Page 42 of The Hockey Contract

"I'm sorry about that," I finally said as we pulled into the driveway. "Chloe can be overprotective."

"Don't apologize," Jax replied. "She cares about you. That's a good thing."

"Still, the interrogation was unnecessary."

He turned off the engine but made no move to get out of the car. "Was it, though? Her concerns aren't invalid. This arrangement does impact you more directly than me."

I hadn't expected this level of self-awareness from him. "I'm a grown woman who made this choice. I knew what I was agreeing to."

"Even so." He looked at me directly, his expression serious. "If at any point this becomes too difficult, too invasive, too anything—tell me. We'll figure something out."

The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard. This wasn't the cold, transactional Jax who had proposed our arrangement in my bakery office. This was someone different—someone who actually seemed to care about my wellbeing beyond what it meant for his endorsement deal.

"I will," I promised, oddly touched. "But I'm tougher than I look. It takes more than a photoshoot and a pushy best friend to rattle me."

His mouth curved into a small smile. "I'm beginning to see that."

As we entered the house, greeted by an ecstatic Sprinkles, I found myself thinking about Chloe's warning. People develop feelings. It was precisely what I'd promised myself I wouldn't do—confuse this business arrangement with anything genuine.

Yet watching Jax kneel to greet my dog, his usual reserve softening as Sprinkles licked his face, I felt something shift inside me—a dangerous warmth I couldn't quite name but recognized I needed to guard against.

This wasn't real, I reminded myself firmly. No matter how domestic our day had been, no matter how genuinely considerate Jax could sometimes be, this was still a transaction.

Chapter 14: Jax

The drive home from the bakery filled me with an unfamiliar contentment. Sienna sat beside me, filling the car with stories about particularly demanding wedding cake clients, her animated gestures and expressive face bringing each tale vividly to life. I found myself laughing more than I had in months, possibly years.

"So the bride's mother calls at midnight, demanding a completely different design than what they'd approved," Sienna recounted. "And I had less than eight hours to remake a four-tier wedding cake from scratch."

"What did you do?" I asked, genuinely interested.

"Pulled an all-nighter, drank enough espresso to kill a small horse, and delivered the cake with twenty minutes to spare." She grinned. "The bride cried when she saw it. Happy tears, thankfully."

"You saved the day."

"I saved my reputation," she corrected. "In the bakery business, word-of-mouth is everything. One disaster can undo years of goodwill."

I nodded, understanding completely. "Same in hockey. You can play a hundred perfect games, but fans remember the one time you miss a crucial block in the playoffs."

"Exactly!" She seemed pleased by the comparison. "Though nobody throws themselves in front of flying objects in my line of work."

"I've seen you navigate that bakery during the morning rush. Those customers with their grabby hands and coffee deprivation aren't much different from opposing forwards."

She laughed again, the sound filling the car with warmth. I found myself driving a little slower than usual, in no hurry to end the conversation.

My phone buzzed repeatedly from the center console. I ignored it until we stopped at a red light, then glanced at the screen to see multiple texts from teammates. All referenced the photoshoot pictures, which apparently had already been released online.

Looking pretty cozy in those kitchen shots, Ice Man. – Marco

She's got you BAKING? Man, she must be special. – Nichols

Didn't know you could smile like that. Good look on you. – Finn

I set the phone down, uncomfortable with their observations. The photos couldn't have been published more than an hour ago, yet everyone had already seen them. The public scrutiny was exactly what we'd wanted for the endorsement deal, but I hadn't anticipated how invasive it would feel.

"Bad news?" Sienna asked, noticing my change in mood.

"Just teammates." I accelerated as the light turned green. "The photos are already online."

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