Page 6 of The Puck Decoy

If I wasn’t watching him closely I would have missed the slight tightening of his jaw at that news before he hides it. “Madeline is still coming alone, yes?” he asks, and I have to smirk. I might hate Nova Darkmore, but seeing the effect he has on my father is very satisfying for me.

“Yes, because god forbid she brings another hockey player to your fancy party, huh?” I ask with a scoffed laugh, and finally my father frowns.

He opens his mouth to say something, but Hallie beats him to it. “The place looks great, Mayor Peters, Mads is going to love all the decorations. We won’t keep you, looks like you’ve got more guests coming.” She nods her head behind us to where more people are about to ascend the steps, and before my mother and father can say anything else, she is dragging me away.

We brush past my parents, but before I can make it another step, my father grabs my arm and leans into my ear and whispers, “Pretty, polite, and politically respectful. Looks like the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree now does it? Great choice, son.”

I rip my arm away from him, but just as I am about to tell him I will never be anything like him, Hallie grips my hand and the words die on my tongue.

“Come on, twenty-two, I need a drink,” she softly pleads, and I turn to find her green eyes shining bright once more, and that’s all it takes. I don’t linger, I don’t turn around to dignify my father with a retort, I just squeeze her hand softly, and pull her back into my side as we make our way fully into the party.

The whole place is swarming with overdressed people that blend perfectly into the extravagant decor. All of them have fakesmiles painted on their faces as they complement one another, all while ignoring the staff moving around with trays filled with champagne and canapes. I nod at a waiter as he passes, and he stops to offer us both a glass as I give thanks and Hallie watches the room by my side.

“So what’s the game plan?” she asks, surveying over everyone with a smile I know to be fake, her mask for the people now perfectly in place.

Hallie hates parties like these, yet has never missed a single one, usually staying by Maddie’s side for comfort, and I mildly wonder why she always insists on coming. I mean, yes, she grew up in this world just like I did, but her parents are a far cry from mine. They have never forced her hand in anything, from school to her personal life, she has always been free to make her own choices. I mean, hell, they don’t even attend these things anymore, yet Hallie RSVPs yes to every single one. Something I think I have taken for granted in the past, but right now with her here, I feel a little contentment, especially with Maddie running late.

“What do you mean, what’s the game plan?” I ask, watching her as she watches everyone else, which is why I catch her signature eye roll that I am always on the receiving end of.

“Holy hell, Joshua,” she curses, making me smile, before she looks at me head on and adds, “You’ve played hockey since you could practically walk, how are you still this dense?”

I almost choke on my champagne at her insult. “I thought making you my fiancé might make you be a little bit nicer to me,” I reply, clearing my throat, and she rolls her eyes at me again.

“Well, you thought wrong,” she snaps, closing the small amount of distance between us as she lowers her voice to ensure she isn’t heard. “Your father is forcing your hand and now in turn mine, and you’re telling me you don’t have a game plan? Imean, look around, Josh, half of this party is already staring at us in wonder.”

I do as she says, flicking my gaze casually towards the people in our vicinity, and she’s right, theyarelooking at us. They are pretending they aren’t of course, but every second or so, someone’s eyes meet mine and then shift to Hallie with wonder. People are used to seeing us together at things like this, but we usually appear as a trio, with Madeline as a buffer in between us. We are never alone together, not anymore, not since I pushed her away, now here we are completely under scrutiny.

I mean, it’s not surprising, I never ever bring a date to my parent’s parties, not just because I don’t want to bring anyone here beneath my father’s watchful stare, but just because I don’t date, period. I have enough pressure to deal with without adding a girlfriend to that mix, which I know is ironic considering now here I am with my future wife, but that’s a means to an end. Hallie will help me with this and then we will just go back to normal as friends.

I turn my stare back to her and she smirks, shaking her head slightly before she leans in even closer, bringing her mouth to my ear. “If you want people to believe we are engaged, you might want to start pretending a little better and looking at me like you actually enjoy my company,” she laughs in a whisper, her floral scent lingering even when she pulls away, and I stare at her dumbfounded.

“But I do enjoy your company, Hals, I don’t have to pretend,” I respond without thought, and as our eyes lock her smile softens, but just as she opens her mouth to say something, I see a couple approaching us in my peripheral vision. “Incoming,” I whisper, before turning to them with a smile. “Mr Sharman, good to see you,” I say, as I shake his hand firmly.

Mark Sharman is an associate of my father’s, they work in office together, and once upon a time he went against my dad torun for Mayor and failed, and some would say he never quite got over it. He’s not a vindictive man by any means, but he is one always looking for a leg up the ladder, which is why he accosts me at every event we attend together.

“Josh, you’re about as good a liar as your father,” he smiles, shaking my hand right back.

“Oh, I doubt that,” I laugh, turning to his wife. “Mrs Sharman, looking lovely as always.” She blushes, confirming the rumors that her preference for younger men isn’t false, which is why I gratefully pull Hallie into my side. “May I introduce my fiancée, Hallie Rose Sanders.”

Mrs Sharman loses her smile, but Mark seems to find the news nothing but interesting, as he purrs. “I didn’t know you were engaged, Josh, I bet your father is proud.” He winks, as he sticks his hand out to shake Hallie’s. “Lovely to meet you, Miss Sanders, any relation to Jeremy Sanders Finance?” he questions, naming Hallie’s father’s business with ease, which isn’t a surprise, they do run in the same social circles after all.

“Yes, Jeremy is my father,” Hallie confirms with a polite smile, releasing his hand and curling hers back around my arm. “And our engagement is new, the announcement will be running this week,” she lies with ease, and it just cements my mind even further that she was easily the only choice I could have made.

“Well, let us be the first to say congratulations,” Mark hums, raising his glass of champagne to us before taking a sip. I almost thank him, but then he adds, “Does this mean you are finally going to follow your old man into politics and hang up that hockey stick of yours?”

It’s the same tireless question I always get at events like these, and I wouldn’t put it past my father to lean on his friends to ask me stuff like this constantly. It’s a well known fact that Peters men are political men, apparently having a passion outside of that is unheard of, especially to my father. Maybe hethinks if enough pressure is applied that I’ll bend to his will, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Hallie’s hand tightens on my arm and before I can come up with the politically correct response that Mark is no doubt searching for, Hallie steps in. “Josh is actually on track to play for the NHL, so you’ll see him on your TV screens long before you find him in the Mayor’s office,” she gleams, looking ever the proud future wife I need her to be, as she smiles up at me. “Maybe you should take a day off from politics and catch a Flyers game sometime soon and you might find yourself inspired,” she adds, turning back towards Mark and fitting him with a kind glare.

Yep, definitely the perfect choice for my wife.

“Oh I have no doubt I’d find just as much politics on the rink as I do in my office, my dear,” Mark gleams, watching the two of us even closer than before with a look I definitely don’t like.

The string quartet in the corner starts playing a fresh song, and I take the opportunity to escape his assessing glare. “If you’ll excuse us, it’s time I take my new fiancée for a spin around the floor.” I grab Hallie’s champagne glass and discard it along with my own, and nod the two of them goodbye as I lead her out onto the dance floor.

“You hate dancing,” Hallie murmurs with a knowing smile, as she brings her hand up to meet mine, and I place my other at the small of her back.

“Yeah, well, I hate my father’s co-workers even more, I guess,” I answer her truthfully, and she laughs, as we fall seamlessly into a dance we have done a least a hundred times before.

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