Married To The Hockey Devil

The perfect lie

Chapter 5

The Perfect Lie

Mason's POV

The studio lights were too bright, the interviewer's smile too rehearsed, and I already knew this was going to go badly the moment she leaned forward with that particular gleam reporters get right before they ask something they shouldn't.

"So," she said, turning to Emma first, which already irritated me.

"Tell us how the two of you met. I'm sure our viewers are dying to know."

Emma smiled sweetly, the same smile she used on rude customers right before she put them in their place. I braced myself.

"He walked into the diner where I worked, soaking wet from the rain, and ordered coffee like I was supposed to read his mind."

That was not the story Diane had prepped. The prepped version involved a charity gala, soft lighting, and a meaningful glance across a crowded room. I cut in fast.

"What she means is-"

"No," Emma said, turning to me with a look that could have frozen the studio. "That is exactly what happened you were rude. I told you so."

"I wasn't rude, I was tired."

"You were rude and tired."

The interviewer laughed, delighted, clearly reading this as adorable newlywed banter instead of the very real argument it actually was. "I love this so it wasn't love at first sight?"

"It was irritation at first sight," Emma said sweetly.

I shot her a look she completely ignored.

It only got worse from there. The interviewer asked about our first date, and I said something sarcastic about takeout containers, which was technically true and also not remotely the answer Diane wanted.

Emma corrected me with exaggerated patience, like she was explaining something to a child, which made the interviewer laugh again.

When asked about our first kiss, I deadpanned that I didn't kiss and tell, and Emma muttered under her breath that I probably didn't remember it well enough to describe anyway.

I felt her foot connect sharply with my shin under the table. I glared at her she smiled at the camera like nothing had happened.

"And Mason," the interviewer said, "what do you love most about your wife?"

I opened my mouth with something sarcastic loaded and ready, and Emma's eyes flicked toward me in silent warning. For reasons I couldn't fully explain, I actually paused.

"She doesn't let me get away with anything," I said instead.

It wasn't the answer I had planned. It wasn't an answer at all, really, just something true that slipped out before I could stop it.

The interviewer practically melted, and even Emma looked briefly caught off guard before recovering with a small, unreadable smile.

By the time the segment ended, I was fairly certain the entire thing had been a disaster. Emma looked equally certain, judging by the tight, furious smile she kept plastered on until the cameras finally cut.

The second we were in the car, it started.

"You made me look ridiculous," I said.

"I made you look ridiculous? You are the one who couldn't stay on script for five minutes."

"You went off script first."

"Because your script was garbage, Mason. Nobody believes a story about a charity gala when you can barely stand still in a room full of people you don't know."

"You need to learn how to follow instructions."

"And you need to learn how to talk to people without acting like the entire world owes you something."

That landed harder than I expected. I opened my mouth to fire something back and found, for the first time in longer than I could remember, that I didn't actually have a response ready.

Nobody spoke to me that way not my father, not my teammates, not a single person who'd ever worked for me. I sat there in stunned silence the rest of the ride, and Emma stared out her window like she'd already forgotten I existed.

By the time we walked into the penthouse, my phone was already ringing.

"Diane," I said, bracing for the worst.

"Mason, it is incredible the interview is already trending. Three different clips are going viral. Sponsors are calling me nonstop, they love it. The public thinks you two are the most genuine couple they've seen in years."

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it like it had personally betrayed me.

"We fought through the entire thing."

"That is exactly why it worked. It's real, Mason. Or at least it looks real, which is all that matters. Keep doing whatever you are doing."

I hung up, genuinely stunned, and turned to find Emma leaning against the counter with her arms crossed, clearly having heard enough of the call to understand.

"Congratulations," she said dryly. "Apparently we are America's favorite couple now."

"Don't get comfortable," I said. "This is still temporary."

"Trust me, I'm counting the days." She pushed off the counter, heading toward her room.

"We are not friends, Mason we are not anything business partners that's it."

"Fine by me."

She disappeared down the hall, and I stood there in the quiet kitchen feeling strangely unsettled by how easily she'd said it, like she needed to remind herself as much as me.

I was still standing there when my phone rang again.

"What now," I answered.

"Mason." Diane's voice had changed completely, the earlier excitement gone, replaced by something careful and hesitant that immediately put me on edge.

"I need to talk to you about something the background team found."

"What background team?"

"Standard due diligence we run checks on anyone entering a contract like this, you know that it is routine."

"Diane."

She hesitated, and the silence on the line stretched long enough that my stomach started tightening before she'd even said anything.

"There is something suspicious about Emma's family."

I glanced toward the hallway where Emma had disappeared, the door to her room now closed, and felt something cold settle low in my chest.

For the first time since I'd sat across from her in that conference room, watching her refuse to shake my hand, I wondered if bringing a complete stranger into my life had been the biggest mistake I'd made yet.

My grip tightened around the phone. "What exactly did you find?"

The line went quiet for a moment too long.

"You need to see this yourself."