Nothing to do but get changed and play hockey.That’s what I’m here for.
I’m changing into my gear when Nick enters the locker room.
“Hey, King!Mother Nature gave you quite the welcome with that storm.I didn’t know you knew our Phoebe.”
I realize I need to answer.“Yeah, we’re friends.Her sister is married to my brother.”
Alvarez turns toward me with lifted brows, and I avoid him by lacing my skates.
“Where’s Carter?”I ask as we’re getting ready to start running drills.Coach is slotting in for Carter, skating with me, Declan Mackenzie, Stone, and Bedard.
“New York,” Coach says.“It’s show night, so they’ll fly back after.”
“That’s crazy,” I say.“They have to go to New York every week, no matter where the team is?”
Coach nods.
“So they could be flying back and forth across the country?”
Another nod.
“How are they practicing?”
Coach cocks his head.“Sophie flies with the team, and they practice wherever they can.We rent studio space sometimes.We do whatever we can to help them.How did the Sasquatch plan on keeping you playing?Bigfoot Finds a Brideis a constant thing through the week.You can’t fly in for one day.”
It shames me to admit this, but they may as well know.I bounce the puck on the end of my stick so I don’t have to look at anyone.“They weren’t planning on me playing.They didn’t care.I was there for optics.My style of play didn’t mesh with theirs.I wasn’t aggressive enough.I’m too soft.”
“What.The.Fuck?”Bedard laughs.“You?Soft?They’ve obviously never been hit by you.”
That makes everyone laugh, including me.
“I think what they mean is you play a more finessed game than they do,” Coach says.“You pass and block, and they want to constantly steamroll.They’re idiots if they weren’t playing you every shift possible.I’m biased, but you’re well rid of them.We’re happy you’re here.”
That’s an awesome thing to hear from your coach.
“Did they ask if you wanted to do it?The show,” Stone asks.
I shake my head.“No.I did it to help the team.But really?Who in their right mind thinks of me and goes, ‘Yeah, let’s lock him up with a ton of people every hour of every day so he can win a competition relying only on his charm and sex appeal.’”
My candor surprises them into laughing.It’s hilarious watching them try to recover to be polite.I’m not insulted.
“Enough chitchat, guys, let’s get playing!”Brick calls out from the goal.
We run drills for a while and stop to take a break.That’s when I spot Phoebe and Daphne standing near the glass next to the bench.
I’m at the bench getting water when Daphne suddenly screams, “Oh my god!”No one wants to hear a heavily pregnant woman scream that out, so we all stop what we’re doing, and Phoebe turns to Daphne in shock.Coach is at the gate, getting ready to open it.
“You’re engaged!”Daphne waves her phone.“Phoebe, why didn’t you tell me?”
Phoebe’s mouth drops open, and she looks at me in shock.“Wha-what?”
Daphne assures everyone she’s fine but sits down on the bench with Phoebe beside her at Coach’s insistence.Nick the trainer has come running and takes Daphne’s pulse when she stops waving her arms around.
“It’s being reported on a number of gossip sites that you two”—she waves her finger between me and Phoebe—“are engaged.Is that true?”
“Uh…we weren’t expecting to go public yet, Daph,” Phoebe says.“Who’s reporting it?Where did they get the info?”
“A reality TV gossip site was first to report it.Apparently when Ollie showed up at the ER the other day, a nurse asked if he was your fiancé, and the whole waiting room heard it.Someone posted it and had pictures of the two of you.I have an alert set so I know if things are posted about our players or team, and it popped up.Other outlets are posting now.The sooner we say something, the better.We want to control the narrative.Especially considering the timing and Ollie being onBigfoot Finds a Bride.”
