Chapter 1
The Plan
Sofie
The Bridgeview Hotel is posh,the suites are lavish, the kind of luxury people gasp over when they see it on socials. Gold fixtures, river views, marble counters. Sophisticated. Beautiful. High-end. Whatever.
I don’t blink. Money stopped impressing me before I could spell it. Such a privileged thought, and I know that makes me seem like a bad person to others, but it was my reality. Was my reality.
Claudia walks out of the bedroom after putting Savannah down for her nap and sits across from me on the couch. That is what impresses me. A woman who pulled herself from nothing and became something. Her hair is somehow perfect. Her shirt is unwrinkled. She is balancing motherhood, a doctoral-level career as the team psychologist, and a brand-new engagement, as if it were light work.
Deacon stands behind her, one hand resting on her shoulder. He looks relaxed in a way that is new. I’ve followed his career for years, and although he’s the veteran, the oldest and mostunshakable, he now somehow looks more relaxed than I have ever seen him. He used to come into PR meetings with the charisma of a movie star and the emotional availability of a brick wall. Now he’s softened. Settled. In love.
Claudia did that. Three months, and she flipped his whole world.
She and I met then, too, and I liked her immediately. When I found out she was a KET, I liked her even more. No warm-up period, no small-talk phase. Just clicked. KET girl energy recognizes KET girl energy. I would hide a body for her. Thankfully, this is not a body-hiding situation yet.
“Ready to become the hockey world’s favorite couple?”
Claudia glances up at Deacon, and he winks as he squeezes her shoulder as he answers. “We are.”
“The footage from the proposal at Icehouse is where we start.” I smile as I pull my laptop from my bag.
“Did you get it before or after all hell broke loose with Sterling’s sister?” Deacon chuckles.
Deacon gave me a heads up, knowing it was a great PR moment, so I had a small team filming the incident? In the ultimate example of pots calling kettles black, Briar Sterling overheard one of the bunnies calling Claudia a puck bunny and went off. “In Briar's defense, she didn’t turn it physical.”
“As far as I’m concerned, she doesn’t need a defense either way,” Deacon says as he rounds the couch and sits beside Claudia.
“We were able to edit it all out.” I open my laptop. “I’ll airdrop you both the footage.”
“Has it been posted yet?” Claudia asks.
“I wanted you to approve it first because this was raw and real,” I say as I hit the arrow. “The rest will be staged, and I won’t ask.”
I watch them watch the whole thing, the guys all entering and removing their coats or suit jackets, exposing their wives' last names as they head to the unofficially official team area in the back of the pub. Their toasts. And then Deacon removed his jacket with Holloway on the back, and then the proposal.
I watch Deacon close his eyes slightly as if saying a silent thank you to God, and yep, I fall a little more in love with them as a couple.
“So. Engagement is locked. Now we craft the narrative knowing Kyle and Emma are watching. They’re image-obsessed. They won’t risk stepping into a story that the entire hockey world is obsessed with.”
Claudia nods, “We agreed no discussion about paternity.”
“Correct,” I say. “We do not hint or confirm. We let the world see you as what you are. A beautiful working mom with an infant. A psychologist respected by her team and Deacon’s partner. That alone is untouchable.”
Deacon sits beside her. “So, what do we do first?”
I turn my screen so they can see my digital vision board. “Date nights. Warm lighting. You two being adorable but private. No statements, no interviews. Just the visual of a couple who are deeply in love and living their lives.”
Claudia glances at him out of the corner of her eye, and he nods. “That is easy enough.”
“And then,” I say, flipping to the next one, “we bring in Paul Bronski.”
Claudia’s eyebrows lift. “You think he would want to be involved?”
“Paul is eighty-five, a hockey legend, and he loves you. You two share the foster care background. He has all but claimed you.”
Deacon chuckles. “He has.”
