“No way,” Bree said, shaking her head. “I’ll pose with you for a few in here if I have to, but not out there.”
“I’ll take it.” He winked, then turned to look behind them as some chatter met their ears. “Okay, showtime, babe. I promise not to hover, but I’ll be close by if you need a rescue or an escape. Say the word, and we’ll blow this joint for some burgers and shakes.”
Bree laughed and put a hand to his face, her heart swelling within her. “I love you.”
He kissed her quickly, humming with pleasure against her lips. “I love you too, sweetheart. Knock ’em dead.” He gave her an encouraging nod, which she managed to return before he walked further into the event space.
He had a role to play tonight, as did she, and only time would tell if either of them succeeded.
A group of three men in equally fine tuxes approached her now, and she smiled at them at once.
“Well, hello there,” the tallest one said. “Nice to see you off-screen.”
“You too, Declan,” she laughed, flushing just a little as he kissed her cheek in greeting.
“This is amazing, Bree,” Rocco said with a grin, showing up Declan by giving her a kiss on both cheeks like the Italian he was. “Seriously awesome.”
“Thank you. There was a lot of help.”
Trane grunted softly, shaking his head with a smile. “Fido told us you’d push off the credit.”
Bree gave him a disgruntled look. “You think I could do all this myself?”
“Yes,” all three said in unison.
She rolled her eyes, smiling. “Whatever. Have you seen your video yet?”
They hadn’t, and all brightened at the prospect of seeing it now, so she pointed them over to the Northbrook gallery, where all of that was set up. The video would go out to the news outlets the next day, and it was already slated for specials on all of the major news outlets.
It was beyond anything Bree had hoped for. There was no telling what kind of support would come from that kind of exposure, and the prospect was a thrilling one to contemplate.
Other guests began to trickle in, directed this way and that by the hotel staff depending on their interest. People of status and reputation in Chicago, former Northbrook players, and even some hockey legends came through, enjoying the food and the reminiscence of Northbrook in its glory days. Someone had even found footage of one of the greatest hockey games in Northbrook history and had it playing on several TV screens to one side.
Families began to arrive as well, and the children were wide-eyed at the opportunity to interact with their hockey heroes, to pose with them in the photo section, to try on full-sized hockey equipment, and to get some of the donated hockey paraphernalia from professional teams. The older guests were focused on the silent auction and the old photos, but they enjoyed mingling with each other and with the hockey players.
There were people everywhere, and Bree couldn’t stop smiling at the sight of them. If all of these people donated to the fundraiser, some significant progress could be made to restoring Northbrook to its new future.
And there was no telling what it could do for Bree’s future as well.
“Bree?”
She turned from her current position, still standing at one of the tall tables by the bar, which happened to have a good view of the entire place.
A tall, broad-shouldered man in a tux, brown hair with highlights pulled back into a clean man bun, smiled almost hesitantly at her as he approached. At his side was a little girl with the same dark hair and the same dark eyes, wearing a plum-colored dress with lace sleeves, a sparkling shoe on each foot.
“You came!” Bree exclaimed, keeping her focus on the little girl and bending as close to her level as her dress would allow. “Do you remember me, Hope?”
Hope smiled shyly and nodded, her hand clutching her father’s tightly. “Yes, Miss Bree. Thank you for inviting me.”
Bree looked up at Zane in surprise, and he grinned proudly, shrugging a shoulder. “Well, you are most welcome,” Bree assured the little girl, returning her attention to her. “We ladies have to stick together tonight, right?”
“Right!” Hope looked at Bree’s gown, her eyes going wide. “Your dress is so pretty, Miss Bree!”
Bree laughed, charmed by the hint of a Southern accent she heard in the young voice. “Thank you! I think your dress is so pretty, too. And your hair!” Bree shook her head with a sigh. “I tried so many times to get my hair that beautiful when I was your age. It never, ever worked.”
Hope smiled up at her dad. “Daddy took me to a grown-up hair salon. He said I got to be fancy tonight.”
