Page 46 of Fake Shot

He’d just winked at me and said, “Sure, just this once.” And then he’d headed out the door, leaving me to shower and get ready quickly so I could meet Audrey and Graham.

But now, as I sweep my hair over my shoulder and turn around so he can see his name on my back, I wish I’d left the jersey at home. He’d have survived, but I might not survive this.

Because in the stands above me, I can hear people cooing and murmuring, and I know they’re talking about us even while I refuse to look up and check.They’re taking pictures of this moment, which is exactly why he called me down here.

It’s an important distinction that I need to remember: this isn’t about him seeing me with his name on my back, this is about us performing for an audience so they’ll believe that our engagement is real.

As I turn back toward him, I hope my face isn’t bright red from embarrassment.

“You look good in my jersey, Tink,” he says. It’s loud enough for me to hear him through the thick plexiglass, but he’s not yelling it for everyone to hear.

“So ... WAG group chat?” I mouth the words as I hold up my phone against the glass, allowing him to see Marissa’s text and all the “Welcome, Jules!” messages below.

He just gives me that devilish smile. “Good, you belong there.”

If we were really engaged, sure, I’d belong in that chat. But knowing this is all going to be over at the end of the season, I don’t understand why he asked to have me added. But I can’t ask him right now because he’s skating backward and calls out, “Meet me in the Family Room after the game.”

When we close in on the end of the first period, the Rebels are up by one, thanks to a goal Drew scored on a power play. And that’s when Jameson and Lauren finally slide into the seats next to us, Lauren asking, “What did we miss?”

“Where have you been?” Audrey asks.

“Babysitter issues,” Jameson says, but Lauren’s cheeks grow pink.

“I thought Morgan was watching the girls?” I say.

“She is, but the T broke down on the way out to our place, so then she had to get an Uber, along with everyone else who’d just gotten off the train.”

“Why didn’t you just go pick her up?” Audrey asks, and Lauren’s cheeks get even pinker.Ohhhhh.

While Jameson says something about missing her call, I chuckle to myself, and Lauren elbows me and leans in, whispering, “Don’t be a jerk or I’ll start talking about Colt.” That has the laughter dying in my throat.

When the period ends, AJ appears at the aisle and insists Jameson slide over so she can sit next to Lauren. I love the way she just comes up like a total boss and tells my brother what to do. Most people are intimidated by him, but I’m pretty sure nothing scares this woman.

She asks me for more details about the mentoring program, and as I explain how it works, she sighs and says, “God, I wish we had something like that in the league. Being a woman in this sport is tough, and I could have used a good mentor when I was starting out.”

“Is that why you’ve been such a good mentor to me?” Lauren asks.

“I haven’t mentored you,” AJ says, looking over at Lauren like she’s just said something patently wrong. Lauren works in marketing for the Rebels, and while AJ isn’t technically her boss, she seems like she has her fingers on the pulse of all parts of the operation, whether related to the players or the business aspect of the organization.

“Of course you have. Starting that day, you offered to bring a shovel if I needed to bury a body,” Lauren says, and I haven’t heard that story before, but I can guess it happened when Lauren found out the truth about her late husband. “And then you started inviting me to lunch, where you gave me all kinds of tips about how to survive in this male-dominated industry, and then Patrick got promoted, and I got his job as the head of marketing after only being here for, like, six months. You think I don’t know you were behind that?”

“Good talent needs to be cultivated and rewarded,” AJ says with a shrug.

“That’s how it feels in construction, too,” I say. “It’s why I only hire women?—”

“That’s so badass.” AJ meets my eyes with a bright smile. “I love that. In fact, I love it so much I might want to hire you.”

I’m about to tell her that I don’t work for friends, when I realize that she’s not a friend. But she sure feels like a kindred spirit.

“You totally should,” Lauren says. “Jules and Audrey did my whole house when I first moved back, and it couldn’t have come out better.”

I think back to the winter before last, when Jameson had us secretly remodel the entire upstairs of Lauren’s house before she moved in, then refused to take any credit for it. His feelings for her were so obvious to everyone except Lauren—but then again, she didn’t know the extent of the sacrifices he’d made for her until much later.

“I’ll keep that in mind, because I just bought a new place and I think it’s going to need some work. But I want to live in it for a bit first, and make sure that what I’m envisioning actually makes sense for the space.”

“That’s really smart,” Audrey says. “I wish more people would do that. Most people think they know what they want, and they don’t want to live through renovations, so they do them before moving in. But you wouldn’t believe the number of people who want us to come back and change things once they’ve lived with them for a while.”

The lights start flashing and AJ jumps up. “I have to run. Enjoy the rest of the game.”

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