Chapter 48
Reckless
Kazimir
Dark clouds have been hanging over my head all day because I’m still reeling from yesterday’s rejection and I’m surprised I was able to rein in my emotions to make it through my lunch meeting considering I spent the morning snapping at my staff.
Last night, for the first time since she moved in with me, we slept in separate rooms. I didn’t even bother sleeping on the chair in the corner of her room to slay her nighttime monsters. This morning, I got the hell out of my house at the crack of dawn to avoid her.
Fuck.
It’s like an Arctic storm blew through my carriage house. I swear, icicles are hanging from the ceiling.
As I’m exiting the Pompadour Hotel, my phone chimes.
Alina
You’re on fire! The biggest sports network shared the video of you and your ‘girlfriend’ skating like lovebirds. A bunch of other sports websites did the same. You even made the front page of .
She attaches a screenshot of the video views.
Wow.
Alina
Your socials exploded overnight. You have an extra 250,000 followers and counting—mostly women. And the comments, Kaz. Holy shit.
Alina
People are tagging you on their own re-enactments—on and off the ice.
I groan.
Alina
This video is going to take going viral to a whole other level. Your instincts were spot on when you selected the pretty blonde for the job.
Alina
At this rate, no one will remember you were married to Devlyn. Give that woman a raise.
Kazimir
From your fingertips to God’s ears. Nothing would make me happier than for people to forget I was ever married to that woman.
Alina
That’s all you got from my string of texts?
Kazimir
I’m walking into a meeting.
She doesn’t have to know it’s a lie.
Alina
Got it. Catch you later.
My phone chimes with another text message.
Erik
That video of you and Harley is blowing up. You sure it’s fake?
It still is for her.
Kazimir
You have nothing else to do than waste time on celebrity gossip sites?
Erik
FYI, I’ve been in meetings all morning.
Erik
I’d have to be living under a rock not to know you and Harley are making headlines because of that video of you pretending to perform for the pairs skating competition at the Winter Olympics.
Erik
It’s on every social media platform.
Kazimir
The fake relationship was a scheme and it’s working.
It’s fooling everyone, including myself.
Erik
Have you seen the headlines? They’re calling you lovebirds. A bunch of kids are jumping on the bandwagon, chasing after their own virality. Pretty effective PR campaign.
Kazimir
The whole point was to craft a new image for myself.
Erik
So, the chemistry bouncing off my screen is all smoke and mirrors? You’re not sleeping together?
Fuck him for knowing me so well.
I type a response.
I erase it.
I do that a few times.
Erik
I got my answer.
Kazimir
Harley isn’t Devlyn.
Erik
Thank God for that. But don’t let this be another reckless decision. Make sure you get to know Harley.
Erik
Had you dated Devlyn longer than three weeks before proposing, you would’ve ran the other way.
Harley turned me down for dating. We’re not walking down the aisle anytime soon.
Kazimir
Thanks, Dad, for your sage advice.
Kazimir
And I used to make rash decisions when I’d get benched because I was restless.
Erik
Doesn’t mean you can’t still make bad decisions.
Irritation flares in my chest. Harley might have refused to be my real girlfriend, but I can’t allow Erik to talk like that about her.
Kazimir
You don’t know Harley.
Erik
You’re right. Make sure you’re not in the same boat as I am.
Erik
Get to know her before taking things to the next level.
Kazimir
Fuck off.
Erik
You’re about to get your wish. I just arrived at my next meeting. Signing off.
I glower at my phone as I reread our exchange.
Fuck, it’s been three weeks since Harley and I agreed to fake date.
My therapist’s words slam into me.
‘Do you think your reckless approach to relationships is because the woman who gave birth to you left you before you were six weeks old? You’re either rushing into a relationship or avoiding them altogether for long stretches of time.’
Living with my long-time infatuation has tilted my world on its axis. Fucking her was like a volcano exploding, shattering any pretence I was holding of drawing a line in the sand and not crossing it.
I wasn’t supposed to fall this hard.
Stupid, Lindstro?m.
Yesterday, she kept saying she wasn’t good enough for me. She never said she didn’t want me.
Is she hiding something? Is that why she went from hot to cold in the blink of an eye?
