Pucking Strong: An MM Workplace Hockey Romance (Jacksonville Rays Book 4)

In the silence that follows Henrik’s speech, we could hear a freaking pin drop. My family is crowded around the TV in the WAG room, eyes locked on the screen. Poppy let me bring them all back here while we waited for Henrik to finish the press conference. We’re the only ones left except for a pair of caterers cleaning up the sandwich trays.

The kids hang out in the corner, eating popsicles and playing with their balloon animals. I’m wedged on the sofa between Marcus and Raf. Across from us on the other couch, all three sisters are staring at me.

Natalie clears her throat. “Well, that was …”

“Surprising,” Jayla finishes for her.

Shae crosses her arms, glaring at me. “I thought you said this was a fake marriage.”

“It is,” I reply.

They all just keep staring at me.

Okay, yeah, so I’m very aware that I’m currently sitting in the WAG room in a bedazzled jacket, smelling like Henrik’s cologne because I used some while I was getting dressed in his closet. Because I live in his house.

And married him

Oh, and we slept together last night.

I tip up my chin, defiant in the face of their stares. “You all just have to trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

From the pub chair on my left, Mama sighs. “Oh, Teddy.”

“What?” I glare around at my family. “If y’all got something to say, just go ahead and say it. Don’t hold back now. Spit it out, before Henrik gets in here and you switch to nice mode.”

Marcus huffs. “Nice mode, huh? I didn’t know my wife came with a nice mode. Is that only available on one of them newer models?”

“Oh, I’ll show you nice mode,” Shae snaps at him. “Right after Teddy tells us what he’s doin’ marrying a man he’s not in love with. A man who’s clearly in love with him!”

“I told you—” My breath catches in my chest. “Wait, what?”

“This isn’t you,” she reasons.

“Are we sure he’s in love with Teddy?” Natalie asks at the same time.

“Yeah, you’re always the one getting lost in love,” Jayla adds.

Shae sits forward. “Do you even know how many times we’ve had to hold you while you cried because some boy who ain’t shit did you wrong?”

I hold up a hand, glancing around at all of them. “Hold up … You’re all worried that I’m not falling for my fake husband?”

“You said this was just a friend thing,” says Natalie. “You said Henrik needed the help.”

“Yeah, that it was about keeping a family together,” Darius adds.

“And we got that part,” says Shae.

“We would have done the same,” Jayla says over her.

“Family sticks together,” Rafael adds with a sage nod.

“It was wrong to take that little girl away from her uncle who wanted her,” says Shae.

Next to me, Marcus pats my knee. “You did good, Ted.”

“But you need to be careful is all we’re saying,” says Natalie.

My head is spinning. “Careful why?”

Shae points to the TV, where Henrik is still visibly suffering through the end of the press conference. “Because if that man is in love with you, you’re in trouble, honey. You need to watch out.”

“Watch out?” I’m fucking reeling right now. “Like, for what? Falling pianos?”

“She’s just saying you need to protect yourself,” says Marcus, patting my knee again. “Protect your heart, Ted.”

“Yeah, we all know how sensitive you are,” says Natalie. “He may want you.”

“Oh, trust me, he does,” says Shae.

“To me he seems like a cold fish,” Nat says over her.

“We just want you safe,” says Jayla. “And we want more for you than a fake marriage to someone who can’t love you the right way.”

“Does he love you right, Ted?” Shae presses.

I glance over at the TV again. Henrik is silent now, leaning away from the table, arms crossed, as Assistant Coach Denison answers some question about draft prospects. I lick my lips, trying to suck moisture back into my mouth. How did my own family so wildly misread this entire situation? Henrik Karlsson want me? Love me? I think fucking not.

“You guys, you’ve got it all wrong,” I finally say. “He doesn’t love me. He’s just acting up there. That’s just his media training. He’s a professional and he’s done it before.”

Shae raises a brow. “Before when?”

“We were interviewed for ESPN,” I admit. “The interview will go live in a couple days. Guys, he’s just a really good actor. Like, Olympic level. Literally. But I swear, he doesn’t think about me that way.”

Natalie’s eyes narrow like a fox on a chicken. “I knew it.”

But next to me, Marcus leans in, draping an arm around my shoulders. “You know, Ted, you’re right. When I’m not interested in someone, I make sure to stare at them every chance I get too.”

“He wasn’t staring,” I say on a breath, heart racing.noveldrama

“Oh, please,” cries Shae. “Don’t listen to Nat. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you! Why else do you think he kept skating by, batting those handsome lashes?”

“Hey now,” warns Darius, perched on the arm of the couch by her side.

I shrug out from under Marcus’s arm. “He’s a hockey player. He was skating by because he was playing hockey!”

“Is that what he was doing between quarters too?” says Jayla. “When he came over to flirt with you? Pressing his hand to the glass and running those fingers through his hair all, ‘Oh, hey, Teddy, look at me lookin’ so fine out on this ice. Think we could melt it?’”

“They’re called periods, Jay,” Raf mutters.

She waves him off. “Whatever! My point is that Henrik had more than hockey on his mind.”

Raf shrugs. “Well, if you’re gonna talk about it, get it right.”

Ignoring their bickering, Shae leans forward. “Do you really not see it?”

