Page 10 of Cross-Checked

Because I just did exactly what she asked me to tell my teammates to do: I didn’t react, I didn’t let my temper get the best of me or let myself be goaded into a fight.

I want to tell her I did that because it was the smart choice in the moment,notbecause of what she said earlier.

I didn’t do this forher, I did it for myteam.

Chapter Five

AJ

“I’m so glad you ended up coming,” I tell Colt’s fiancée, Jules, as we stand outside the locker room after the Game 4 win. We officially won our division and are moving on to the conference finals.

She laughs lightly. “You’re just saying that because he had a stellar game.”

“Not gonna lie, I’m convinced he plays better when you’re here.”

With a teasing roll of her eyes, she brushes her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “I mean, I’m not saying I’m his good luck charm...” She gives me a little wink.

Jules is a complete boss, and having known her since before she and Colt were “dating,” I can confidently say she’s thelastperson I’d ever have expected to give someone with his reputation a chance. But a strange twist of fate has them engaged—something only her family and I know is fake—and now...it’s starting to feel very real. Especially since she flew down here for this game to surprise him, is wearing a tank top with his name sewn over a heart across her chest, and will be coming home on our team plane.

“I know you’re joking, but I’m not.” I lock eyes with her so she’ll know I’m 100% serious. “You may need to travel with us for the rest of the season.”

Her laugh is tight. “AJ, I have a job and a life, and I’m not dropping it for a man. Not even for Colt.”

“But you know how superstitious hockey players are, right?”

“Were you a hockey player?” she asks. “Because you really seem like you’re buying into the idea of these superstitions.”

“Yeah, I’ve played my whole life.”

Her eyes widen. “Do you still play?”

“No, there’s not really time. But I’m on the ice whenever I can be.” I don’t know why I admit this to her...it just kind of slips out. I’m normally incredibly secretive about this, using our practice rink early every morning, before anyone else is there. The only one who knows I still skate is Gerard, the morning janitor, because he’s the only other person who’s there that early. I’m sure if there was ever a reason to review the security footage, my secret would be out. But I’ve managed to keep it under wraps for years.

“That’s amazing. I’ve never been very good at skating, I always left that to Jameson and Colt.”

“Speaking of, if Colt gets it in his head that you’re his good luck charm?—”

“Please,don’tput that idea in his head. Seriously. We have a waitlist a mile long at Our House, and I’m already behind because I went up to Montreal with him a couple weeks ago.”

“Yeah, about that...Remember earlier in the season when I was telling you I had just moved into a new place, but I wanted to live with it a bit before doing renovations...?” I trail off, hoping she’ll jump in and offer to help, but she just told me how behind she is, so I’m not surprised that all she does is nod. “I wasn’t kidding about wanting you and Audrey to work on thatrenovation. Ilovethe idea of supporting a female-owned and operated business, and I really want it to be you two.”

“How do you even know that you’d like our work?” Jules asks, her big blue eyes flicking toward the locker room like she can’t wait to see Colt. And if the way he was looking at her during warmups, when she surprised him at the glass, is any indication, I’m sure he can’t wait to see her too. He’ll be the first one out of the locker room, no doubt, even though goalies normally take forever.

“Because I sort of stalk your social media. It’s so well-done. Like it’s curated enough that I have a sense of your design, but I also love that you guys post a bit of personal stuff there as well.”

“That was all Morgan,” Jules says.

“Lauren’s cousin?”

“Yeah. She’s really good at it, and neither Audrey nor I want to be responsible for it.”

Morgan’s in her mid-twenties and came to Boston with Lauren when she moved here a year and a half ago. Since then, she’s become close to Audrey and Jules, but I had no idea she did that type of work. “I thought she was Petra Ivanova’s personal assistant?”

“She is,” Jules explains, “but Petra’s closing her event planning business now that the TV show has really taken off, and since the studio already has a personal assistant for her, there’s not as much for Morgan to do these days. She basically runs Petra’s online presence, and she’s started her own social media consulting business on the side.”

Petra Ivanova is one of Lauren’s best friends, so I’ve gotten to know her a bit over this past year. She’s a powerhouse of a woman and the face of the award-winning talk showAnd Yet We Rise. Every week, she interviews a woman who overcame great obstacles to redefine success in her field. The show is both inspirational and aspirational—exactly the type of show I wishhad existed when I was younger. It doesn’t surprise me at all that it’s taken off the way that it has, but it sounds unfortunate for Morgan.

“I had no idea. I should see if she can do some consulting for us. Our social media manager, Tatum, is sweet, but she’s not doing anything as innovative or trendy as I see some of the other teams doing.”

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