Zane chuckled, shaking the hand holding his daughter’s gently. “And then we went out to dinner, and now we’re here!” He looked at Bree, still smiling. “I hope you don’t mind that we’re a bit late. I didn’t want her to get caught up in the press fuss, so we snuck in the side.”
Bree rose from Hope’s level, nodding immediately. “Absolutely, I completely understand.”
“I’m happy to go back out and do a formal entrance,” he told her in all seriousness. “If this had been any other event, I probably would make a lot of noise about being here.”
“Well, I would hate to cramp your usual style,” Bree quipped in response. She smiled down at Hope and winked. “Hope can stay with me if you feel like doing that.” She raised her eyes back to Zane’s quickly. “But please, don’t feel like you have to.”
Zane shrugged and looked down at his daughter. “What do you think, baby girl? You wanna hang out with Miss Bree while Daddy puts on a show?”
Hope giggled and nodded, looking up at Bree. “Daddy loves putting on a show.”
Bree and Zane laughed together, and another voice joined in with them.
They turned to see Jax just behind them, grinning broadly through his beard. “Very, very true, Miss Hope.”
Hope still smiled but looked a little uncertain. “Daddy, is that one of the uncles?”
“Sure am,” Jax said before her father could reply. “Uncle Jax at your service. And I am looking for a date tonight. Do you know where I could find a beautiful lady to come with me to the party? My family couldn’t come tonight, so I am all by myself.” He stuck out his lower lip in a pout for effect.
“I’ll go with you, Uncle Jax!” Hope released her father’s hand without hesitation and gripped Jax’s, turning to Zane with a wave. “Bye, Daddy. Have fun with your show.”
Jax snorted a laugh and lifted a brow as he and Hope moved away from them.
Zane sighed, shaking his head. “No going back now. She’ll have them all wrapped around her finger in fifteen minutes.”
“She’s darling, Zane,” Bree said quietly, taking in the man in a whole new light.
His smile turned very soft, his eyes still on his retreating daughter. “She is the better part of me. The best thing in my life.” He glanced at Bree, his smile curving crookedly. “Who’d have thought, huh?”
She laughed, one arm wrapping around her midsection. “First impressions, maybe not, but I buy it now.”
“Good. And thanks for doing this, Bree. Really.” He squeezed her arm gently.
Bree nodded, strangely not at all embarrassed now. “My pleasure. Really.”
Zane gave her cheek a quick kiss, then strode forward, tugging at his sleeves before sneaking out of a side door and disappearing from the event space.
Who’d have thought, he had asked.
Not Bree Stone, that’s for sure.
Bree exhaled and looked around, surveying the area in an attempt to figure out where to go next. Her eyes landed on Clint, who had been watching her, and he smiled warmly.
She smiled back, blowing him a quick kiss.
He surprised her by excusing himself from the group he had been socializing with and coming over to her.
“You didn’t have to leave them,” she protested when he reached her. “I’m fine.”
“I know. I just wanted to kiss you.” He grinned an
d leaned in for a soft, tender kiss that could have gone on for ages but only lasted a moment.
Bree smiled in satisfaction, taking Clint’s hand and bringing it to her lips.
“Okay, do you have to?”
Bree whirled with a wild grin at hearing that particular voice, and she dashed to her brother’s waiting arms without hesitation. “Ryker!”
He chuckled and swept her up in a tight hug, then set her back down, brushing at her gown. “Sorry, sorry, don’t want to smush your gown.”
“Oh, like I care,” Bree scoffed with a dismissive wave.
“My wife would care,” Ryker pointed out. “And she scares me more than you.”
Bree looked past him, frowning slightly. “Where is your wife?”
“Giving the photographers what they want. Pictures without me in them.” He shook his head and shrugged. “Some of her actor friends are here, too, and most of her co-stars from the show, so it might be a minute.”
Bree gaped at her brother, barely able to breathe. “Actors?” she finally asked. “I didn’t . . . She didn’t . . . ”
Ryker laughed and tapped her chin to close her mouth. “There is a surprising number of hockey fans in Hollywood, Bree.” He looked beyond Bree to Clint, and his smile shrank a little, but not entirely. “Clint.”
