Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
JANE
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Mom asked as we pulled up outside the Chicago Ice Center before the Chaos’s game against the Dragons on Saturday.
I gripped the inside door handle and stared out through the window.
The parking lot was beginning to get crowded even though the game wasn’t due to start for over an hour, and a line stretched out the door.
There were so many people, and once I stepped outside the vehicle, they might all stop and stare at me.
“I can do this,” I said, as much for my benefit as hers.
The truth was, I was terrified.
I’d remained hidden safely inside Austin’s house for the past three days, working with Gus’s team to send out takedown orders to media outlets and report any social media accounts that shared the image.
The online buzz was already dying down, but it would be a long time before I released the fear that this debacle had obliterated my career prospects. I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to until I’d secured a job as a speech therapist. Until then, I’d have to live with the worry and uncertainty.
“We’re here for you,” Mom reminded me. “And we can leave immediately if you need to.”
This would be my first time venturing out in public since the photo had been published online. Not only that, but I’d be meeting Austin and a reporter for an interview ahead of the game.
I didn’t want to do it.
I hated the thought of losing my words or stammering as badly as I used to if they asked anything that made me uncomfortable.
The thought of everyone’s eyes crawling all over me and of them whispering behind my back made me feel ill, but the more time that passed without a public statement directly from Austin and me, the harder it would be.
“Let’s go,” I said, shoving the door open. The sooner we got started, the faster it would be over, right?
Mom, Dad, and Hazel all got out of the car with me. I wound a scarf around my neck and pulled it up to cover the lower part of my face, hoping to avoid detection until we were inside.
We skirted around the edge of the line and entered through the side door. I glanced over at the area where the partners and families of the players usually sat. A few of them were already there.
Normally, I would meet their eyes and smile, but today, I hurried to the media room without acknowledging them because any distractions might make me think twice about this interview.
A young woman I didn’t recognize was hovering outside the door. She brightened as I approached, but her eyes widened as she noticed my entourage.
“Uh… they’re only expecting you,” she said to me apologetically.
“Do you mind waiting out here?” I asked the others.
Mom squeezed my hand. “Whatever you need.”
Hazel hugged me. “You’ve got this.”
Dad kissed the top of my head. “Want me to come? I’d be a hell of a distraction.”
My lips quirked, but I shook my head. It was bad enough that Gus had drafted us a statement that included references to my family as part of the effort to get us out of hot water. There was no avoiding the reminder that they’d initially wanted to use me because of my family connections.
I couldn’t dispel the niggling concern that Austin was doing the same thing by offering to make our relationship real. Was it really me he wanted or the success that our ruse had brought him… up until it all went to hell?
The fact he’d urged me to consider going home made me think it might be real, because he was trying to protect me, but getting me out of the public eye as quickly as possible might also have helped his reputation recover more quickly, so it was impossible to know for sure.
Ugh. I rubbed my temples. This was all such an awful headache.
“It will be okay,” I told him, dropping my hands to my sides and forcing a smile.
That was my mantra today. All I had to do was make it through the next few hours and everything would be fine.
The woman pushed the door open and I stepped through. Cameras were set up in two positions, facing a corporate-style chair and a small sofa. A smiling Black woman with short, curly hair sat in the chair, and Austin—already in his uniform—was on the sofa.
“Hi.” I waved awkwardly.
The woman smiled. “Hi, Jane. I’m Cindy. Why don’t you take a seat, and Melissa will touch up your makeup a little. Is that all right?”
I nodded and sat beside Austin, trying not to lean into him. The woman who’d guided me into the room kneeled in front of me and opened a small makeup bag.
I stayed still as she checked my eyeshadow and mascara, confirmed they were fine, and brushed a few other powders on my face. I didn’t care what she was doing if it would help me feel confident in front of the camera.
“Will you be cheering for your brother or your boyfriend during the game?” Cindy asked as Melissa packed the powders away and wiped her fingers clean.
My pulse fluttered at the base of my throat, and I glanced at the cameras, but they didn’t seem to be rolling. “Whoever is winning.”
Austin made a sound of protest, and Cindy laughed.
“Fair enough,” she said. “Before we start, I just want to reassure you that I won’t stray from the approved list of questions.”
