Page 101 of Rules Of Our Own
“Her financial backer threatened to remove funding for the charity if she’s caught fraternizing with a player.” I bite out the words and have to fight off the low growl forming in my chest. I understand Gerard’s point, but I’m not happy about it. “Something about this being family-friendly and giving the wrong impression.”
“The fuck?” Lucas says a little too loudly and gives an apologetic smile to the people around us. “Sorry.”
I roll my neck, and it cracks with the motion. “My thoughts exactly, but this is important to her, so it’s important to us.”
“Yeah, but how long will the secrecy last?”
“As long as she needs it to,” I answer plainly. Secret, public, all that matters is she’s with us.
He eyes me. “Fuck, you’ve got it bad.”
“Never said I didn’t.”
Mia and Alex make their way to us. She’s shifting on her feet, her nerves practically radiating off her. It’s killing me not to pull her into my arms and give her all the reassurance she needs. Instead, I clench my fist at my side and lock my thigh muscles in place.
Lucas smiles at me, his white teeth flashing. “Go time.”
I approach Mia. “Everything looks great.”
She spins toward me. Her lip is raw and red from where she’s been gnawing on it. I desperately want to soothe it with my tongue. Sayfuck everything elseand kiss her right here. The only thing stopping me is knowing how important all of this is to her. I’d never fuck this up for her.
She gestures to the buckets and chairs we’d just set up. “Thanks for doing all of this. You didn’t need to haul all this stuff out here yourself.”
I shake my head and get closer than I should, meeting her eyes. “You don’t have to be selfless with me. I want you to be needy. I want you to wake up and know that I’ve got you. That you can lean on me.”
She inhales through her teeth and nods before a slow smile curls her lips. “Okay, go get wet.”
Alex is the first to volunteer. He steps directly in front of the camera, his smile turning cocky as he reaches back with one hand and hauls his white T-shirt over his head. My mouth waters when he stands tall, showcasing his defined muscles. The reporter’s eyes darken on him, and the look on her face practically screamsfuck me.
Mia stiffens, a low, growl-like sound escaping her, and I can’t fight back my smile. I lean over her shoulder, careful not to touch her.
“So fucking cute, Love.”
She bristles. “Like it doesn’t piss you off too.”
“It would,” I admit, “if I didn’t know how obsessed he is with you.”
She turns to face me. “With us. Don’t forget you.”
My gut twists, and I can feel heat climbing up my neck. “I don’t know what’s happening there.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I can see it just fine.” She refocuses on the scene in front of her.
Alex sits in a green plastic chair, and Lucas stands behind him with a bucket loaded with ice water. We all thought Mia should do the honors, but she insisted it would be more impactful if we kicked it off with the players. I didn’t bother fighting her on it, not when I could tell it made her uncomfortable to be front and center. It had been on one of her sticky notes, and Alex was more than happy to take that off her plate.
He speaks directly to the camera as if he’d been born for the spotlight. “Hey, I’m Alex Grayson. I play forward for the Boston Bruins, and I pledge fifty thousand dollars to the Prosthetics For Kids charity.”
Mia gasps beside me.
The second the words leave his mouth, Lucas dumps the contents over Alex’s head. He jumps up, letting out an undignified squeal, earning a laugh from the entire crowd. Alex being Alex eats it up, then snaps back into character. “I challenge River Davis to participate in the Center-Ice Challenge.”
Mia looks at me hesitantly. I don’t know what more I can do to convince her I’m all in.
I’d worn shorts and a T-shirt, my usual attire not appropriate for this event, and in a move Alex would be proud of, I take my shirt off one-handed and copy what Alex said. “River Davis, starting forward for the Boston Bruins, and I pledge one hundred thousand to the Center-Ice Challenge.”
Mia stumbles back, and I laugh just as Alex dumps freezing cold water over my head. I thought ice baths were bad, but this has me snapping up from my chair and shaking it off like a dog fresh from the river. I bite back my curse, knowing Misty would kill me. “I challenge Jax Ryder to participate in the Center-Ice Challenge.”
“Cut. Back in five.” The reporter gives us a wave, letting us know they’ve switched over to the news crew at Jax and Sidney’s.