Chapter One
Darcy LaCroix always got nervous before a big game. Nerves were a good sign. It had been three years since she played her last hockey game but the jittery, excited feeling was familiar. It meant she was ready.
“Five minutes,” a PA called into the room.
Darcy’s stomach swan-dived for the floor and her hands trembled, making the script flutter like a hummingbird’s wings. Darcy sat as still as possible, terrified to mess up her hair or makeup while reading over her script for the tenth time.
It took her three years of working at Wake Up, USA to get this chance to be on camera. Three years of fetching coffee, pitching stories that got swatted away, and staying late to learn as much as she could about every aspect of the show. It all came down to this.
She knew how to deal with pressure. High stakes were her happy place. You don’t win three gold medals if you can’t handle the stress.
Tell that to her racing heart.
She glanced at the script. It wasn’t much, but it was what she’d been begging for. A chance to get out from behind her desk.
At four o’clock that morning when Raquel, her boss, had stopped by her cubicle to talk to her, she assumed there was a script that needed rewriting. Instead, Raquel told her to change into a suit and get her ass to hair and makeup.
“Here’s the script,” Raquel said, shoving paper at Darcy. “Don’t let me down.”
That’s how she ended up flush with adrenaline and covered in more makeup than she’d worn in her life.
A different PA rushed in to escort her to the set. “Stand there, look at that camera, and read the prompter.”
Darcy nodded, her eyes trained on the taped X on the floor. One last deep breath.
Don’t blow it, LaCroix.
She took her place and waited for her cue.
The news anchor, a generically handsome man with shiny black hair, and an unbelievable tan for the middle of winter, smiled into the camera. “Welcome back to Wake Up, USA. We’re all excited for the upcoming Olympics, which you can watch right here and on our sister stations. As part of our coverage, we have some news to share with you. The United States has named the members of its women’s ice hockey team.”
On the monitor, Darcy could see the list of names for the team and waited for her turn to speak.
“To help us give context, we have four-time Olympian, three-time gold medalist, and former captain for Team Canada, Darcy LaCroix.”
Darcy smiled into the camera and hoped no one could tell that it felt like every one of her organs was trying to rearrange itself inside her.
“Darcy, is anything about this roster a surprise to you?”
Darcy nodded to the anchor. “Yes, Dave. As you just saw, the team is without its former captain. Fans of women’s hockey will likely be shocked to see that three-time Olympian Natalie Carpenter has been left off the roster.”
Darcy swallowed and stared into the camera.
Steady. You can do this. Slow down.
“Carpenter’s hockey résumé is impeccable. She was the captain of the team that won gold in the last Olympics. She won the national championship as a college freshman. She’s been a star for years. But she had a nagging quad injury for much of training camp. Combine that with the fact that she’s thirty-five and I think the coaching staff felt like they had to go with a younger, healthier squad.
“Looking at the roster, it looks like JT Cox is the player they think can fill Carpenter’s skates. Filling in for an all-time great is never easy and the team’s asking a lot of such a young player.”
Darcy turned to the host. “Even if this isn’t the way she hoped her career would end, Carpenter can retire with her head held high.”
The anchors took over reading the news and the camera operator told Darcy she could leave.
She walked out of the studio, her heart beating so hard she thought she might burst. She felt awful for Natalie, for the way her career ended and having to be the one to announce it. But she did it. It took three
years, but she finally got herself on TV. And not just any TV, on the number one morning show in the country. She didn’t even try to keep the smile off her face.
She heard someone call out that they were in a commercial break as she walked past the control room.
A PA, Sadie, stuck their head out of the door. “Raquel says you should come to her office after the show’s over.”
Darcy swallowed. “Shit. Did she say why?”
Sadie gave her a warm smile. “She liked it. Don’t be nervous. I think it’s a good thing.” They gave Darcy a quick pat on the arm before hurrying back into the control room.
Darcy looked down at the now crinkled script in her hands. Damp spots appeared at the edges where she’d been clutching it. She wiped her hands on her pants and tried to smooth the paper as she walked to her desk.
Her mind served up possible reasons Raquel might want to see her. The most tantalizing was that she was going to get to be part of the on-screen team for the Olympics. She took a deep breath and allowed the possibility to wash over her. Maybe her day had finally arrived.
