Page 58 of Playing to Win

“No shit,” Faith shot back.

“She didn’t know you were married.” I didn’t want my mom portrayed as a homewrecker.

“That what she told you?” the man who provided half my DNA sneered.

“Yes.Shedoesn’t lie.”

“Then how did you just find out about me?” he challenged.

“I always knew a married guy who wasn’t wearing a ring”—I glared at his hand, which currently had one on his third finger, left hand—“had an affair with her. She told him she was pregnant, he gave her money for an abortion, and she never heard from him again. When I was three she married a man who was the best dad I could want, so we just…brushed you aside. It didn’t matter who you were.”

“Until you played a game with me.” Faith’s voice was flat. She looked at me, ignoring her father. “Then it was a little difficult to ignore.”

“I didn’t know when we played. And when I found out… I’m sorry I didn’t react well.”

“I’d have freaked out too.”

“Still, it was stupid.”

Frank broke in. “So, what’s happening going forward? What do you want from us?”

The more I saw of Frank, the more I appreciated Dad. “I don’t want anything.”

“Then why bring this up?”

“I didn’t! My mom saw you and panicked. She didn’t say anything to you. She didn’t ask for anything and neither did I. You figured it out and then you insisted on speaking to me.”

“Of course I did. If there’s going to be a situation here, I need to be on top of it.”

“There’s not going to be a situation.”

“How can I trust that? You told your girlfriend already—who else are you going to tell?”

Before I could respond, Jayna spoke, voice calm and level.

“Mr. Devereaux. Braydon told me in my role as PR for the Blaze, after that video of him speaking about Faith went viral. That was a couple of weeks ago and the information hasn’t spread. No one in the Blaze organization knows other than me.”

This was professional Jayna doing her job and it was impressive.

“Youfound out and now you’ve shared with at least two other people. On behalf of my boyfriend, and the team he works for, I’d like to know how many more peopleyouare going to tell. I need to be on top of the situation formyjob.”

Faith grinned, while Frank looked furious. “I don’t need some broken-down hockey player telling me what to do!”

Jayna tensed beside me. She had never said it, but her biggest fear was that her knee wouldn’t heal. Whether on purpose or by accident, Frank had found her weak spot. I hadn’t been able to sit and let her parents try to cut her down, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let this asshole, sperm donor or not, do the same.

I stood and pulled Jayna up beside me. “We’re done here. Faith, if you ever want to talk, Jayna knows how to reach me.”

I turned and dragged Jayna out of there before anyone else could speak.

* * *

Jayna

Broken-down hockey player.

Broken-down hockey player.

The words bounced around in my head, and I noticed nothing as Braydon dragged me out of the restaurant. Was that how everyone saw me now? Was I deluding myself, thinking I could make it back? Had I been written off, so that even if my knee recovered one hundred percent, no one wanted me on the ice?

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