He gives a small, almost self-deprecating smile from behind his desk. “He said no, didn’t he?”
I don’t want to lie, but I also don’t want to explain why I didn’t even ask. “Sorry.”
He waves me off. “No, no, don’t be sorry. It was a long shot anyway. The reunion is next week, so it’s better to know now. I’ll tell them I can’t make it. They won’t miss me anyway. They didn’t at the ten-year one, so why would this be any different?”
“I could do it,” I say.
“What?”
“I’m no Ezra Palaszczuk, but I did play pro hockey for five years.”
Jasper cocks his head. “But are you … you know …” He makes a circular motion with his hand.
“Gay, you mean?” Now I tilt my head. “Should I be offended you haven’t googled me?”
“Have you googled me?”
“Well, no, but were you ever a part of the Original Six?”
“What’s that?”
I rub my chest. “It hurts. It hurts so bad.”
His lips twitch. “Why do I get the feeling it’s hockey related?”
“Because it is. You should know things about hockey if I’m going to be your pretend boyfriend for your high school reunion.”
“B-boyfriend?”
I shrug. “Well, yeah, that’s what you were going to tell everyone, right?”
“I wasn’t going to tell anyone anything other than Ezra was my date.”
“Well, now you’ve upgraded. Besides, it makes more sense since we sort of work together. Plus, if you did take Ezra, it would’ve been obvious you were pulling a favor. Sure, they’d be impressed you could pull it off, but having an actual hockey player for a boyfriend? Imagine the looks on their faces.”
“You really want to come with me? To my reunion.” Jasper glances around the office. “Is this some kind of sick joke?”
Fuck, my heart breaks for him.
I shouldn’t be offering. The excuse that I need someone to look after the kids so I can go screw with a group of guys who were assholes twenty damn years ago is a little thin, but the fact Jasper still harbors so much bitterness and hate makes me want to do it. If not for him, then for Hazel. I don’t want her to end up in twenty years freaking out about having to see people she went to school with.
I don’t exactly know how helping Jasper will help Hazel, but it feels like the right thing to do.
“Take a chance,” I say. “Maybe I can show you that not all hockey players are meathead athletes who hate on smaller and weaker guys to feel more powerful.” I eye him in a purposeful exaggerated way. “Though, there’s nothing scrawny about you now.”
“A-are you sure you can get away from your siblings?”
“Where’s the reunion again?” He emailed me the details so I could ask Ezra, but I didn’t look at them because I was never going to call Ezra.
“Small town in New Hampshire. It’s near Nashua.”
“Three hours away? Ish? That’s close enough I can still get back if something happens, but I guess far enough to stay overnight?”
“They have this brunch thing the next day, but I can skip that. If you agree to come with me, we can turn up, rub it in all their faces, and then be home by one.”
“Whoa, party animal. Calm down.”
He frowns.
“I’m messing with you. I’ll ask the babysitter if she wouldn’t mind doing an overnight just this once.” And even though I’m doing this because I legitimately want to help, I can’t deny a night away sounds like heaven.
Jasper runs a hand through his light brown hair. “That sounds like a hassle. If it’s too big a deal—”
“It’s not.” I’m much more comfortable with this idea than the Ezra one. “I owe you one, remember? So, take me with you.”
His blue eyes meet mine. “Okay.”
“So we have until next Saturday to learn everything about each other. Where do you want to start?”
Jasper looks at his watch. “I have class in five minutes, but you’re right. We should set aside some time to get our story straight.”
“My schedule is messed up. It’ll have to be when the babysitter is at home or Asher.”
“I’ll email you my class schedule, and you can pick a time that suits you.”
“It’s a date.”
“Not a date.”
“It’s a fake date, then.”
As I turn to leave, I hear him mutter, “What have I gotten myself into?”
8
Jasper
Five minutes until he gets here. Five minutes until I’m meeting my fake boyfriend to talk about all the things we need to know about each other to make this feel real.
The reunion is a couple of days away now, and I’m already regretting this whole thing. This was the earliest time we could find to meet up, and if we can’t get to a point where our backstory is believable, it’s going to be a disaster.
Hell, it’s probably going to be a disaster anyway. On what planet would anyone believe gay, scrawny Jasper Eckstein grew up to snag an ex-NHL player, for fuck’s sake? Someone who’s ten years younger than him at that.