“Hey, boys, just wanted to come and wish you all a quick good luck tonight. Even if it’s against my hometown team,” Malcolm said, finishing with a chuckle.
“Fuck. Malcolm Albans,” Booksy whispered next to me, nudging me with his arm. “Man’s a legend. And your idol, right? Still can’t believe you’re dating his daughter.”
“Me either,” I muttered. Booksy hadn’t been at my table at the charity event, and I wasn’t sure if he’d been around when Malcolm had come over to say hello. I glanced around the room as Malcolm greeted my teammates. The guys from my table were all looking at me. They knew something was going on between Dani and her father, and even without any additional information, they were wary. We’d all be polite as expected because I would not cause a scene with him. Dani didn’t need any extra stress.
“Hey, Tucks, Booksy,” Malcolm said cheerfully. I shoved down my anger as he stepped in front of us.
Booksy held his hand out. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir. I watched all of your games when I was a kid. How you managed to stop that sick shot from Bailey in the Cup final was epic,” he said, shaking Malcolm’s hand.
Normally I would chuckle at Booksy’s fawning, but his excitement just felt bitter now.
“Sorry. You’re just a legend,” Booksy continued when Malcolm dropped his hand.
Malcolm chuckled. “No need to be sorry. It never gets old meeting a fan, especially when it’s a fellow player. How’s your shoulder doing?”
“Uh, good. Thanks.” The awe was still in his tone. The man was smooth and he’d done his homework, which made sense since he was helping call tonight’s game.
“And Tucks. Good to see you again. Sorry we didn’t get to chat more the other night. It was a great event and a wonderful cause. I’m always happy to help support local charities.”
Ick. He was giving me the ick and it pissed me off.
“Yeah, our foundation is wonderful.” I knew I sounded wooden.
“Excited to watch you between the pipes tonight. You have a solid game, I’ve been watching it for years. Hopefully, you guys will have an even better season this year than last,” he said, giving me a blinding smile.
I was fucking weirded out. If this conversation had happened even four days ago, I probably wouldn’t have been able to contain myself. My idol praising my play. But all it had taken was Dani giving me the smallest of details about who this man really was, and his flattery did nothing for me.
But I also didn’t want to cause a scene. I kept my focus on being ready to stand on my head tonight if needed, so my expression remained neutral when what I really wanted to do was tell the man to go fuck himself.
“Here’s hoping.” My knee started to twitch and I wanted to pop up and just get on the ice.
“I know that feeling,” he said, gesturing toward my bouncing knee. “You can taste the anticipation in a season opener. I’ll let you boys finish prepping. Oh, and Tucks, I’m still in town for a few days. Maybe you and Dani could join me for dinner?”
Was he serious right now?
“Yeah, you should set something up with Dani. Oh, and I know Mal is back from his vacation, so hopefully he can join, too. I wasn’t sure if you knew he was back. I haven’t had a chance to meet him yet, but he sounds awesome. Dani clearly loves him, can’t say enough good things about him.”
Malcolm’s eyes narrowed for a brief second before his happy mask was back in place. “Yeah, Malcolm’s great, of course. A family dinner sounds great.”
Then he turned away, wished us all good luck one last time, and walked out of the room.
I couldn’t help but feel slightly smug.
Fucking asshole.
Chapter 12
DANI
“Hey, so glad you could join us,” Josie said when I entered the family suite just before the second period started.
“Figured now was a good time since Gabe’s at the other end of the ice for the next twenty.” Even though Josie was in on the ruse, I figured that explanation fed well into our fake dating.
“You love watching him play, don’t you? He’s pretty great in net. And now that I knowtheMalcolm Albans is your father, even if we don’t like him for whatever reasons you’re not ready to share yet, can I at least tease you about having a goalie type?” I didn’t love the reminder about the similarities with Gabe and my father, but I appreciated Josie fully supporting our ruse.
“Wow, going right for it. Can I at least get a drink first?” I said with a chuckle.
Josie looked slightly chagrined.