Chapter Two
Natalie Carpenter woke up to the sound of the Wake Up, USA theme song. It brought back memories of elementary school sick days spent watching daytime TV with her grandma. She wiped a hand across her face and squinted at the screen. She hadn’t turned it on. She scanned the room, her eyes bouncing over the beer bottles on the coffee table, and realized she’d fallen asleep on the couch. Pathetic.
She sat up at the word “Olympics.” She turned up the volume, regretting it immediately when the throbbing in her head intensified. She needed to hear the news again. Maybe if she heard it on TV, it would feel real. Real was all she could hope for because she wasn’t going to feel better anytime soon.
Her phone vibrated with a new text. Her best friend, Grace.
Turn off the TV. If you are watching right now, turn it off. Seriously, Nat. Don’t torture yourself.
Natalie flipped her phone over. Grace meant well, but Natalie needed to watch the anchor read off the names and tell the viewers, most of whom didn’t follow women’s hockey, who the next star was going to be for Team USA. She needed to hear the anchor say that she’d been cut, that she’d gone from being the captain of the gold-medal-winning team four years ago to a has-been sitting on her shitty couch in her shitty apartment.
Hungover and running on a few hours of sleep didn’t help but it was fitting that her physical and mental states matched. Natalie Carpenter never did anything halfway. Why would feeling like a dumpster fire be any different?
She saw the roster flash on the screen next to the anchor. She expected not to see her name—she knew it wouldn’t be there—but she didn’t anticipate the cold, prickling sensation flooding her body. The shame mixed with sadness overwhelmed her. She watched, not hearing the words coming from his mouth until he said “Darcy LaCroix.”
She blinked, forcing her sluggish brain to make sense of seeing Darcy for the first time in four years. What the hell was she doing on TV? Then Darcy was talking about Natalie’s career as a player, and why she got cut.
Natalie sat up, her head pounding. Damn, she looked good on that screen. Deep inside her, teenage Natalie’s heart stuttered at the sight of her former teammate. It only lasted a second. As soon as Darcy explained why Natalie lost her spot on the team and mentioned her replacement, Natalie’s heart hardened. Hurt-infused anger consumed her.
“Even if this isn’t the way she hoped her career would end, Carpenter can retire with her head held high.”
Natalie punched the remote and muttered, “Fuck you, LaCroix.”
She looked across the room at her Team USA bag. She should have been getting ready to fly with her team one more time, not lying on her couch listening to her former teammate, a woman she once loved, talk about her retirement.
Retirement was for old people, not thirty-five-year-olds. Unless you were one of those douchebag hedge fund manager guys, no one retired at thirty-five. Natalie’s parents weren’t even retired yet.
But they weren’t professional athletes.
Now, neither was she.
Her phone buzzed on the table. She ignored it until it vibrated off the table and onto the floor with a crash. Fuck, her head hurt.
She smacked the phone and put it on speaker. Holding it to her ear was more than she could manage in her pathetic state.
“You watched it, didn’t you?”
“Hi, Grace.”
“I told you to turn that shit off. Your life would be so much easier if you would listen to me.”
Natalie groaned. “Unless you can go back in time and tell me not to drink that fourth beer last night, I’m not sure how listening to you would
change anything.”
“I know this sucks, especially because of Darcy.”
Natalie sighed. Grace had been her best friend since they were randomly assigned to be roommates her first year of college. Grace had an irritating ability to be right most of the time, even if Natalie didn’t want to acknowledge that now.
“I can hear a ‘but’ coming.”
“It sucks, but you have to think about what you’re going to do next. You’re thirty-five, you have to have known you weren’t going to be playing hockey forever. What’s your plan?”
“You sound like my parents. I don’t know what’s next. I thought I had a couple more months to figure it out. I thought we’d win gold and then I’d see what kind of offers came my way.”
Grace snorted into the phone.
“Yes, I know that I sound like a gigantic asshole. Instead, it turns out I’m a washed-up hockey player with no job.”
“You’re not a washed-up anything. You knew this was coming eventually. Stop moping around, take a couple Advil, drink some water, and figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life. I’ll call you tomorrow when you’re not hungover and whiny.”
“I’m not whiny!”
“Talk to you tomorrow! Love you, Nat.”
After she hung up, Natalie collected the beer bottles from the table and tried not to bang them together as she rinsed them and put them in the recycling bin. Every time they clinked together, it sent a shock wave through her brain. Fuck, why on earth did she drink that last beer?
