Page 72 of The Hockey Contract

"No," I admitted. "It's not part of the arrangement."

I left before she could ask the obvious follow-up question:Then why are you doing it?

Because I didn't have an answer I was ready to give.

That night, I called my younger brother, Alex.

"The playoff wonder himself!" he answered cheerfully. "To what do I owe this unprecedented mid-playoff phone call? Are you dying? Is it aliens?"

"Very funny." Despite my tone, I was smiling. Alex had always been able to pull me out of my seriousness. "I need... advice."

A dramatic gasp came through the phone. "The great Jackson Harrison needsmyadvice? Alert the media!"

"Forget it," I grumbled.

"No, no, I'm listening. Seriously." His tone shifted to something more genuine. "So, what's up?"

I hesitated, unsure how to articulate what I'd barely admitted to myself. "It's about Sienna."

"Your wife? The baker? What about her?"

"She's not really my wife," I blurted out, then glanced toward my closed door to ensure she couldn't overhear. "I mean, legally yes, but... it was an arrangement. For the endorsement deal. Temporary. Three months, then divorce."

The silence that followed was so prolonged I thought we'd lost connection.

"Alex?"

"I'm processing," he replied finally. "Youfake marriedsomeone for an endorsement deal? You? Mr. Everything-By-The-Book? Mr. No-Romantic-Entanglements-During-Season?"

"It made sense at the time," I defended. "Her bakery needed financial help, I needed the family-man image for Perfect Home Furnishings..."

"Okay, so you entered a business arrangement disguised as marriage. Got it." Alex sounded more intrigued than judgmental, thankfully. "So what's the problem? Contract dispute? She eating all your protein bars? Leaving wet towels on the bathroom floor?"

"No, she's..." I struggled to find the right words. "She's perfect, Alex. She's kind and funny and works harder than anyone I've ever met. She makes everything better—the house, the team events, even playoff pressure. She learned hockey rules just to understand my world better. She stress-bakes when she's worried about me taking hits. She..."

"Oh my god," Alex interrupted, laughter bubbling in his voice. "You've fallen in love with your fake wife. This is the best thing that's ever happened."

"I'm not in love," I protested automatically. "I'm just... confused. The lines are blurring."

"Jax." My brother's voice turned serious. "I've known you my entire life. I've heard you talk about hockey, about championships, about training regimens. I have never, not once, heard you talk about a person the way you just talked about this woman."

I didn't respond, his words settling uncomfortably in my chest.

"The question isn't whether you have feelings for her," Alex continued gently. "It's what you're going to do about it."

What indeed. The contract signing with Perfect Home Furnishings was only a few steps away. The arrangement had served its purpose. In a few weeks, we could go our separate ways as planned, returning to our individual lives with our individual goals accomplished.

The thought created a hollowness inside me I wasn't prepared to examine.

"I don't know," I admitted finally.

"Yes, you do," my brother replied. "You're just afraid."

Chapter 24: Sienna

The diamond necklace felt heavy against my skin—beautiful, expensive, and utterly confusing. I stood in the bakery kitchen staring at wedding cake designs without really seeing them, my fingers absently tracing the pendant.

"If you touch that thing one more time, I'm going to scream," Chloe announced, dropping a tray of cookies beside me. "You've been fingering it like a worry stone all morning."

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