Page 44 of Romancing the Grump
But I nod my head anyway.
“Yeah. If Nathan is willing, I’m in.”
CHAPTER 10
NATHAN
I lean forwardand prop my elbows on my knees, grateful that so far, the team bus is still relatively empty. I’m not usually one of the first players aboard, but today, I was hoping for some extra time to clear my head before the game.
Instead, I got an unexpected conversation with Parker. When she dropped into the seat beside me, I could tell by the look on her face I wasn’t going to like what she had to say.
I didn’t. I could only stomach a few minutes of scrolling through the videos using the #TameTheBroodingBeast hashtag, but that was more than enough to get the idea. Parker has a full-blown problem on her hands, and for the sake of the team’s image, we need to fix it.
Parker’s proposed solution makes sense. A decoy girlfriend to help control the narrative—a love story to replace theconquestnarrative that’s trending right now.
I get it.
I just can’t believe Summer agreed to help.
And I shouldn’t be so happy that she did.
“Is this seat taken?”
I look up to see Summer standing in the aisle, her expression easy and confident.
“It’s all yours,” I say.
She sits down and glances down at my suit. “You look nice.”
I’m wearing my favorite one, navy blue with a tiny pinstripe. I thought of Summer when I packed it, wondering if she would notice, even if I didn’t want to acknowledge that’s what I was doing, and the payoff is better than I hoped.
Ilikeimpressing Summer.
One more reason why faking with her is probably playing with fire.
“Thanks,” I say. “You do too.”
We sit through a beat of awkward silence while several players climb onto the bus and move past us to find seats. Even on the day when I yelled at her over a parking space, it didn’t feel this weird. But with Parker’s fake dating plan clearly hanging between us, everything feels stilted and awkward. Which isn’t going to make faking it easy.
“So, this is weird, right?” Summer finally says once we’re alone again, and I let out a little chuckle.
Even just having her admit it eases some of the tension in my shoulders. “It’s a little weird. I guess I should say thank you?”
She gives her head a quick shake. “It’s not a big deal. It’s not like I'm dating anyone for real. I’m happy to help.”
It didn’t even occur to me until right now that agreeing to date me publicly means Summer won’t be dating anyone in her real life for as long as this charade goes on. “It feels like a pretty big deal,” I say. “Are you trying to make a habit of coming to my rescue?”
Her lips curve into a smile. “I could ask you the same thing.”
I almost scoff in response. Protecting Summer from Dominik’s immaturity doesn’t come close to her calling Franklin or volunteering to be my fake girlfriend, but before I can protest, my phone vibrates in my pocket at the same time Summer’s vibrates in her hand.
It looks like we both just got the same message from Parker.
Parker
Okay, so there are a lot of new posts and comments from fans who are currently waiting outside the arena. Just giving you a heads-up. It would probably be good if you look like a couple when you get off the bus.
Usually, a few fans are waiting outside arenas whenever we arrive for games, but this season, it’s turned into something bigger than any of us have ever seen before. Sometimes hundreds of people are lined up to watch our arrival, even hours before puck drop. It’s hard enough just to walk past them and feel any sense of normalcy.
