Chapter Twelve Sell It
SUTTON
“Listen, Aunt Delilah has set up a really great opportunity for me,” I tell Mom as I slowly push through the crowds and make my way back to the entrance to the press box.
I stop there, not wanting to get too close to my friends — God forbid they hear any of this.
“I told you, Mom, I’m here to put in my proposal for the conference center job. I’m not just running away from home.”
Mom lets out a long sigh on the other end of the phone.
She hates that I’m here in Denver, and hasn’t made a secret of it since I announced the trip the Tuesday after coming home from Aunt Delilah’s.
I’m getting exhausted of having to justify my decision to go for this job, especially since we’ve reached the point where I’m just talking in circles, saying the same thing over and over again.
“Sweetheart? Are you really sure you can handle this?” Mom asks. “You know you’re not good with public speaking or presenting in front of groups. Sure, one-on-one, you’re fine, but your father has had to pitch your presentations for you in the past.”
I pause outside the press box door and grit my teeth, frustration pulsing through me. My mind flashes to Jayce, peeking around the corner at me just a few moments ago, and my cheeks flood with mortification. God, I hope he didn’t hear too much… he’ll think I’m such a fucking doormat.
“My initial meeting is one-on-one,” I remind her.
“Big jobs like this will inevitably require a larger presentation,” she insists. “What will you do then?”
My heart is pounding way harder than it should be. I need to get off this call. “I’ll handle it,” I plead, the lights and cheers of the crowd becoming a dull buzz in my head. “I just need you to trust me.”
She lets out an exasperated huff. “Of course I trust you, sweetie. I just want to make sure you’re going into this with every tool available to you so you succeed.”
Yeah, right. She’s just trying to scare me into turning tail and scampering back home.
Before I can reply, she says something that stops me cold. “If you’re in Denver, Sutton, what will we do about the wedding?”
I frowned, momentarily at a loss. What is she talking about?
Oh… oh, my God! She’s not seriously starting to plan a wedding between me and Leon, is she? What the fuck!
“Wedding? Mom, I’m not even engaged…”
“Well, you know how much planning goes into these things,” she insists. “We need to get a start, and you and Leon need to be able to spend time together so you can get to the engagement. How will that happen if you’re halfway across the country?”
She’s got to be fucking kidding. I’m pursuing an opportunity to further my career and build up our company, and all she can think about is a wedding that isn’t actually happening?
“Mom, there’s plenty of time to think about that later,” I say, hoping that if I don’t outright reject the idea, she won’t feel the need to push it so hard. “It’s not like I’ll be in Denver for more than a few months.”
That might not be a total lie, if I don’t end up getting the job.
“Oh, all right, fine,” she groans in defeat, and it’s the most miraculous sound I’ve heard all day. “If you’re so determined to meet with this Romero fellow, I don’t suppose there’s much I can really do to stop you.”
I sigh. “Mom, you know Jackson Romero isn’t some fellow. You know exactly who he is and how huge this would be for us.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” she replies dismissively. “Just don’t forget your responsibilities back here while you’re away, understood?”
If I wasn’t so relieved — and so desperate to please her, no matter what — I’d probably let out a derisive snort. My responsibilities? Marrying Leon Reynolds and popping out babies? Hell no.
Yet, in the back of my mind, that little voice that never leaves me is whispering that I can’t disappoint her. Can’t hurt her. I’ve already hurt her so much…
“I won’t, Mom,” I murmur. “I promise. I… I gotta go. I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. Call me tomorrow!”
“Okay.” I hang up the call and suck in a long, deep breath as I struggle not to spiral and break down right here in the middle of the arena corridor. It’ll be okay. I’ll be okay. This will all be worth it in the end when I land the Romero project and prove myself to Mom and Dad once and for all.
It takes me a few moments, but once I no longer feel like I’ll snap at any moment, I tuck my phone into my pocket and open the press box door.
Ducking and dodging to avoid getting in the way of the cameras and sports reporters crowded into the press box right on the edge of the ice, I return to my seat in the next to press area with Grace, Skyler, and Rylee.
We’re tucked away in the lower right-hand corner of the box on a metal bleacher bench.
Grace is focused on her phone, her fingers flying over the screen as she types something out.
Skyler and Rylee are sitting and chatting as they wait for the game to start back up.
I manage to maintain my smile as I settle in next to them, but it takes every ounce of willpower I possess.
As I sit back down, Grace turns to me and asks, “Good call?”
“Yeah,” I force out in a cheery tone. “Just Mom checking in.”
Before Grace can reply, the buzzer sounds, and the teams swarm back onto the ice.
As the game gets back underway and the other girls get distracted cheering on their men, I feel myself sinking back into my misery.
The pressure Mom and Dad are putting me under is tearing me apart from the inside out.
I know I just got here, but I really thought being in Denver would somehow magically lighten the load on my shoulders.
After that call with my mom, I realize I was naive to think that.
No matter how well things go here, I still have this Leon situation waiting for me back home.
Suddenly, my phone buzzes. Fuck, is Mom going to try and guilt me into coming home again already? I thought we were done for the evening. Pulling out my phone, I blink in surprise when I see that it’s not Mom, but something even worse — a text from Leon himself.
Leon: Hey babe, when do I get to see you again? Heard you’re back in town.
How the fuck did he get my number? Wait, that’s a stupid question. Mom had to have given it to him. Is she hoping he’ll convince me to leave Denver since she can’t? The timing of this text is deeply suspicious.