The beer didn’t fix anything, but at least it helped her forget the look in her coaches’ eyes when they told her she was done.
Getting cut sucked but having them look at her like she should have seen it coming made her feel worse than anything. It made her feel ashamed in a place where she was used to being proud. And now she had to see that same look in Darcy’s eyes. Fuck this day.
Her phone buzzed again. Her parents. Dammit. They’d been sad and supportive when she broke the news that she wasn’t going to her fourth Olympics. They said all the right things, but it didn’t take away how awful she felt being cut from a team that in the past felt more like a family. Being told you were no longer good enough hurt more than she could explain to anyone who hadn’t been through it.
“Hi, Mom.”
“How did you know I wasn’t your father?” She could hear her mom’s smile through the phone.
“Dad never calls. If I talk to him, it’s because I’ve called and he hasn’t found you to hand over the phone yet.”
She laughed. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
“Fine.”
“It’s not nice to lie to your mother, Natalie.” The silence stretched between them. “I know you’re devastated. I’m sure you’ve cried and had too many beers.” She paused. “I thought it might be time for you to come home for a bit.”
No way. “I’m not twelve.”
“And I’m not stupid. You can’t wallow in that apartment forever. The sooner you come home, eat some decent food, and get your feet back under you the better.”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. I can handle myself without you and Dad hovering over me. I’m a grown-up.”
Her mom laughed. “
You’re nothing close to a grown-up.”
“I’m thirty-five!”
“I know, sweetie, but the only job you’ve ever had is playing hockey. No matter what you do next, it’s going to be a big transition. If you come home we can support you until you figure out whatever the next thing is.”
Natalie took a deep breath; her mom was just being kind. She was trying to make sure Natalie was all right. But having to move back home with her parents would really be the cherry on top of her failure sundae.
Unemployed, former hockey player sounded bad enough without having to tell people she was sleeping in her childhood bedroom.
“You could help your father. He always needs someone to help out around the shop.”
Natalie sighed. “I’m not a plumber.” Her headache had stopped being a persistent throb and turned instead into a blinding pulse she couldn’t ignore. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll find something to do with myself. I’m a big girl. I can handle finding a job here.”
Her mom sighed into the phone. “I know you can, but we think it would be easier, better for you to come home. Your brother’s right up the road. If you don’t want to work with your father, I’m sure Brian would be happy to pay you to watch the boys.”
From three-time Olympian to charity case babysitter in less than ten days. Fuck. My. Life.
“I gotta go. There’s someone at the door.” She hung up before her mom had a chance to point out how absurd that lie sounded. Natalie slumped onto her couch and ran a hand through her shoulder-length, dirty-blonde hair before cradling her forehead. She needed water, Advil, and a nap.
Instead, she opened her banking app. Natalie’s bank account showed exactly how poorly she and her teammates were compensated for their world-class skills.
She needed a job. Soon. Otherwise, she was going to be spending the next few weeks packing everything she owned into her beat-up Honda and driving back to her parents’ house.
But what could an unemployed, former hockey star find for work on short notice? A hockey player who hadn’t had a “real job” in years thanks to the rigors of training with the national team.
She let her head fall back against the soft cushions on her couch. She was utterly and completely fucked.
Chapter Three
Inside Raquel’s office, the shades were pulled against the afternoon sun. She gestured to the chair in front of her desk and Darcy walked in and took a seat.
“Did Chip find you?” Darcy asked, half curious, half anxious.
Raquel nodded but even in the dim light, she couldn’t hide the eye roll from Darcy. “He wants to change the coverage team for the Olympics.”
Darcy’s heart sped up. “Really?”
Raquel leaned her chair back. “He wants to ditch one of the segments he’s been doing for a while. Thinks it’s beneath him and undignified.” Raquel shook her head slowly. “That’s where you come in.”
“Because I’m unimportant and undignified?” Darcy couldn’t stop a laugh from bubbling up and escaping her mouth.
Raquel allowed the tiniest hint of a smile to twitch across her lips before squashing it. “You want to be on TV, right?”
Darcy nodded.
“Then you won’t mind starting from the bottom.”
Darcy forced herself to rein in the locker room quips running through her head. She was not going to joke with her boss about being a bottom, not when she was so close to finally getting her chance on TV.
“You know the segment where Chip learns how to play the Olympic sports?”