Is she a walking red flag? Am I blind?
Am I repeating the same mistakes?
Am I opening myself to humiliation?
My mind whirrs.
Maybe I am being reckless. I shouldn’t have rocked the boat—
“Well, if it isn’t my ex-husband.”
I drop my head back and groan at the ceiling. Why, God? Why?
“You can keep staring at the ceiling all you want, but I’m going nowhere until I get your attention.”
Might as well get it over with.
I turn around and flinch.
What’s with the over the top fashion?
The baby pink tutu skirt that hits her mid-calf, combined with the peekaboo sherbet-colored mesh top that offers a flash of her pink bra, accompanied by platform baby pink high heel shoes and designer bag in the same shade is not only impractical, it looks ridiculous.
She’s blonder than ever, which makes her look like a plastic doll.
I’m convinced this woman would die if all eyes weren’t on her when she walks into a room.
“What do you want, Devlyn?”
She narrows her gray eyes. “Your manners, or lack thereof, haven’t improved over time since our divorce.”
The onset of a headache pounds at my temple.
I’m not equipped to deal with this woman today. “You need to seek help for your obsession with hearing your own voice. Thanks to the divorce, I don’t have to.”
“Why is it that your default setting is always set on asshole mode?”
Her grating voice intensifies the throbbing at the base of my skull.
“Because you bring out the best in me. And on that cheerful note…” I slide my phone inside the pocket of my suit jacket. “I’d like to say it was a pleasure seeing you again, but I’d be lying through my teeth. If you’ll excuse—”
She places a hand on my arm.
I stare down at it, my nostrils flaring.
I meet her gaze and narrow my eyes at her. “Don’t touch me.”
She removes her hand like my body is in flames.
Good.
“There’s something we need to discuss,” she says.
I adjust my cufflinks. “There’s nothing for us to discuss.”
“You have some nerve making a fool out of my son in public. Because of that woman you were dead set on playing knight in shining armor for, Chett got berated by his coach and the management team, even though the incident happened during the off-season.”
“You should know that by now, Devlyn, hockey is a team sport. Your son’s attitude reflects poorly on the entire team.”
“The statement that man made was detrimental. Who the fuck does he think he is calling my son a predator?”
“That man witnessed your son forcing himself on a woman half his size. He had every right. Especially considering he tried to step in. But your son being the charming asshole he is, told the guy off.”
She flinches.
“I’m guessing that’s not the version Chett fed you.”
She responds with her best resting bitch face.
“Let me guess. Your son was the victim. As always.”
“Seriously, Kaz? How can you go to bat for a woman like that?”
“What do you know about her? In the Hamptons, you kept glaring at her. You didn’t talk to her once.”
“I thought you had higher standards than that.”
“Since I married you, clearly, I don’t.”
“I may not be perfect—”
“Statement of the century.”
She huffs, bringing her hands to her hips. “I don’t expect you to understand, but what I did, I did for my son.”
“Cheating on me in my own house was for the good of your son?” I shake my head. “You take helicopter parenting to a whole other level, Devlyn.”
“I put my son first. Always. That’s why I fought so hard during the divorce. You robbed Chett of a chance to become the NHL’s first billionaire active hockey player. He would’ve made history. And he would’ve made the list of billionaires under twenty-five.”
She’s shallower than a rum barrel.
Indignation flares in my chest. “What about him making history because of the way he plays? Or because of the number of Stanley cups to his name? As for the list of billionaires under twenty-five, that’s reserved for entrepreneurs.
Not lottery winners.” Dumbass. “You need to stop spoon feeding your adult son, Devlyn. We all know the story. You had him as a teenage mom and formed a strong bond. We get it.”
“What the hell is wrong with you today? Did you put battery acid instead of milk in your coffee?”
I rub a hand over my tired face. “Breathing the same air as you makes me nauseous. That’s what’s wrong with me.”
She glowers at me, her purple-pink painted lips curling in a snarl.
What did I ever see in this woman?
“Well, despite your vitriol, I wanted to give you a word of advice,” she says.
“Life lessons from a narcissist and a cheater?” I cross my arms over my chest. “This I have to hear.”
