And just like that, I realized that she was a racist—or speciesist, or whatever it was called. And you know what? That made itsomuch easier to dismiss her hurtful claims and the way she was deliberately insulting me.
Beside me, Maddie had stiffened, likely to point out that there were plenty of orcs in this room right now, schmoozing the hell out of guests. But Mr. Albright cleared his throat, drawing my attention.
“Is she correct, Ms. Fairbanks?” His tone was completely bland, as if the answer didn’t matter to him. “Has your personal relationship with a member of the Teal Terrors been concluded?”
I felt my blood drain from my face, which shouldn’t be possible.Concluded. There was that word again. I opened my mouth to answer, but didn’t know what to say, which is why I was so grateful for Maddie yet again.
“Matthew, that’s not really any of your business,” she announced sharply.
“On the contrary, rule breaking is very much the business of the OHL, Ms. Moskowitz.” On his arm, Kristin smirked as the vice president continued, as mild as if we were discussing the weather. “This isn’t a pleasant task, but we have to ensure that everyone in the league follows the same rules. We cannot offer special treatment.”
“We’re not asking for special treatment,” Maddie began, but the man spoke over her.
“The rules are in place for a reason. If the practice facility isn’t owned by the team or person working for the team, then there can be no hint of preferential treatment.”
He nodded once to me and Maddie, then glanced down at Kristin—him still looking completely unimpressed by everything, while she was beaming as if my pain was delightful.
“Come along, my dear. I can see the exhibition is about to begin. We should find our seats.”
As they turned to leave, I felt my knees give out, and then Maddie was there, arm wrapped around my waist to keep me upright.
“Asshole,” she muttered. “I never did like him.”
“Rule breaking,” I mimicked in a weakly snide tone. “We didn’tknowwe were breaking a rule!”
I didn’t know there was a rule against falling in love with a hockey player.
“Lila.” Maddie turned to me suddenly and grabbed both my hands. “Honey, he’s right, the exhibition is about to start, and I have to go emcee it.Pleaseskate.”
Of course I was going to skate, the whole gala depended on it. The youth league depended on it. Theteamdepended on it. But…
“How?” I whimpered.
She shook her head sadly. “However you can manage. The OHL doesn’t want to believe you’re a couple with Kardok, fine. Do your best to pretend you don’t love the guy, for tonight at least. We can fall apart tomorrow.”
Pizza and ice cream and sad movies—check.
“Okay,” I whispered. Tonight I could skate and pretend not to love Kardok, even if my heart was breaking. “But everyone will see it, see how devastated I am.”
“Good,” she said savagely, eyes gleaming. “Let those assholes see! Make it a sad program, that works too. Then tomorrow, together, we’ll figure this out, Lila.”
Together.
I took a shuddering breath. “I have to go get ready.”
“You still have at least thirty minutes.” Maddie nodded firmly. “Go find your father. He deserves to know everything. Then drink some water or stretch or whatever you do to get ready.”
She really was clueless when it came to figure skating, wasn’t she? Still, her concern warmed my heart, and to my surprise, I felt a spark of hope in my heart.
“Okay,Mom,” I teased, and her cheeks turned pink.
“Go,” she commanded, dropping my hand and pointing me toward the elevator. “Good luck. Respect the ice, or whatever.”
My lips twitched. “Usually we just tell each other to skate well, but I like that one.”
Maddie jabbed her finger toward the elevator as the last of the donors moved toward the rink doors. “Skate well, Lila. You and Kardok both.”
Together.