Oh boy.
Bree grimaced and backed up, reaching for Clint’s hand, which he immediately gave her. “Ryker, be nice.”
“All I said was his name,” her brother protested.
“And dropped the temperature in the room by twenty degrees,” she shot back. “I love him, Ryker, and that’s not going away.”
Clint squeezed her hand tightly, and she found so much strength and comfort in that pressure, her throat tightened in response.
Ryker sighed and slid his hands into the pockets of his tux pants. “I know. Trista gave me a lecture about the whole thing. And it’s not like I can argue that he isn’t a good guy. If you had to fall in love with anyone, I guess he’ll do.” He smiled at Clint genuinely and held out a hand. “I don’t have to threaten you, right?”
Clint released Bree’s hand to shake Ryker’s. “Nope. I am well aware of what’s at stake and what Bree is worth. I know full well she is out of my league.”
“Please,” Bree replied with a dry snort.
“Hush, sis, and let the wise man say his piece,” Ryker scolded. He nodded at Clint, seeming satisfied. “All right, then. Feel like showing me around, Clint? I want to hear all about this club we’re saving.”
Clint agreed and, after giving Bree a quick kiss that made her blush, took her brother into the rest of the exhibit.
“Holy crap,” Bree muttered to herself, exhaling slowly. That had gone better than she could have hoped, no matter how terrifying it had started out.
“Yeah, that went great!”
Bree looked over at her sister-in-law, now approaching in a formfitting gown of pure white, her hair elegantly swept back, looking like the incomparable movie star she was. “You said you were alone when I told you all that.”
Trista smiled at her. “I was, at the start.”
“You said you wouldn’t tell him about . . . ”
“I didn’t tell him that part. He stepped out of the hotel room and had a minor panic attack, so he missed it.” Trista rolled her eyes, still smiling. “Poor guy.”
Bree’s brow furrowed as she pictured the scenario. “But why didn’t he call me back and yell at me or freak out? He totally would have.”
Trista’s smile turned mischievous. “I hid his phone and distracted him appropriately. Then we had a logical discussion when he was reasonable again.”
“That sounds disturbing,” Bree replied.
“You’re welcome.” Trista turned slightly and waved. “Oh, and I think you’ll want to see these two.”
Bree looked around Trista, and her eyes immediately filled with tears, her feet moving at once. “Mom! Dad!”
Her parents hugged her as one, squeezing tight and both kissing the side of her head. “Hi, honey,” her mom said, hugging her again without her dad involved. “We are so proud of you for pulling this off! For all of your hard work and what you are doing . . . so proud.”
Bree blinked back a sheen of tears, pulling back and taking her mom’s hand. “What are you guys doing here? It’s a long trip from Baltimore, and I’d understand . . . ”
“Do you think we would miss this?” her father interrupted gently. “We love Clint, and we want to do everything we can to save his hockey club. And you had to know we wanted to support you.”
“And we are so happy the two of you are together,” her mom added with a bright smile. “Aubrey and I have been talking, and we were thinking . . . ”
“We should join Clint and Ryker in a tour,” Trista overrode in a firm tone. “Let’s catch up before they get too far.” She winked at Bree as she ushered them along. “We’ll be back in a bit.”
Bree waved, mouthing a quick thank-you to Trista, then put her chilled hands to her overheated cheeks. Between the excitement of the night and her family, she’d probably be red in the face for the entire night, if not beyond.
“There’s who I’ve been looking for!”
Unsure she could take one more surprise, Bree glanced to her right in trepidation only to grin with relief. “Hi, Grizz.”
Sporting his iconic beard, Grizz came over to her and gave her a big hug. “Hi, kiddo.” He pulled back to look her over, nodding in approval. “You look fantastic. How would you like to date my brother?”
“Sounds like a plan.” She shared a teasing grin with him and released a heavy breath. “Oh my gosh, Grizz, I’m exhausted.”
