Page 65 of Pucking Strong

Why does that name sound so familiar? With a gasp, I sit forward. “Wait, Janine Marsh? Didn’t she do the interview with the Prices when they first came out?”

“Yep. And she owes me a favor. We’ll sit you both down for an interview. And don’t worry,” she adds, looking to Henrik. “It’ll be scripted. Janine will know what to ask.”

“And then what?” I say.

She uses a laser pointer to circle each column on the slide. “From there, you’ll go on a few public dates. We’ll have you photographed on each one. You know, nice candlelit dinner, maybe a walk on the beach holding hands. It’s gonna be so stinkin’ cute. Date one will be just the two of you. And I’m sorry, but we’ll need some PDA for that one. That’ll be your big ‘look at us, we’re gay’ moment. The second date will be a group date. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

It takes everything I have to stifle my pained groan. Not only did I marry my dream man and move into his house to awkwardly co-parent his injured niece. Now we’re both wearing shiny, matching wedding rings. Oh, and I have to confess my not-so-fake love for him on ESPN. And Poppy’s making us go on romantic fake dates together. Publicly.

This is just fucking perfect.

Henrik looks to me, waiting. Because, apparently, I’m calling all the shots now.

“Fine,” I say.

Henrik turns to Poppy and nods. “We’ll do it.”

She claps her hands together. “Excellent. And it should go without saying that Karolina will be protected in all this. I’m not the type of media director to use a child to score cheap PR points.”

“We appreciate that,” Henrik replies.

“I’m just glad to have so much enthusiastic cooperation. Pick an evening for next week when you’d like to go on your first date. Meanwhile, I’ll set up the ESPN interview with Janine. Sound good?”

Henrik nods.

I do nothing.

“Oh, and Teddy—” Poppy turns to me. “We’re gonna have you attend the opening night home game. That way we can get some shots of you with Henrik out on the ice. You know, the whole ‘cheering for your man’ angle.”

I’m on autopilot as I stand. “Well, it sounds like you’ve got it all figured out. Just tell me where to stand and smile for the cameras.”

Henrik rises next to me, still looking at me warily.

“Don’t worry.” Poppy walks us to the door. “I have everything under control. Give me a couple weeks to work my magic, and we’ll make this all go away. Then we can all get back to hockey as usual.”

Henrik looks relieved as he shakes her hand. Meanwhile, I feel even smaller than I did on the day we got married. How is that possible?

We’ll make this all go away.

She means me. I’m what will go away. Henrik getting clear of this mess means getting clear of me. And apparently, he can’t fucking wait.

“Look, Henrik, I don’t know what else to say. You made a commitment. They set the campaign filming schedule around the preapproved datesyousent to them back in July—”

“But my situation has changed,” I snap into the phone, juggling three bags of groceries one-handed as I reach in my pocket for my apartment keys. “Did you tell them my situation has changed?”

“I did—”

“I can’t fly to New York right now to shoot an ad campaign. My niece needs me here. The season is about to start, so I’ll already be traveling. Christ, I haven’t even secured her a teacher yet. I just—Ineedyou to ask them for an extension. Four months. Surely, they can extend my contract and film within four months?”

My agent is quiet for a moment. In her silence, I make my way out of the elevator and down the hall to my apartment door. “Henrik, trust me, I understand your situation. But I’m telling you that they can’t offer you that kind of extension. If you can’t make the dates work now, datesyoupicked, then it’s looking like you’re gonna have to let this campaign go—”

I hang up the phone. It’s the height of rudeness, and I’ll apologize profusely later, but in this moment, I just need it all to stop. This is the third piece of bad news I’ve received this morning.

It all began when my parents’ neighbor, Petter Friberg, woke me at four in the morning to tell me my father sprained his ankle falling off a stepladder. Apparently, he was trying to change a burned-outlight bulb in the kitchen. Mom was in distress, and Dad was saying he wouldn’t go to the doctor. I managed to calm her down enough to convince her to let Petter’s wife stay for coffee while Petter took Dad into town.

Shortly after I got the update from Petter that it was only a sprain, Karolina’s new at-home tutor messaged to say she was taking a different teaching job. Now my agent is saying my latest endorsement deal is gone because I can’t drop everything and fly to New York to shoot the ads. That campaign was going to earn me over a million dollars. But I just can’t do it. Not now. Not with the season opener and Karro and—god, what am I going to do about her teacher? She can’t attend school, injured as she is. Not until January at the earliest. That’s what Teddy and I agreed.

But shemusthave a teacher. The conditions of the custody agreement are strict. Elin is already breathing down my neck every day, asking me for the documents I can send to the court as proof of her enrollment.

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