PUCK ME ON ICE

Chapter 15

Ryder’s POV

“Do I really have to be here?” I ask, keeping my tone completely nonchalant as I stare at the fancy menu in front of me.

“Yes. You are my son, and it’s only right that you get to know the woman I’m dating,” my dad says, taking a sip of his water.

I roll my eyes. “You’ve dated a ton of people, so what makes this one any different?” I ask, doing my absolute best not to sound as utterly annoyed as I feel right now.

“Just behave the moment she gets here, okay?” he warns, leaning in slightly.

“I’ll try.”

“You know, I’ve always wanted to have a happy family with you. Ever since your mom died, I—”

“She wasn't just my mom, she was your wife,” I interrupt, sharp annoyance lacing every word. “We don’t need to force a 'happy family' by having you bring random women into this. We would’ve been better off just the two of us, but you clearly can’t handle remaining single for more than five minutes.”

My dad's jaw tightens. “Now, that isn’t fair, Ryder. You can’t be selfish about this. I—” He cuts himself off, his face suddenly brightening as he stands up. “Natalie!”

“Hey, Danny,” a voice purrs.

Danny? Ewww.

“Natalie, meet my son, Ryder,” my dad says proudly.

I lift my head, forcing the most painfully fake smile I can muster onto my face. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Ryder! Your dad has told me so many things about you,” she says, beaming at me.

“Of course he did,” I say, maintaining my icy composure.

“Have a seat,” my dad offers, pulling out a chair for her.

“Oh, just one second—my daughter will be joining us shortly,” she says.

Daughter? Great, she has a kid.

“Oh, there she is!” Natalie says, excitement lacing her tone.

I don’t even bother looking up to see who it is until Natalie speaks again.

“Ryder, meet my daughter, Tessy.”

My heart instantly skips a beat. My gaze snaps up—and locks right onto Tessy.

She looks every bit as utterly stunned and horrified as I feel. My brain takes a second to process the scene, and then the sheer absurdity of the situation hits me. Okay... this just got very interesting. A slow, amused smirk plays on my lips.

I watch as Tessy awkwardly slides into the chair right across from me, her eyes darting everywhere except toward her mom.

“Do you two happen to know each other?” my dad asks, looking between us. “I mean, you go to the same college, right?”

“Of course we know each other,” I say, letting my smirk widen. “She’s my girlfriend.”

“What?” my dad gasps, staring at me with his eyes wide.

“No! No!” Tessy stammers out, her voice rising an octave in panic. “I am not his girlfriend. And I don’t know him personally! He’s just really popular, so the entire campus knows who the famous hockey captain is.”

She shoots me a look so dirty it could literally burn a hole right through my face.

“Oh! That’s much better,” her mom chuckles, patting her chest in relief. “For a second there, I thought... well, never mind!”

“We should order food,” my dad says, motioning for the waiter.

As the two of them lean over the menu to discuss appetizers with the waiter, I pull out my phone under the table and quickly shoot off a text:

Why are you denying me?

Across the table, Tessy’s phone buzzes. She glances down, her knuckles turning white around her phone before her thumbs fly across the screen. My phone vibrates in my palm:

What’s your problem? We ARE NOT in a relationship!

A small, genuine smile breaks through my lips as I look at her glowing screen. I quickly type back:

Did you know all this time your mom was into my dad?

I glance down at my phone as her reply flashes across the screen:

I had no idea. This is so humiliating.

“What are you both having?” Natalie asks, looking up from her menu with a warm smile.

“Anything, Mom,” Tessy says quickly, shutting her menu without even looking at it.

“Same here,” I add, leaning back in my chair.

I slide my thumbs over the keyboard under the table:

Do you know what’s crazy? We might soon be step-siblings.

I hit send purely to mess with her. A second later, her phone lights up, and her response comes back instantly:

Don’t jinx my life.

A small chuckle slips out before I can stop it.

“Tessy, that’s terrible manners. Put your phone away,” her mom scolds gently.

“You too, Ryder,” my dad chimed in.

I hide a faint smile as I slide my phone into my pocket.

“How has hockey been?” my dad asks, adjusting his watch. “Sorry I’ve been missing so many of your games lately.”

“It’s okay. Hockey is great,” I say, keeping my voice smooth and agreeable.

Right on cue, the waiters arrive with our plates, placing them down before quietly retreating. The table falls into a brief, easy silence as everyone starts eating—until my dad clears his throat and sets his fork down.

“Hmm... can I get both of your attention for a second?” he asks, his tone turning serious as a broad, hopeful smile breaks across his face. “I know you two might be wondering why we wanted you both here today.”

He reaches across the white tablecloth and gently takes Natalie’s hand.

“Natalie and I have been in a relationship for over six months now... and we’ve decided to get married.”

For a fraction of a second, time completely stops. My gaze freezes on my dad. He really wants to get married again. He’s actually going through with this.

“Congratulations!” Tessy speaks up, her voice snapping me out of my trance. “You both have my blessings.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. I knew you would understand,” Natalie gushes, squeezing her hand.

My dad’s eyes shift straight to mine, practically begging for the exact same reaction—for me to give him my blessing and pretend we're one big, happy family.

“Do whatever you want. I don’t control your life,” I say, keeping my tone flat to avoid sounding completely hostile.

My dad lets out a heavy breath of relief. “Thank you, son.”

“You two are going to have to get along really well from now on,” Natalie says brightly, looking between Tessy and me. “Because you’re about to become step-siblings!”

My eyes slowly lock onto Tessy.

Sure, our relationship is completely fake. We're just pretending to date to be in a relationship but if my dad thinks for even one second that I’m going to sit back and let him have his perfect, glowing happy ending after everything he put my mother through... he is sorely mistaken.

He’s going to end this little engagement real quick the moment he finds out that his future step-daughter and his son are already together.

A slow, dangerous smirk plays on my lips as I keep my eyes fixed on Tessy, watching the absolute confusion and dread wash over her face.