Page 56 of Romancing the Grump
“I know. Weird, right? And she did it for similar reasons. Well, sort of similar. Flint had a co-star who was causing some publicity problems, and he needed to look like he had a girlfriend at their movie premiere. So Audrey stepped in. Then they fell in love for real and got married last fall.”
“Flint…do you mean…? Are you telling me your sister is married to Flint Hawthorne?”
“I…am telling you that. But he’s from my hometown, so I feel like that makes it slightly less crazy. He and Audrey met a couple of years ago.”
It makes sense that actors I’ve seen in movies have normal lives and normal families, but it still feels weird to wrap my head around one of those actors being Summer’s brother-in-law. “And you’re saying they faked their relationship at first?”
“Just for a movie premiere he had to attend.” Summer yawns. “But honestly, they were totally in love with each other from the start, so I think they were only pretending it was fake.”
“So they were faking a fake relationship that was actually real the whole time?”
“Well done. You caught on quick.” She wiggles her toes. “Nathan, you have no idea how heavenly this is. I would sleep so good if I got to do this every night.”
“And I would wake up a lot easier,” I say before I can think better of it.
“Mmm,” she says sleepily. “A match made in heaven.”
It would be so easy. So easy to reach out, to pull her against me, tuck her body into my side and run a hand along the curve of her hip.
I can’t do it.
For her sake—and mine.
I might have gotten caught up in my emotions yesterday, compelled by the intensity of our kiss and the unexpected feelings triggered at the press conference. But after the game, once I finally came back to earth and considered how Ireallyfeel, I had a very serious conversation with myself.
I get that Summer is what my career needsright now.
But long term, I’m not whatsheneeds. And I have to do my best to keep the lines from getting blurry.
Instead of reaching out for her, I loop a finger through my father’s Stanley Cup ring and take a steadying breath. My teammates think I wear it to honor him. Like a talisman or a good luck charm. I get why they think that. My dad killed it on the ice. Stanley Cup winner. NHL Hall-of-Famer.
But that’s not why I wear it.
I wear it to remind me of everything Idon’twant to be. To remember the damage he caused so I’m never tempted to do the same thing.
Summer yawns beside me, wiggling her toes to get my attention. “Did you fall asleep on me?”
“No, I’m good,” I say. “I’m awake.”
“So, here’s my thought,” she says. “Since we already kissed once, I think it’s okay if we need to kiss again. If people are watching, if we really need to sell the relationship, it’s okay with me if it’s okay with you.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Obviously, that means holding hands is fine. And hugging, and just generally being affectionate with one another.”
“Obviously,” I repeat. “That all sounds reasonable.”
“And I assume, aside from your friends, we’re just going to let the rest of the team think it’s real?”
“Malik already does, so…yeah. Do you really have the form we need to file?”
“Only because Parker emailed it to me.”
“So youweren’tkidding about dating your way down the roster.”
Instead of responding, Summer plops a pillow onto my face.
I huff and toss it aside. “Did you just throw a pillow at me? Is that your thing now?”
