Page 102 of Heartless As Puck

“Make it a thousand,” I said, sticking my hand out.

Alec clasped it. “You’re on.”

My phone rang, and I released his hand and pulled the phone from my pocket, grimacing when Stephen Robertson’s name flashed across the screen. Reluctantly, I accepted the call and raised the phone to my ear, hardly daring to breathe now that the moment of reckoning was upon me.

“Hello, Mr. Robertson.”

“What on earth did you think you were doing, Harris?” he demanded, clearly pissed.

My stomach sank, and I turned away from the others, not wanting any of them to see my face if he was going to strip me of the captaincy. I’d taken a risk, and Jane was worth it, but paying the price was going to hurt.

“I’m sorry, sir.” I strode a few paces away and lowered my voice, “Jane always gets used for her family, and I didn’t want to do that to her. I’ll understand if there are consequences.”

“Sweet.” He said the word as if it tasted sour. “But in the future, we expect you to stick to the script, and if you have a problem with that, you’d better tell us before you’re in front of an interviewer. We can’t have a captain we don’t trust.”

“Captain, sir?” My pulse sped up. Did this mean they hadn’t immediately tossed me aside?

He huffed irritably. “You’re a lucky bastard. We’ve seen the original footage, but they cut the final version to avoid the part where you mentioned what you were ‘supposed’ to say. All they showed was you being sweet about your girl and talking about how great the Wrights are compared to your own family. Trent loved it. The producer thinks their audience will react positively. For now, your position is secure, but for the love of God, don’t fuck it up.”

“I won’t,” I promised, grinning as I walked back toward the others. “Thank you, and please thank Mr. Trent for me too. I’m sorry for going rogue and I’ll keep to the game plan from here on out.”

“You’d better.” He was quiet for a moment. “Good game, tonight. Keep it up.”

With that, he hung up.

“Is everything okay?” Jane asked, tentatively sliding her arms around me.

I buried my face in her hair. “Somehow, I think so.”

“Thank God.” Tension leached from her and she melted into the embrace. “That’s great. How are you feeling?”

I held her tighter. “Like I got really damn lucky.”

Just as Robertson had said.

I glanced up at Alec. “Scratch that, I’m in for two thousand.”

I was on a winning streak, after all.

6 MONTHS LATER

JANE

My heart hammered against my ribcage as I watched with eagle eyes for my man to emerge onto the ice. I saw his number before I recognized his face—hidden behind a helmet, as it was.

He skated a loop of the rink, scanning the throng of spectators packed from wall to wall in the Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, and when he spotted me, he touched his chest and pointed at me.

My heart leapt, and I could feel my cheeks heating as the people around me turned to stare, many of them hiding grins. Usually, I hated being the center of attention, but right now, I didn’t mind it, because no one expected me to say anything and it was sweet that he was willing to risk his stoic reputation for me.

The moment passed quickly and he started running drills with Jesse and Nick.

Hazel nudged me with her elbow. “I can’t believe how cute you two are.”

Now my face was on fire.

“We love each other,” I said.

“I know.” She sighed wistfully. “I want that one day. Not with my brother obviously. Ew. But I want someone who looks at me the way he looks at you.”