I think my brain is fucking exploding right now.

She huffs, leaning back. “I swear, Teddy, you spend more time dreaming up the men not interested in you. Now you got one with a ring on his finger, standing up for you like that in front of the whole world, but you’re over here telling us he’s just a friend? He’s just acting? Pretending to love you for a bunch of cameras?”

“Ted, that ain’t right,” Marcus says with a shake of his head. “You deserve better than to be some man’s fake trophy husband.”

“I’m not convinced it’s fake,” Jayla adds. “The way he was looking at you all night?” She pretends to fan herself. “Hoo, he looked like he wanted to eat you with a spoon.”

“I think it was the jacket,” Raf teases.

“Enough!” I launch from the couch and march over to the TV, cutting it off. “Can we stop plotting a romance novel, please? Henrik and I are married, yes. But for purely technical reasons. There is nothing between us. Henrik’s made it clear he doesn’t want that from me. Ever. We’ve never even kissed, okay? It’s not a real marriage, so, everyone, just stop. There are no lingering touches. No prolonged eye contact, or whispered words, or-or flirty banter …”

I fall silent, waiting as my world tilts on its freaking axis. Because oh my fucking god, we’ve done all those things. Well, not the kissing. But even with no cameras rolling, Henrik and I are touching literally all the time. He never hesitates to take my hand or brush against me, sit right next to me on a sofa or chair.

And eye contact? Are you kidding me? We’re constantly catching each other’s gaze and holding it until I feel my insides heat with longing. Whispered words? Check. Flirty banter? Uhh, pretty sure I challenged him to sleep with me again tonight. And if his body language was any indicator, he plans to accept. Sure, we’re just sleeping. But it’s still pretty intimate to hold a half-naked man all night.

And what the hell was that in the AV room earlier? He pulled me to him. Not the other way around. He came to me, and he held me. He held me like … god, like I’m the only thing in his life that makes the world stop spinning—

Stop.

I close my eyes, stifling a groan. I can’t do this. I can’t go here. No, because they’re right. This is what I do. Teddy O’Connor loves to be in love. I love reading between the lines and looking for the romantic subtext in every interaction. I love throwing myself heart-first into another man’s arms, just praying that he, or god, or a strong wind will catch me.

But I knew what this was going in. I’m helping him get and keep temporary custody of Karolina. Once the court sees how good they are together, he can file for full adoption on his own. That’s when he’ll kick me to the curb, and not a moment before.

He won’t keep me from Karolina once we’ve split. I know he’d never do that. But knowing Henrik and I are only temporary, I’ve deliberately tried to do things differently. I’ve been trying to be more like him, more rational and even-tempered, leading with my head over my heart.

I mean, I’m still me. Hello, I’ve still been chaotic and emotional. I didn’t get a personality transplant in Sweden. No, what I got was a family. Or, more accurately, a family got me. They picked me up and placed me in their lives, desperate to replace their missing piece.

Everyone here is so focused on whether Henrik wants me in his life. But what about Karro? She didn’t even get a choice. She just woke up in a hospital one morning, and there I was, smiling and speaking English, pulling magic bears out of my backpack. My wildly inappropriate crush on her uncle has taken something of a back seat, as we’ve both just focused on making sure she’s happy and healthy and moving through her grief.

“Teddy?”

I turn to my mother, blinking back my tears. “Yeah, Mama?”

She’s wearing her glasses with the red frames, hands folded over her middle. Slowly, she stands. Then she holds out her hand. Heart in my throat, I step forward. Crossing to her side, I place my hand in hers, gazing down at her. With her free hand, she cups my cheek. I fight the urge to pull away. Tears fill my eyes, and I close them quick.

“Look at me, baby.”

Letting out a shaky breath, I open my eyes.

Her hand drops down to my shoulder, brushing my locs back. “Do your sisters have the way of it? Are you indifferent to the man you married?”

Groaning, I try to pull away. “I can’t do this—”

Her hand tightens on my shoulder. “Don’t pull away from me. You are my Teddy. I knit you from scratch.” Shifting her hand lower, she presses it to my chest. “I made this heart, baby. Are you hiding from me now? Are you hiding from yourself?”

“Mama …”

“Does your heart beat for that man and that little girl?”

After a moment, I nod. Then all my breath leaves my chest on a sob. God, I can’t keep stifling this truth. I can’t keep playing pretend. “I don’t know what happened,” I admit. “I can’t make it stop, Mama. I can’t walk away. She needs me. I don’t wanna walk away. Not when I know he needs me too.”

She nods. “You’ve always loved to feel needed, baby. And you’re so good at helping others. You give and give. Lord knows you’d give until there’s nothing left for yourself.”

“I know,” I murmur.

Reaching up again, she tucks my locs behind my ear. “Your sisters are right to caution you, baby.”

“Why?”

She offers a faint smile, dropping her hand from my cheek. “There’s always gonna be someone who needs what you have to offer. But some day, you’re gonna realize that being needed isn’t where true happiness lies. Not for someone like you who loves with his whole heart and soul.”

I sigh, searching her face. “What do I do, Mama?”

“True happiness for you is only gonna come when you’re wanted, baby. So, you need to ask yourself: Does this family just need you … or do they really want you?”

Before I can answer, Henrik comes walking through the door.