Darcy nodded. “I’ve seen the segments. The one where he gets a water polo ball to the face is a classic.” She laughed and made a mental note to pull up the GIFs of it when she got back to her desk. Watching Chip look like an asshole was always a good time.
Raquel’s mouth twitched again at the corner. She covered it with a beleaguered sigh. “He doesn’t want to be the subject of any more sports-related viral videos. So, would you like to learn how to do some curling? Cross-country skiing? Ski jumping?”
Darcy paused for a second at the mention of ski jumping. She wasn’t a fan of heights. But it didn’t take her long to recover. “You’re offering me an on-camera job?”
Raquel nodded.
“Then, yes! I’m up for learning whatever sports you can throw my way.” She grinned, any pretense of remaining professional melted away in her enthusiasm.
Raquel leaned forward so her elbows rested on the desk. “I know this isn’t the opportunity you were hoping for, but it gets you on-camera experience and a chance to make America fall in love with you.”
Darcy smiled. “How stupid do I have to look for America to forget I’m Canadian?”
Raquel clicked her pen half a dozen times. “Here’s the thing. We don’t want America to forget you’re Canadian. In fact, we found someone to do the segments with you who should help everyone remember you played for Team Canada.”
A chill slipped down Darcy’s back. “Raquel, who do I have to work with on this?” Her brain spun wildly, trying to figure out who on earth could be worse than working with Chip.
Raquel cocked her head to the side. “Is it going to be a problem for you to work with a partner?”
“Who, Raquel?” Darcy couldn’t keep the edge out of her question. She didn’t like surprises and she didn’t like being fucked with.
“Don’t worry, you two go way back.”
“Raquel.”
Raquel grinned, enjoying Darcy’s anger a little more than she should. “Natalie Carpenter.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “At least that’s the plan if Natalie can read a teleprompter.”
Darcy was speechless, but it didn’t stop her mind and stomach from going on a wild roller-coaster ride. The last time they were together, they had gotten
into a fight and were sent off the ice for two minutes. Darcy spent the time staring at the game passing her by while Nat spent most of it screaming at her from the other penalty box. Chirping was one of Natalie’s skills. It’s what started the fight in the first place.
Darcy stared at Raquel across the desk. “You think you can put her on TV? She can’t make it through a sentence without swearing, and she’s got to be the most inappropriate person I’ve ever met.”
Raquel clicked the pen a few more times before speaking. “You done?” Darcy crossed her arms over her chest. “The network wants to play up the rivalry the two of you had on the ice. She just got cut from the Olympic team, she’s bound to be a little pissed off about it and frankly I think the two of you duking it out on camera—” she paused “—appropriately, of course, could be exactly what we need to stand out in the ratings.” She cocked her head to one side and let her appraising eyes travel over Darcy’s face. “But if you can’t manage that, let me know now. I’m sure we can find someone else.”
Darcy let out a long breath. “That would be great. It’s just that Nat and I have this history and—”
Raquel stopped her by putting one hand in the air. “Oh no. I meant that if you can’t handle working with her we can find another Canadian to do it. The network likes her and as long as she can read, they want her to be the one opposite you. You’re not going to make me tell them that you’d rather work at your desk than play a couple goofy games against a former rival, are you?”
Darcy shook her head. How the fuck did this happen? How did she go from asking to work the Games to being put in some dopey puff spots with Natalie fucking Carpenter?
Getting an on-screen job was her dream. If her chance to do that required her to get along with Natalie Carpenter, the biggest pain in the ass she’d ever met, she’d find a way. There was no way she was letting that mouthy American get in the way of her dream.
“Nope. I can handle Carpenter.” Darcy stood up. “But you might want to see if she can handle me.” She paused at the door. “I won’t let you down, Raquel.”
“I know,” she said, eyes already back on her computer. “I know you won’t.”
Chapter Four
If there was a limit to the number of times Natalie could hear no in a day, she hadn’t reached it yet. She called every single person she could think of who might have a job for her only to hear “Wow, I wish I had something for you, but good luck” over and over.
All that rejection was exhausting, but not like the exhaustion she was used to from training. This didn’t leave her muscles sore and her skin bruised. It left her angry, depressed, and nursing a battered ego.
After one final “We’ll keep you in mind if anything opens up,” she needed to get out. Out of her house and out of her head. She put her sneakers on and headed out for a run.
