. But that was the problem. She’d worked hard to convince him this could never be real. And now this was starting to feel like a tangled mess that she didn’t know what to do with.

* * *

Zac glancedup to where the WAGs sat, spotting Ainsley. Even though she wore similar colors to everyone else, she still seemed to hold a radiance about her, like someone in the rafters had shone a soft spotlight on her, like the angel dust he’d thought she possessed when they first met.

He returned his attention to the game, chewing his mouthguard, as the top penalty kill unit worked to eradicate Logan’s latest misdemeanor. Drew passed to Jonas, who passed it back to Chris, who sent it around the back to the defenseman. Ten seconds later and Zac joined the second unit. He didn’t play on it all the time, but sometimes did to help give them an edge. The whistle blew, the penalty box opened, and Logan rejoined the play.

Jai Mullins was still one of San Jose’s speediest skaters, although his skills were occasionally eclipsed by their latest acquisition, Doug Lehtonen. Lehtonen had been Brent Karlsson’s right-hand man for years, so his recent defection to the west coast had shocked the NHL last trading season. But he’d settled in well—a bit too well, it seemed, as they scored.

Zac rejoined the bench, refocused on the game. They couldn’t lose, not on Ainsley’s first visit to a game. When it was time to return to the ice he took the face-off, won the draw, and within fifteen seconds, Logan had passed to him and he flicked it five-hole and scored.

Yes. He fist-pumped, and glanced up to where Ainsley was jumping, and pointed to her. She grinned, placing a hand over her heart. Man, he loved having her out there, knowing she was there cheering for him.

“Awesome skills, man,” Drew pounded him on the back. “She’s good luck. Better make sure she’s here in playoffs.”

He skated down the line fist-bumping his teammates, as Drew’s words lingered in his head. Playoffs started in April, way past the February 14 timeline that she’d set.

Would they still be together then? Or would he have finally tipped this fakeness into something real? Whatever it was, he couldn’t wait to speak to her and perhaps gauge if she felt the same.

“You were fantastic!”Ainsley smiled up at him.

He opened his arms, and she stepped in. Yes, they weren’t supposed to be hugging, but it would look weird if they didn’t. It would likely look weird enough that they didn’t kiss. Kissing Ainsley… He shivered.

“So, what happens now?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Well, you introduce me to your dad, for starters.”

“Oh! I can’t believe I didn’t do that.” She drew her father closer. “Dad, this is Zac. Zac, this is Benson, my stepfather.”

Stepfather? Okay. “Sir.” He held out a hand.

Benson beamed. “I know I must look like a little kid, but this is honestly one of the most exciting moments of my life.”

Zac laughed. “Well, it may surprise you, but I’m pretty excited to have you and Ainsley here tonight, too.” He glanced at the woman tucked into his side. “I’ve been asking for you to come for a while now, haven’t I, babe?”

She rolled her eyes, and murmured, “He knows.”

Oh. That’s right. She’d told him that before. But it didn’t change the fact that it was still true. He listened to Benson for a bit, but soon introduced him to a coach and found a way to angle Ainsley away, and sneak an arm around her. “Thanks for coming. It means a lot.”

“It really was so exciting.”

Her shining eyes said it was. “So you’ve had fun?”

The luster dimmed a little, then she nodded.

“What? What happened?”

“Nothing. Nothing that matters right now.”

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