Page 14 of The Cupcake Cottage

Which meant she was dating a dumb jock. He was the one punching above his dating grade.

Maverick exhaled and rubbed his face, trying to collect his thoughts. He felt like he didn’t know which way was up any longer. This whole thing was a violation, but every argument he reached for failed to help him make his case.

“Look…” Louis’s voice was soft in a way that caused Maverick’s guard to go up. “You’re both in your thirties. If love hasn’t happened for either of you, what’s the harm in a small masquerade for the betterment of the team?”

Maverick popped out of his seat, tossing the article on Louis’s desk. “I can find my own date, thank you.”

“You don’t like her?”

“She’s a friend.” He towered over Louis’s desk, pushing the tip of his finger against its smooth surface. “And I’m not going to ask her to have a fake relationship with me. I won’t tie her up so she can’t find the love of her life. My problems are not her responsibility.”

If love happened between them, he’d welcome it. But not like this. This wasn’t an honest way to start a relationship, and with Daisy-Mae he wanted nothing but the real thing.

Louis shifted the papers, pointing to the photo on the second page. Daisy-Mae was looking at Maverick like she wanted him to kiss her. How the photographer had gotten that close without them noticing he had no clue. Had they really been that wrapped up in each other’s worlds?

He didn’t need an answer to that. Any time Daisy-Mae stepped into the room, he forgot everything. Even hockey.

“You two obviously like each other. What’s the problem with riding this wave?”

“It’s a lie.”

“I can set up a press conference so you can call me a liar in public to make yourself feel better, but nobody’s going to believe it. In fact, this story is already running in a few places.” Louis’s voice lowered even though Maverick had moved further away, toward the door. “And the press is actually positive for once.”

Maverick halted, hope and his righteousness battling each other. The world wanted to see him with Daisy-Mae?

“As well, several agents have received calls this morning. The good kind.”

Sponsorship deals for rookies? He turned to face Louis. The man was serious.

“Coincidental,” he said, dismissing the idea of his article being connected. “It’s too soon for anyone to change their mind about me or the team and start offering deals.”

Louis slowly shook his head, and Maverick came back to sit across from Louis’s desk. Suddenly this may no longer only be a matter of pride or protecting Daisy-Mae from the disaster of his life.

He glanced through the pages of photos again. He and Daisy-Mae looked like the real deal. But why was the public loving this?

Because Daisy-Mae was beautiful and glowing, and he looked like he’d do anything for her.

It looked like love.

He sighed. “I don’t know what to do with any of this, but you’re the one who has to explain this all to Daisy-Mae and figure it out.”

The office door flew open and there was his pretend girlfriend, flushed, her forehead creased. She was wearing a fitted white blouse, black slacks with a zipper up the side, and heeled ankle boots with a white rose stitched into the black leather. Maverick didn’t think he’d ever seen a woman looking as tall—or as angry—as Daisy-Mae Ray. There was a fire in her eyes, and her body was taking up more space than Landon protecting his net. He swore he heard Louis gulp.

Despite how twisted it might make him, Maverick hoped he left this meeting with Daisy-Mae as his girlfriend.

** *

“Really?Really?” Daisy-Mae marched over to Louis’s desk, ignoring Maverick who had sat up straight when she’d arrived. “Do you not ask your photographers to sign something when you hire them so they can’t release photos without approval?”

“Daisy-Mae, I…”

“What? You’re sorry your photographer sold out the man he was hired to help?”

What if Maverick believed that she’d slipped a few bills to the cameraman and asked him to make up this story? It wouldn’t be a giant leap for anyone after the way her mom had announced at Myles’s party that Daisy-Mae should entrap a player. The only question would be why the photographer took so long to sell her story.

“Well, actually…”

“Is this some sort of ill-informed publicity stunt? You’re a coach, not in PR. Because this is the opposite of what Maverick needs! You’re supposed to coach him. And when you’re not doing that, protect and help him.” She turned to Maverick, who was watching her attentively. “You need to call your agent because this is pure crap.”

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