“She’s the one who decided to contest the fact we won that money while we werestillmarried. It doesn’t matter if the marriage only lasted three months until I found another man balls deep inside her at my cottage. Half of those winnings were mine.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “The woman is exhausting. The ink is dry on our divorce papers. I’ve donated every penny of the money we won on the lottery. The prenup states I owe her zero in alimony if we’re married for less than a year. She needs to stop dragging my name in the mud every time she opens her goddamn mouth.”The woman is determined to be the thorn in my side for the rest of my natural life.
Alina clears her throat. “Have you given any thoughts to what we discussed the last time Devlyn’s actions and words landed you in the gossip pages?”
This again. “You want me to enter into a fake relationship with a model or an actress to show people I’m not a cyborg without a pulse? I’m not a Hollywood celebrity, Alina.”
“I didn’t say that. And these types of arrangements aren’t only for celebrities.”
I shake my head.
“Throughout the divorce proceedings, you never made a statement. After the judge ruled in your favor about the lottery money, and the press was hounding you, you didn’t make a statement. Every time reporters corner you in the streets for astatement, you bulldozer right through them like a bowling ball slams through pins. Then, there’s your grandmother…”
My heart breaks at the mention of the woman who was a mother to me.
“Kaz, you donate so much money to worthy causes. On top of that, your annual hockey charity brings in several millions of dollars. Those amazing accomplishments are dwarfed by all this drama.” She pauses. “There are two images of you out there––the unstoppable former captain of The New York Blazers and the legendary Roy Kent of hockey who got caught up in one of the worst divorces in recent memory––”
“It doesn’t matter what people think of me. I managed not to lose myself after stepping off the ice, my businesses do well, I treat my employees with respect and dignity, and my annual charity event always surpasses my expectations.”
“My fear is that because of the circus Devlyn orchestrated––and keeps fanning––she’ll come across as the victim during your divorce and will take away from the publicity around your upcoming charity event.”
“My days of being a public figure are behind me. I don’t have to placate the press anymore. Even at the peak of my career, I hated talking to them.”
“A more approachable Kazimir Lindström would be a great selling point for that brewery in Montana that’s been giving you the runaround.”
That has my attention.
Erik said the same thing.
A beat of silence passes between us.
“The Active Kids charity gala is coming up this Saturday, right?”
“And I’m going solo.”
“What if you didn’t?”
I grumble.
“Kaz, you have the power to decide what the press is going to focus on when you step on that red carpet on Saturday night.”
I blow out a breath. “I’m a lousy actor, Alina. My threshold for pointless small talk is nonexistent. I’d never be able to pull off fake dating a woman I don’t know.”
“I never said it had to be a woman you didn’t know.”
My eyes shift to the two pairs of Converse.
Chapter 9
Let me be your ride or die
Harley
Alarge hand shakes me. “Harley.”
I open one eye and pull the blanket over my head.
“You okay?” Kaz says, “You’ve been sleeping for five hours.”
I push the blanket off my face and stare up bleary-eyed at my new roommate. “What do you mean, five hours? That’s not possible.”
