Page 6 of Icy Pucking Play

"Well..." He hesitates, which immediately sets off warning bells in my mind. Ryland never hesitates unless he’s about to tell me something that I’m not going to like. "I got a call fromSports News Now. They want to do a feature on me."

The coffee in my stomach turns to lead. "What kind of feature?"

"The good kind? They want to follow my journey through camp, maybe do some human-interest stuff about being your nephew…"

"No." The word comes out sharper than I intended it to. "Absolutely not."

"Uncle Evan…"

"The media isn't your friend, Ry. They'll build you up just to tear you down. They'll dig into your personal life, twist your words…"

"This could be good exposure! And it's not some random reporter, it's…"

"I don't care if it's Wayne Gretzky himself. The answer is no."

A long silence follows. Then, quietly he says, "I already said yes."

The lead in my stomach spreads to my chest. "You what?"

"I said yes. And before you flip out, you should know…"

"We'll discuss this later." I catch Julia watching me from the passenger seat, concern written all over her face. "Practice. Seven o'clock. Don't be late."

I hang up before he can respond, my grip tightening on the steering wheel.

“Everything okay?” Julia asks softly.

No. Nothing is okay. My nephew is about to make the same mistakes I did, letting the media into his life right when he needs to focus most. And I can't protect him from it without looking like the same controlling hardass everyone already thinks I am.

But I just say, "Fine," because what else can I say with Natalia in the backseat?

Julia doesn't push it, but I know that look.

She'll corner me later, make me talk about it. She's good at that—at making me face things I'd rather ignore.

Like the fact that I'm going to have to deal with reporters again. Like the fact that my carefully constructed walls are about to be tested.

"Dad?" Natalia's voice breaks through my thoughts. "You missed the turn."

Perfect. Just perfect.

I signal and make a U-turn, ignoring Julia's knowing smirk. One crisis at a time. That's how I'll handle this.

Get Natalia to school. Make it to practice. Talk some sense into Ryland.

And try very, very hard not to think about one clumsy intern with the most beautiful blue eyes.

Chapter 3

Sophie

Pro tip: when you're trying to make a good impression, maybe don't show up to your first big assignment looking like you got dressed in the dark.

But here I am, racing through the Blades' practice facility at six forty-five a.m., trying to smooth down my definitely-not-supposed-to-be-wrinkled blouse with one hand while balancing my laptop bag, purse, and a tray of coffees with the other.

“Don’t overthink this,” I grit out beneath clenched teeth, dodging a golf cart loaded with equipment. "You are a professional reporter. You are capable. You are…"

Lost. I am completely lost. The practice facility looks different at dawn, all shadowy corridors and echoing spaces. During my internship, I never had to be here this early.

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