Page 43 of Playing to Win

I rubbed a hand on my pants. “Are you sure? You could just tell me a place to go.”

He smiled. “I lead the team both on the ice and in dressing. That suit you wear has been giving me nightmares, so I’m not sure you can pick out something appropriate.” He shrugged. “So far, it’s not looking good.”

He insisted on driving and led the way to a black Bentley. I eyed it enviously.Maybe someday…

He chirped a fob and I climbed into an incredibly comfortable seat, even at my size. Once we had seat belts on, he steered the car out of the lot and into the streets, familiar with the car and the route.

“Things are going well with Jayna?”

I didn’t expect he’d ask me about the dating thing. “Yeah. It’s going great.”

He shot me a glance. “Not sure what’s going on there, but I invited you to Seb’s place that night and you didn’t show. Which makes me wonder why you were so pissed that she went to the party.”

My mouth dropped open, but I had no idea what to say.

He lifted his hand. “I don’t know what the story is, and I don’t need to. I trust Jayna. Just, if you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

“Thank you,” I managed.

“Saw you had practice with the Bonfire. Faith give you a hard time?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Nothing I didn’t deserve.”

“I had doubts about you, Mitchell, after that video. But maybe it was just a mistake.”

“It was. Definitely. I haven’t broken my two-beer rule since because I’m obviously terrible when I’m drunk.”

“Probably good to stick to that. Here we are.”

We pulled behind a store somewhere downtown—I hadn’t been watching where we went. Cooper turned off the car and then led the way to the back door. It was opened before we got there.

“Mr. Cooper, so nice to see you.” The man was short and elderly, but his eyes were bright and curious as he looked at me.

“My teammate here needs something to impress his girlfriend’s parents, and obviously he has to up his game for the Blaze.”

The man ran his eyes over me and I had to fight not to squirm. “We have work to do. Come.”

* * *

Jayna

Braydon gottickets for my parents after I assured him I wanted him to. They weren’t going to change, not after all these years. Nothing I achieved in my hockey career would offset my gender. Wayne, playing in Germany, was the one whose hockey career mattered to them. They were the family I had, so…getting them tickets, having them come to a game to watch my boyfriend, should take care of my dealings with them until our fake dating was over. Seeing them fawn over my “date” would rub on my last nerve, but I could use them to promote our dating narrative. Most of the time I spent with them I was irritated with no upside.

They’d flown in from Winnipeg the afternoon of the game. I was tied up with work so I arranged to meet them after. They’d fly home tomorrow morning. Perks of a successful real estate business.

Braydon had heard what they were like so he wasn’t going in blind. I wasn’t sure exactly how they’d act, since I’d never dated a hockey player before. Could be embarrassing.

In the current standings, with a month to go, the Blaze held one of the playoff spots. And barring a last-minute collapse, they should be playing in the postseason. They weren’t likely to win the division, but they might be able to get home ice advantage for the first round or two. This gave the team a chance to get used to the new goalie situation without the same pressure as if they were contending for one of the last playoffs spots.

For the game tonight Petey was scheduled to start, with Braydon backing him up. The team they were playing from Jersey had little chance of making the playoffs, but the points from a win would help the Blaze in their standings. As expected, Petey played the full game, and Braydon sat on the bench making notes.

I did my job—posting throughout the game, watching the press conferences and putting clips up on social media. Once that was done I went down to meet Braydon in the friends and family room. It was mostly cleared out by that point, but Braydon was talking to Ducky while he waited for me.

“Ready?” I asked.

I was wearing pants—I didn’t like exposing my knee in a skirt unless I had to, and March weather in Toronto was a fickle beast. Mostly, it would feel too much like catering to my parents. I had my cane, though I could go without it for longer stretches now. As a compromise, I’d worn a soft sweater in light blue, since my mother was likely to comment on whether I was keeping my hockey player boyfriend attracted. She’d already been gushy and pushy on the phone, and I was kind of enjoying imagining the call when I told her we’d broken up. Petty, but still…satisfying.

Braydon looked nervous, foot tapping and hands tugging on the sleeves of his shirt. He had on a new suit, one that fit him better. I was sure the guys on the Blaze had advice on where to get a suit to fit a hockey player’s body. They had a reputation as a well-dressed team, mostly thanks to Cooper.

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