He texts again.
Leon: I thought we could see the ballet at Lincoln Center this weekend. It’d be a good place for us to be seen together.
Huh. Okay, maybe not. He doesn’t seem to know I’m here. He thinks I'm still in New York. And he’s still sending more texts.
Leon: You can make up for disappearing on me at the gala.
I ignore his messages and try to focus on the game, having no desire to talk to him, but it’s only a few minutes before he sends another one.
Leon: ???
And another one.
Leon: Are you asleep? Why aren’t you responding?
This guy doesn’t know when to quit.
Leon: This is something we’re going to have to work on. I expect clear and prompt communication from now on.
Leon: I’ll let it slide for now.
Such a pompous asshole. God, I hope my parents don’t tell him where I am, but I’m not really holding my breath.
The roar of the crowd snaps me out of spiraling thoughts and I blink, looking around to see what has everyone so excited. Grace, Rylee, and Skyler are their feet, cheering like crazy.
“Go, Jayce!” Rylee cries. “Go!”
“Make that puck your bitch!” Skyler screams.
Grace is focused on her camera, following the action on the ice with her brow furrowed in fierce concentration.
I so badly just want to enjoy this time with them.
I hate the situation I’m in so, so much.
Fighting the temptation to look at my phone again — it’s still buzzing with new texts — I stand up as well and look to see Jayce racing down the ice, pushing the puck ahead of him, looking like an unstoppable force as he goes straight for the other team’s goal.
I watch him, stunned. He moves with such confidence.
Such power. I can’t help but remember how he touched me with that same confidence and commanded me with an air of power that I found irresistible.
Shit, I can feel my cheeks burning, and what’s worse, my pussy is clenching with need. I squeeze my thighs together, trying to ignore the sensation, but I can’t stop thinking about our night together as he dominates the ice as easily as he dominated me.
“He’s going to do it!” Rylee screams.
The next second, Jayce pulls back his stick and slaps the puck with all his might. It’s as if the whole arena holds its breath as the puck goes sailing through the air, and when it goes past the goalie and slams into the net, the space seems to shake with the force of the crowd’s exuberance.
I get swept up in the excitement and start screaming, jumping up and down with the other girls as the buzzer sounds and the game ends. The Night Hawks win.
Jayce scored the winning shot.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a figure moving toward us across the ice. I assume it’s Jensen, Carter, or Zander, but Rylee lets out a baffled shriek.
“What’s Jayce doing?”
Startled, I turn just as Jayce reaches the edge of the ice, stopping by the team’s bench to grab something before continuing toward me.
His gaze is locked on me as he removes his helmet and lets it drop.
The girls are looking between the two of us, and I can practically feel the shock and confusion rolling off them.
“What the fuck?” Skyler gasps when Jayce reaches over the wall.
I’m just as stunned when he grabs me around my waist without a word and picks me up like I weigh nothing.
The arena blurs around me, and all I can focus on is him, grinning at me.
The cheer of the crowd is a dull roar as his hands hold me tight, warm and strong, heating my blood in an instant.
Lifting me over the wall, he sets me on the ice next to him.
“What the hell are you doing?” I whisper, looking around frantically. Every camera and eye in the area is focused on us. Even both teams are watching us, the Night Hawks all looking as shocked as the girls.
Jayce holds out a small velvet box. He opens it to reveal a gorgeous princess cut diamond set in white gold and it glints under the bright lights above. Before I can fully process what’s going on, he lowers himself to one knee in front of me. My heart starts racing and my jaw drops.
“Jayce… uh, what…?”
“Sutton Holloway,” he begins, his voice booming as a hush settles over the crowd. “I know we haven’t been together long, but I knew the moment we met that you were the woman of my dreams. Will you make me the happiest man in the world? Will you marry me?”
Everything comes to a grinding halt as his words slowly sink into my mind.
What. The. Fuck?
I blink, trying to make sense of all this, but my mind is a haze and I’ve gone numb from shock.
The arena lights seem to brighten even more than usual, blurring everything around us.
What is he doing? I told him I didn’t want to do his crazy plan.
That it wouldn’t work. Yet, now, staring down at him, surrounded by an arena of witnesses, I almost believe him.
Holy shit. Maybe this could really work, and he’s solved the reporter problem by making such a public display no one can question.
My phone buzzes again and I peek at my smartwatch to see that Leon’s sent me yet another text.
Just the sight of his name snaps me out of my daze.
Why the hell am I hesitating? Why not jump into this with both feet?
It’s the solution to my problems, and I much prefer Jayce’s company to Leon’s.
I’d rather pretend to be engaged to him than be actually engaged to Leon.
And that’s the key element. This isn’t real. I just need to remember that. It’s not a real engagement.
I meet Jayce’s gaze and he gives me a quick wink. We’re in this together. It’s a ploy. A scheme to get what we both want, and it’s a damn smart one.
Plastering a wide smile on my face, I clasp my hands together and exclaim, “Yes! Yes, of course I’ll marry you, Jayce!”
The crowd goes wild again and Jayce lets out a whoop, then stands back up and takes my hand, sliding the ring on my finger. It’s weighty and I wonder how much he spent on this gorgeous engagement ring for a fake fiancee.
While I’m distracted, he sweeps me up into his arms bridal style.
“Make them believe it,” he whispers in my ear.
Looping my arms around his neck, I smile and kiss his cheek before flashing my ring for all to see. We’re in it now. Past the point of no return. And I’m going to sell it.