“Please. You’re a lightweight,” another man said, sitting on Damon’s other side. “Hi. I’m Mark.”
“My agent.” Damon sighed.
“Compared to the screwy talent on this team, Damon Sinclair is an angel.”
Hal nodded “Best keep it that way. Though it seems Marlie won’t let you stray too far.”
“Not with her big foot up my ass,” Damon grumbled.
Marlie burst out laughing, as did Hal.
Mark looked intrigued. “Are you two dating?”
“Maybe.”
“Yes,” Damon countered. “We’re getting married soon, or so her mother threatened me with her shotgun. Pretty wild out there in Hope’s Turn, Oregon.”
Marlie flushed. “For the record, my mother hasn’t shot anyone in… Well, since May.”
“Seriously?” Damon’s eyes widened.
So did Mark. “Did she shoot at Damon or not? Because I can work with that.”
Marlie glared at Damon and said, “My mother is the sheriff of our hometown. She’s great at her job. She doesn’t shoot people for the fun of it.” The look she shot Damon warned him to zip it. “Though I wouldn’t give me a gun anytime soon. Or someone might lose his other knee real fast.”
Hal chuckled. “Are you sure you’re not married already? You sound like my wife when I say something stupid.”
Damon grinned at Marlie, though she didn’t know why he seemed so pleased with her mouth that constantly ran away from her, and nodded. “A guy could only be so lucky to be married to Mad Marlie.”
“Would you stop spreading that stupid nickname?”
Hal laughed. “I like it.” Before he could add to that, a younger man came for him and whispered something. “Shoot. I need to get down there. Damon, I need you as well.”
Damon looked at Marlie.
“Go ahead. I’ll sit here with Mark, and we’ll talk about you.”
That seemed to worry him.
She laughed. “Go be yourself, Demon. I’ll be good.”
He narrowed his eyes in warning, then turned and followed Hal out the door.
“What’s that about?” she asked Mark, who grinned.
“Oh, that’s just the Ice Raptors’ owner forcing your boyfriend to greet the stadium with him. Now tell me all about how you met Damon. And don’t leave anything out. Especially not any shootings, fights, or orgies.”
Marlie blinked. The Ice Raptors’ owner? Fights? “Hold on. Did you say orgies?”
CHAPTER 34
Damon didn’t know why Hal made him stand behind him, like some kind of bodyguard, while the old guy thanked the players and the fans for attending the game. Unlike a lot of mega-rich sports team owners, Hal Jensen was the real deal. A self-made guy who gave back as much as he earned.
He kept the tickets cheaper than they could have been with incentives to the stadium, gave his team excellent bonuses, and treated them all like people, not just commodities. So when the big boss asked, his people came through.
“Damon, a word for the fans?” Hal stepped aside as the intermission wound down.
Damon glared at him, wishing the guy would look intimidated and not so amused. Then he glared at the stadium—they stood in the middle of the ice on a rolled out carpet to prevent slips. “Yeah, yeah. Great to see you all. You know the rest.”
