"Ready?" I ask, finger hovering over the post button.
Ryder's quiet for a moment, and when I look up, he's watching me with an expression I can't quite read.
"Once we post this, everyone's going to have opinions," he says. "The team, the scouts, the entire town. Your followers. All of them."
"I know."
"And we're doing this anyway."
"We agreed, didn't we? Mutually beneficial." The words taste wrong, but I say them anyway. "This helps both of us."
"Right." He nods, but uncertainty flickers in his eyes. "Post it."
I hit share before I can overthink it further. The post goes live, and within seconds, notifications start flooding in. Hearts, comments, shares. My follower count ticks up in real-time.
It's working. The strategy is working.
So why does it feel like I just lied to 490,000 people?
"I should go," Ryder says, standing. "Morning skate in an hour, and I need to—" He doesn't finish, just gestures vaguely.
"Yeah. Of course." I stand too, and we're awkward again, all the ease from earlier evaporated. "So. Friday's game?"
"Preston wants you there. Front row, wearing my jersey if possible." He grimaces slightly. "Very visible girlfriend energy."
"I can do visible."
"Good." He's backing toward the door now, and I hate how much space is suddenly between us. "See you then, I guess."
"Ryder?"
He pauses, hand on the door.
"We're doing the right thing, right? This fake dating thing?"
His expression goes carefully neutral. "Ask me in three games."
Then he's gone, and I'm standing in The Ashwood Café with my phone blowing up and the ghost of his touch still tingling on my skin.
Marnie appears at my elbow approximately three seconds later. "Well. That was quite a performance."
"We're just—we're dating. Trying the dating thing."
"Mm-hmm." She's studying me with the shrewd eyes of someone who's seen a lot of young people fall hard. "Word of advice, honey? That boy's been alone a long time. And from where I was sitting, he's not playing games. So if you're not serious, be kind about it."
She leaves me with that, and I sink back into my chair, staring at my phone.
The post has 15,000 likes already. Comments pouring in:
"OMG I KNEW IT"
"The way he looks at her "
"Morris the matchmaker strikes again!"
"Alaska rom-com energy"
I should be thrilled. This is exactly the engagement I need. The rebrand is working.
