Page 25 of The Closed Off Captain

“Of course it’s going to work.”

He levels a look at me. “We already broke three of the four rules today.” He looks down at his phone.

I nod. “Yes, well, that’s on me. But today was an emergency; it won’t happen again.”

“Chloe, if we’re supposedly dating, all of these things are going to happen. I will touch you, we will be in a car together alone, we will talk on the phone, we will seek out each other outside of work, and we definitely are going to get emotionally connected. Whether we’re trying to or not, it’s going to happen.”

“Well, first of all, I said each of those things outside of what we have to do when we have to be in the spotlight. I’m talking about when we’re not doing events or doing things for the sake of your image.” He doesn’t say anything, and I push forward. “This is how we keep things professional between us.”

He sets those intense bright blue eyes on me. “We don’t have to keep things professional, Chloe. We just have to make it work for both of us.”

“I understand that, but for this to work forme,it has to stay strictly professional.”

He’s silent a moment. “And the last rule?” He doesn’t say it, but I know exactly what he’s referring to.

I take a deep breath and do something I should have done years ago. “I’m sorry for what I said four years ago. I shouldn’t have asked you out. I saw you for the first time and lost my head. It was wrong; I won’t do it again. Now, as per the last rule, I’ve apologized, and now, I want to agree that neither of us will ever bring it up again.”

He looks out the windshield. “Yeah.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Coftman. I will follow all those rules and be the best fake fiancé you could ask for.” He doesn’t look at me and doesn’t say anything. “Okay. Well, I’m heading in. Thank you for today, for all you did. I really, really appreciate it.”

“I’ll get the ring to you as soon as I get it.”

“Okay.”

He still doesn’t look at me. “As far as the team goes, Coach, Aiden, Rico, and Seb know it’s fake but nobody else. They think we’re for real; so, we’re going to have to make sure we present that.”

“I know.” He doesn’t say anything else, so I slide out of the truck. “Bye, Coftman, see you tomorrow.” I close the door and stride to my front door without looking back. As soon as my door is open, I hear him drive away.

Chapter 12

Chloe

The beginning of the week flies by, and things go back to pretty much normal for me. That all comes to a screeching halt on Thursday morning. I leave my house a little before six in the morning to get to the private airfield on time. The flight leaves at seven-thirty sharp, and I don’t want to be late. I park and grab my overnight bag, laptop bag, and purse. I’ve learned how to pack pretty light for these trips. When I turn back around, I startle. “Coftman, you scared me.”

“Sorry. I just wanted to get this to you before you get on the bus.”

He hands me a small black box. “Oh. Thank you.” I glance around to make sure nobody’s watching, but his body blocks me from view of the plane. When I open it, I stare at it. “Are those...”

“Hockey sticks,” he says quietly.

I breathe out a laugh. “Oh my word. It’s gorgeous.” The band is white gold with a fairly large diamond in the center nestled between two smaller diamonds on its side. But it’s what’s on the outside of the diamonds that catches my eye. Two small hockey sticks cross each other, somehow still making the ring look elegant. “It’s,” I blow out a breath. “It’s beautiful. I didn’t see anything like this when we were there.”

“I told him that you love hockey, and he came up with this.”

My stomach tightens. “You had this custom-made; it must have cost a fortune.” I close the lid and try to shove it back at him. “I can’t wear that.”

He opens the box and takes out the ring. “Try it on.”

“I can’t; it’s way too expensive. Let’s just get a fake one.”

“Chloe.” I look up at him. “You’re dating a professional hockey player; the ring has to match that. Theywilltake pictures. Somebody’s going to know if it’s fake.” He holds out the ring. “Try it on to see if it fits or if it needs to be resized.” I shake my head. “Come on, Chloe. I need you to wear this. We have a long way to convince anybody that this is real; a ring is just the start.”

I reluctantly hold out my hand, and he drops the ring into it. I slide it carefully onto my left hand. I hold my hand out in front of me. “It fits,” I point out the obvious.

Gunner looks down at it. “It looks good on you.”

“What if I lose it?”

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