“I didn’t bother to investigate your new girlfriend when she was bouncing off my son’s balls—”
“What you just said is disturbing on so many levels.”
She flattens her lips. “You’ve always been jealous of the close bond I have with Chett.”
I press my thumb and forefinger into my eye sockets. “Is the only point to your existence to irritate me? Cut to the chase, or I walk.”
She harrumphs. “Harley and Chett’s relationship was short-lived, so I didn’t bother wasting money on investigating her like I do all the women he’s been with. I always like to have dirt on them, in case I need to use it to protect my son’s reputation.”
I stick my hands in my pockets. “I fail to see how any of this is my concern.”
“What do you know about Harley? How do you know she isn’t trying to use you?”
Rich, coming from you. “Like you were trying to use me for the advancement of your son’s career?”
“At least it would’ve been for a good cause. My son is a rising star. Harley is nothing. She’s not even connected to a hockey family.”
You’re as transparent as polyethylene food wrap.
“And now she’s become your charity case.” She tsks. “That video on the internet of you skating with her is ridiculous.”
I arch a brow. “Forty million views and counting, says otherwise.”
The corners of her full lips twist downwards.
Her face moved? I guess she’s due for her Botox appointment.
“I can’t believe you downgraded from”—she waves a hand down the length of her body like she’s a game show hostess—“this.” She draws out the last word, like the idea I could find another woman more attractive than her disgusts her.
“You mean, I upgraded. Choosing her over your cheating ass was an easy decision.”
“For someone who’s so concerned about how he’s presented in the press, I’m surprised you didn’t check her background before dating her.”
My brows shoot up. “Why would I do that? You’re the paranoid one. Not me.”
That smug expression on her face is annoying the fuck out of me.
“The way she’s bouncing from one hockey player to another is giving definite puck bunny vibes…”
My throat tightens.
“Reminds you of someone else you know? Oops”—Devlyn places a hand over her mouth—“I guess you don’t know your mother.”
I stick a finger in her face. “Shut your fucking mouth.”
She smirks, satisfied the dig landed like a bomb.
“Stop being such a fucking bitch,” I say through gritted teeth. “I shared that about the woman who gave birth to me in confidence. How dare you share it with Chett?”
She hitches her chin up high. “I tell my son every—”
“That was private. If I wanted your son to know, I would’ve told him myself. I’m a fucking adult, I don’t need you to talk on my behalf.”
A few passersby slow their step, taking in the train wreck.
I return my attention to the despicable woman I made the mistake of marrying.
“If I hear one more person in your circle bring up the woman who abandoned me as an infant to me or anyone I know, I swear to God, Devlyn, I’ll make you regret it.
You’re not the only one who knows how to hire PIs to dig up dirt on people, dear ex-wife.
You’ve been so single minded in your pursuit to ensure your son lifts the Stanley Cup one day… but at what cost?”
Blotches of color spot her neck.
I’m onto something. “I’m willing to bet every penny to my name you’ve done a few underhanded things in your unwavering devotion to your son… things that would kill any chance Chett has of being part of a team of playoff champions. Things the media would love to get their hands on.”
She rears back as though I’d slapped her.
I pulled that one out of my hat, but I’m not surprised. “That’s what I thought.”
Her nostrils flare.
I tilt my chin up. “Cut the umbilical cord and kick the baby bird out of the nest, Devlyn. Make that your contribution to the world.” I straighten my jacket. “One last thing. Don’t you ever talk shit about my girlfriend again and stay out of my fucking business. You got that?”
She blinks.
“Answer the fucking question.”
“Yes.”
“Make sure you keep that promise, or I’ll rain hell all over you.” I turn on my heel and leave her sorry ass there, mouth hung open.
I step out of the Pompadour hotel, still fuming.
My phone chimes.
I pull it out and frown.
I don’t recognize the number, but the message causes my jaw to come unhinged.
Hoppy Joe here. The Montana brewer you’ve been trying to reach for a while now.
Every time I’m online, you and your girlfriend are making headlines.
If I had a girl like that, I’d be kissing her all day.
Enough of an old man’s rambling. I’m in New York, I know this is last-minute, but if we could meet today, that’d be great.
If not, tomorrow. I won’t be in town for long.