Page 55 of Win Big

Hell. I was just having a little fun with Everly. And it’s turned into a shit show.

I look over at Everly and meet her eyes. Her mouth is puckered up and she looks like she just ate a lot of bad seafood. But then her expression changes to resigned, she lifts a shoulder, and her eyes say to me,Why not?

Then it hits me . . . this is perfect!

I clear my throat and try not to appear too enthusiastic. “I don’t know...”

“Are you seeing someone else?” Murray asks. “I mean, usually it’s not my business. But it kind of is. If you have a girlfriend, this could be a problem.”

“No. I don’t have a girlfriend. But if we’re trying to be honest about the situation, this seems... deceptive.” I don’t even care.

“I know what you’re saying,” Dave jumps in. “But we won’t make a big deal of it. Like Murray said, you two just go out a few times, hit some events so people see you together, you don’t even have to talk to the media or say anything.”

“Well.” I twist my mouth up like I’m thinking about it. “I guess I could do that.”

Bob still looks like he has an aneurysm. He rounds on Everly. “This is?—”

“Would you like to talk about it in my office?” Everly interrupts her dad sweetly.

He snaps his mouth shut, but is still frowning.

Everly rises gracefully. She places her hands flat on the boardroom table and gazes around at everyone. “Anything else?”

I’m surprised they don’t all bow to her, Princess Wynn.

“Good. I’ll be in my office if you want to talk more, Dad.”

I hide my grin. “Let’s go make a plan, Ms. Wynn.”

She shoots me a skeptical look.

I open the door and hold it for her.

“Thank you.”

I let her lead the way back to her office.

She closes the door and throws herself down into the chair behind her desk, shoving her hands into her hair. “Shit!”

I perch my ass on the edge of her desk. “It’s not that bad.”

“Maybe not for you! My dad’s having a heart attack and when my mom hears about this, she’ll freak out too.”

“Why?” I regard her steadily. “We didn’t do anything wrong. I get that it’s a bit of a PR issue, because of Hockey for All, but otherwise it’s not a big deal. We went out on a date and we were having fun.”

She blows out a heavy sigh. “It’s a long story.”

“Are you okay?” I gnaw on my bottom lip, studying her. Her face is shiny, like she’s sweating, and her hands are shaking.

“Of course I’m okay.”

I don’t believe a word of that. But I admire her ability to rise above whatever is making her look freaked out.

She swallows, sits up straight, and clenches the armrests of her chair. “I’m fine,” she repeats.

“Okay. So when should we go out again? I’m off until our next game on Monday in Toronto.”

She presses her lips together. Clearly she’s unhappy about this. “We need to be strategic about it.”

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