He chuckled and leaned his elbows on the table next to her. “I bet! You’ve been running yourself ragged. If I were you, I’d sneak away before the thing is over and go back to my hotel.”
“Don’t tempt me.” She looked around him, frowning. “Where’s your wife?”
Grizz shrugged and gestured to the room as a whole. “Somewhere. She’s so excited to be here, it’s not even funny. Wouldn’t surprise me if she starts taking hockey lessons pretty soon. Well, after the baby comes.”
Bree had been nodding in amusement, but the words jerked her out of the repetitive motion, and she slapped Grizz’s arm. “Baby? Grizz!” She gave him another tight hug, squealing in excitement. “Oh my gosh, congratulations!”
“Thank you,” he laughed, hugging her back. “Rachel’s incredible, hasn’t been more than mildly queasy for three months. She’s going to have to stop dancing soon, which has her cranky, but . . . ” He trailed off, smiling. “I should have her take my place playing against Clint on the ice.”
“On the what?” Bree snickered at the thought, shaking her head. “You can’t play Clint on the ice.”
“I can too,” he shot back, pretending at an offended air. “Who do you think taught the boy to play?”
Bree gave him a dubious look. “You can’t do anything that might injure you for next season. I know the rules.”
Grizz raised a brow. “Who says I can’t play a one-on-one game against my kid brother? Especially if we’re raising money on it.”
“Money?” Bree repeated, all playing gone. “What money?”
Again, Grizz gestured to the room. “What do you think?”
“No . . . ”
“Yes.” Grizz nodded very firmly three times. “It’s all arranged. Tomorrow morning, Clint and I play a little one-on-one and raise some money, all of which goes to your Northbrook fundraising. Well, in addition to what the Flames and I are already donating.”
Bree put a hand over Grizz’s arm, gripping tight. “Grizz, I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t,” he told her easily. “Clint did.”
All of the air vanished from Bree’s lungs. “What?”
Grizz nodded. “Yep. Called the entire Six Pack individually, got each of us to spread the word, and because of that, pretty soon you’ll see the social media challenge star
t trending.”
“The what?”
He grinned slowly, raising a dark brow. “He didn’t tell you?”
“I mean, we joked about it . . . ” Bree stammered.
“Ha. Jokes. This is no joke, Bree.” Grizz looked over his shoulder, then leaned closer to her, lowering his voice. “His team is doing double duty, raising money for Northbrook and the local St. Louis team.”
Bree’s mouth moved silently, no words forming.
Grizz took pity on her. “Teams everywhere are coming out to support their local organizations, Bree. Some of them are even adding to the Northbrook fund. It’s caught fire. Look up #savenorthbrook and #mashupchallenge.”
“I don’t have my phone,” she said weakly.
He pulled his out and scrolled for a second to find a video, then set the phone down on the table for her to watch.
Clint stood on a basketball court, of all things, and gave a short speech about what they were doing and why, then challenged Jax’s team, the Chicago Flyers, to do the next challenge.
Suddenly a good portion of Clint’s teammates were running up and down the court, dribbling and shooting the basketball and playing against other guys she didn’t recognize.
“Those are the St. Louis Daredevils. The pro baseball team.”
Bree smiled and glanced up at Grizz. “Hockey and baseball guys playing basketball?”
Grizz returned her smile. “Those are the rules. No team can play the sport they do professionally. It would be an unfair advantage.”
“Of course.” Bree shook her head and continued watching the video. “This is amazing.”
“What’s amazing is how I creamed Jax in Ping-Pong,” Grizz boasted gruffly as the game on his phone morphed into a ridiculous exhibition of a slam dunk contest.
Bree sniffed back tears and grinned at him through watery eyes. “I’d like to see that.”
Grizz smiled and winked, pocketing his phone. “You started this, Bree. This whole event is incredible, but you know what’s even better? It’s going to keep going. It’s going to get huge. I don’t know if I should tell you this, but my general manager asked me about this and is looking into local baseball programs to support. You may want to put a name on this puppy and get incorporated, because your phone is going to start ringing.”
Faceoff (Northbrook Hockey Elite Book 1) Page 18