I cocked my head, uncertain why she felt the need to verbalize this.
Her expression softened. “You’ve been victimized already. I don’t intend to do it again.”
My chest swelled. “Thank you,” I whispered, blinking back tears so they wouldn’t smudge my mascara.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I also want to confirm that the show isn’t live, and the final cut is subject to approval by the team manager. Now, shall we get started?”
Austin bumped my thigh with his. “You can stop this at any time.”
I sucked in a lungful of air and nodded. “I’m ready.”
Cindy motioned for the camera operators to start filming, and she beamed at the closest one.
“Good evening, Chicago. I’m here with Chicago Chaos captain, Austin Harris, and his girlfriend, Jane Foster-Wright of the Wright hockey dynasty.
This lovely couple has recently been exposed in one of the worst ways possible when an intimate photograph of them was leaked online. ”
My tongue started to feel heavy and my heel tapped twice on the floor before Austin’s palm came to rest just above my knee and stopped the motion. Warmth flowed through me from that point of contact and seemed to ease something in my chest.
“I understand that you were on a team retreat when the photograph was published,” Cindy said, meeting first my eyes and then Austin’s. “Is that correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Austin’s voice was low and calm, and it soothed the ragged edges of my nerves. “We found out that the photograph had been published on the last morning of the retreat.”
Cindy nodded sympathetically. “I can imagine it was a shock.”
“We were horrified,” I said, giving the response I’d practiced in the mirror over and over again. “We thought we were alone, and for someone to violate a p-private moment between us like that was awful.”
I fought the urge to grimace at the stutter that had slipped out. Perhaps it wasn’t what I’d wanted, but a little slip could be attributed to emotion. It might even make me more sympathetic to the viewers.
“Has the photographer responsible been found and held accountable?”
“Not yet,” Austin replied. “Although we have every faith they will be soon.”
The questions continued, and I managed to stick to the script, my insides curling tighter and tighter, until we arrived at the section about my family.
“We’ve heard reports that Pete and Alec Wright have been spotted in town,” Cindy said, subtly angling herself toward Austin, since he was the one who was supposed to answer. “Are the Wrights supporting you through this trying time?”
Austin opened his mouth and then closed it.
He looked at me, and his expression softened.
Keeping his gaze on me, he replied, “The Wrights have been fantastic. They’ve shown more care for my state of mind since they’ve arrived than my own parents ever have.
” He turned to Cindy. “I’m supposed to talk to you about how empowering it is to be part of the Wright dynasty and how clean their reputations have always been, so that fans are reassured that the release of the photo doesn’t mean I’ve lost my way or that I’m a poor representative for the Chaos. ”
Cindy cocked her head, her mouth hitching up one side. “But it sounds like you’d prefer to say something else.”
He nodded. “Yes.”
I bumped him with my leg and murmured, “What are you doing?”
If he went off on a tangent and it landed poorly, Gus was going to have his head. Trent would probably tear the captaincy from him, and Coach Dunn might bench him as punishment.
“Trust me,” he whispered back, then flashed a smile at the camera that made his electric blue eyes twinkle and raised his voice.
“Most people probably don’t know this, but I didn’t have the best upbringing.
I won’t go into details, but while I wasn’t physically abused, and my physical needs were provided for, I didn’t get the emotional support I needed.
No one ever hugged me or told me they loved me just for existing. ”
Oh God. I tried to control my reaction, but I could hardly believe he was talking about this on TV. To a reporter.
Reaching between us, I laced my fingers with his and squeezed gently.
“Then Jane came into my life, and she’s one of the most competent, efficient people I know, but she never made me feel like I wasn’t enough.
” His throat bobbled as he swallowed and he shifted uncomfortably.
“I’ve always worried that I wouldn’t be a good boyfriend, but when I’m with her, I don’t have to stress about that.
I can just be me, and that’s okay. She’s quiet but so strong, and she’s my safe place.
That’s what matters, not who her family is or what some photographer posts online. ”
My heart danced a tango in my chest. Holy crap. He’d thrown away Gus’s speech and focused on me rather than my family. He was trying, in his own way, to reassure me that I was who he wanted.