The fact was, she hated running. It was a means to an end when it came to training. She didn’t enjoy the sprints, the beep test, or any of the dry land training she had to do for the team. But she loved how it felt to be strong and powerful on the ice. She loved being good.
Today, she ran to clear her head of all the noise in there. Every no was like another shot at her already bruised sense of self-worth. Not good enough for the team, not good enough for a job. Not good enough. Not good enough. The words echoed in her head as her feet punished the sidewalk.
Running this hard hurt but if it hurt she couldn’t think about what might happen a week from now, or tomorrow, or even ten seconds in the future. The pain of her lungs, the burning, metallic taste in her mouth, and her legs screaming at her to stop drowned all of that out.
By the time she got home, everything hurt except for her mind. That was finally as clear as the late afternoon sky. She filled a water bottle and took it into her living room to stretch. She flicked on the TV and caught the end of the show before SportsCenter. The hosts were arguing about who was going to take home gold this year in hockey.
There’s no way Canada wins this one. Not as long as I have something to do about it.
It hit her all over again. She had nothing to do about it. She had nothing to do with the team or the Olympics. She was on her own.
She turned the TV off and chucked the remote onto her couch, disgusted with everything in her life. She stalked into her kitchen and yanked the refrigerator door open. While she contemplated whether eating cereal for dinner was too pathetic even for her, her phone rang. She grabbed it and answered without taking her eyes off the twelve bottles of condiments populating the fridge door.
“Mom, I’m not moving home.”
“Natalie?”
Oh shit. Not her mom. Her agent. “Keena? Sorry. My mom’s been calling...never mind. What’s up?”
“How do you feel about television?”
Natalie closed the refrigerator door and moved to forage in the pantry. “Love it. It’s how I spend most of my days now that I’m a has-been,” Natalie said, hoping she sounded less bitter than she felt.
“You’re not a has-been, Natalie. You accomplished more in your playing career than most people will in their lifetime. It just happens that you picked a job where getting older isn’t a benefit.” She paused. “I’m sorry. This sucks. Nothing I can say is going to change the fact that this is completely shitty. But I might have an opportunity for your next career.”
Natalie hopped onto her counter and let her legs dangle above the floor. “Keena, I should tell you right now that I can’t act.”
A throaty laugh blasted through the phone, forcing Nat to put the phone away from her ear. “Nat, don’t worry, this doesn’t require anything but acting like yourself and not swearing on live TV.”
Nat leaned forward in anticipation. “I can work on the swearing, I promise.”
“I got a call from a friend who works for Wake Up, USA.”
“The morning show?”
“Yes. They’re thinking of changing things up a little bit for their Olympic coverage and wondered if you’d be interested in giving it a shot.”
Natalie’s heart leaped. After all the disappointments, this felt like a lifeline. But as her head caught up with her heart, she realized Keena
wasn’t giving her a lot of specifics.
“What do they want me to do? Do they know I don’t have any experience on TV?”
Keena laughed. “They remember you from the last Olympics when they interviewed the whole team. You made a bit of an impression on the producer who called me. She liked your energy.”
Nat winced. She had been sleep-deprived and hungover when they were interviewed. She hadn’t dropped an f-bomb but she had been way freer with her comments than she would have been normally. In her defense, they had just won the gold medal. Who could blame her or her teammates for having a hell of a lot of fun the night before? If they hadn’t exactly made it to bed before the interview, no one needed to know.
“You still haven’t said what they want me to do,” Nat said, dread creeping into her chest. What if this wasn’t the lifeline she thought it was?
Keena was silent for a second.
“Keena, come on, what’s the catch?” Panic tinged with annoyance crept into Natalie’s voice.
Keena took a deep breath. “It’s nothing bad. They want you to come in to see how your chemistry is with one of their people who they have in mind for the segment.”
“Who is it?”
“Darcy LaCroix.”
Natalie’s mind served up a montage of her greatest battles with Darcy. Most of them included shoving, trash-talking, and, though she would never admit it, the nightmare of Darcy raising her arms over her head in triumph each time Canada beat the U.S. Natalie closed her eyes and shoved aside the memories before they could slip back any further to when she and Darcy first met. She didn’t need to think about college, or how they left things when Darcy graduated and moved on to the national team. Nope.
“I know you two have a history on the ice.”
And off.
Keena paused before speaking. “My contact tells me Darcy’s trying to get out from behind a desk and in front of the camera. ...
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