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Either way, I was going to have to suffer through an evening with Theo within a week if I didn’t take matters into my own hands.
A round of applause jerks me out of my misery, and I look up to see the press meet had ended. The cameras are flashing rapidly as the players alight from the table. I spot Alex climbing down from behind the podium as two reporters head over to him, still asking questions even as the coaches work on dispelling the crowd.
The most insane thought I’ve had in a long while creeps into my mind.
My breath catches in my throat. Going that way is risky.
But I don’t have a lot of options left. This is the only thing I can do to save myself from the Furmans.
I take a huge breath, blocking everything from my mind. The flashing cameras, the thinning crowd, Blake scanning the throng as he looks for me.
I focus on Alex. Only Alex.
I slip past the media gear and the few reporters who are already packing. A few players are blocking my way to Alex, but it’s the easiest thing in the world to move around them and walk past the reporters who are still grilling him. I elbow them aside, and shockingly, they let me.
In a few seconds, I’m standing right in front of Alex.
“Brit,” he says, his brows raised. “What are you—”
He doesn’t complete his question. Because, right in the midst of the flashing cameras, his entire team, and my older brother, I throw myself into Alex Steinman’s arms and kiss the hell out of him.
CHAPTER 14
ALEX
If I thought the Janice situation was bad, I was in for a surprise.
What just happened surpasses it by far.
Leaning against the wall, my heart races as if I’d run miles. Normalizing my breathing is a struggle, and focusing on the room ahead feels impossible. I’m in the private lounge where a Philly Flyers’ tech assistant led me after the kiss.
That kiss.
Amid the countless thoughts swirling in my mind, a rush of dopamine courses through me as I replay the memory. The gaze in Britney’s eyes as she approached me, the sensation of her arms around my neck, the touch of her lips.
Perhaps I should have hesitated, considering David and Blake were in the room. Yet, pulling away from a kiss with the woman meant to be my girlfriend wouldn’t have played well in the media.
I had no choice.
But, if I’m truly honest with myself, I hadn’t just reciprocated to preserve our public image. It happened instinctively, without a second thought.
The moment Britney’s lips touched mine, my arms had gone automatically around her, the way they’ve been aching to do for days.
It would not have mattered if I was standing in front of a team of reporters or just her father.
I’d have devoured her anyway.
Harried footsteps outside the door become louder, and I straighten up just in time for it to blast open. I’m not even the least bit surprised to see David charging into the room, along with Andy Furman and . . .
Britney.
She’s wearing the same jaw dropping dress but is also draped in her father’s coat. I stare at her, expecting her to look embarrassed, confused, or even ashamed.
But she meets my gaze squarely, defiance in her blue eyes.
“What the hell just happened?” David looks more upset than I’ve ever seen him, and the fact that he’s swearing in front of his prized daughter surprises me more than when I first heard Brit swear. “Why the fuck would you kiss her on national TV?”
I take in a deep breath, completely unfazed by his anger. While I know this is a bit of a mess, I’m consoled by the fact that the media cannot turn this into a huge scandal. There is nothing untoward about a hockey player kissing the woman the world recognizes as his new girlfriend. The only scandal that the kiss could cause would happen right here, among the people in this room.
