Ripped-off Band-Aid was probably best, especially since I wouldn’t put it past my father not to come over here and chat up the table. Hockey players and wealthy people he could look chummy with were his catnip.
I steeled my shoulders and took in a breath. “Actually, he was fine talking to Malcolm, who also happens to be my father.” Then I took the chair Gabe had been holding out for me and waited for the questions that I knew would happen.
At least, as soon as they stopped gaping at me.
“Guess the cat’s out of the bag now,” Gabe whispered, his face way too close to my ear. I tamped down a shudder.
This man wasn’t supposed to affect me, dammit.
Ugh, what a clusterfuck. Why the hell had I agreed to do any of this?
TUCKS
The whole setup felt like I was being punked, and I was still trying to wrap my head around all of it. Dani was Malcolm Albans’s daughter. My idol had fathered my fake girlfriend.
Eww, that sounded weird.
Fuck, this entire thing was weird. I’d been so freaking pumped when Tally told me that Malcolm was going to be here tonight. I had known he was going to be in town to commentate our game against Montreal in two nights and the Blizzard one after that, but he’d apparently come in early and asked if he could attend the fundraiser too.
I’d hoped to get through the night without the guys saying anything to embarrass me, but I should’ve known better. I couldn’t blame them either; we all took any chance we could to razz each other.
And now I needed to plan how to get my idol’s number removed from my mask. I hated that she’d thought I’d be upset learning anything negative about her father. If the guy was a dick, he was a dick. Off-ice behavior mattered a hell of a lot more than his career stats and how well he played the game. Hockey wasn’t forever, but character was.
I focused on Dani. I could guarantee that she didn’t want to give a complete group of strangers details about her family, so I planned on following her lead. He was her father, after all.
“Holy shit, really?” Timmy said.
“How did you not know that already?” Tally asked me.
Harper stepped up to the table, her gaze darting between Tally and me. “What’s going on?”
“Dani’s dad is Tucks’s idol. Super amazing veteran goalie, who also happens to be here tonight,” Sin replied. “But what Tally said. Dude, did you not know? Ah, don’t worry, Dani, Tucks isn’t the type of guy to just want you for your connections.”
“What the fuck, man,” I bit out just as Tally thumped him on the back of the head.
“Holy shit, really?” Harper exclaimed at the same time, then turned to glare at Sin. “Why the hell would you even suggest that?”
“No, sorry. Aw, shit, I didn’t mean it that way. I just wanted to reassure her that Tucks was one of the good ones, you know?” His backtracking attempt was pathetic at best.
“Hit him again,” Cora said.
Sin held up his hands. “Fine. I’ll be quiet for the rest of the night. And I am sorry, Dani.”
Tally scoffed. “We taking bets on how long he can go without speaking?”
“I’m in for a grand,” Timmy said.
“I’ll go in for two,” Santa replied with a smirk. “The silence will be worth it. We can give the winnings to the hospital.”
His girlfriend Anna smiled from the seat next to him. “You’re so sweet for such a grump,” she said. They rounded out the ten at our table, while my other teammates and their dates sat at the four tables around us.
“Fuckers,” Sin muttered. “I said I was sorry.”
“Just pay up right now,” Micah said.
“Don’t pout. Now hush already, so we can get to the important stuff,” Harper said, a gleam in her eyes as she turned to Dani. “So, really? Malcolm Albans is your dad? That’s amazing. He’s such a legend.”
Fuck. I slipped into my seat next to Dani and reached for her hand. She didn’t pull away, so I took that as a good sign and ignored how just touching her made the heat spike in my body. Instead, I focused on her, giving her whatever she needed for support.
