If You Need Me (The Toronto Terror Series)

I don’t bother chasing Dallas down the hall. I’m in heels, and he’s a pro hockey player, so there are zero chances I’ll be able to catch him.

I glare at the bouquet of flowers sitting in the middle of my conference table. I refuse to have anything that smells this nice and looks this pretty in my office—especially when it was given to me by the person who has made my life a complete nightmare and seems intent on continuing this trend. I take the flowers across the hall to Shilpa’s office. She’s not there to say no because she has a meeting off-site. She and I have a date tonight to discuss the dumpster fire my life has become in the last twelve hours. I’ve put the group chat on hold until further notice. Hammer is out today with Flip and Ash at a pediatric hospital visit.

It’s not enough that we have the celebrity hockey game in three days, now I also get to deal with the stress that comes with being Dallas’s fake girlfriend.

I flop down in my chair and grudgingly sip the latte. Then I moan at how perfectly delicious it is. “That fucker.” It makes me unreasonably angry that Dallas knows exactly what I like. He probably asked Shilpa.

My stomach growls obnoxiously. The only thing I’ve consumed today is coffee and water. I swear I can smell a peach scone through the bag.

I give into temptation and peek inside. I frown as I pull the item on top out. It’s an inedible, adorable, crocheted peach wearing a little smile, complete with stem and a single crocheted leaf. His granny probably made it. I set it next to my family photo. It always garners questions since I don’t look like my moms or brothers.

I return my attention to the bag. A delicious, frosted peach scone sits on top of a beet and farro salad. I carefully remove the scone from the bag and break off a piece, popping it into my mouth. The delicate taste hits my tongue, and I simultaneously sigh in contentment and groan in irritation. Now I’ll forever associate my favorite scones with the world finding out I’m suddenly in a relationship with Dallas Bright.

My phone buzzes on my desk.

It’s my group chat with my brothers.

My phone rings.

“Crap.” I knew this was coming. I should’ve called my moms first thing this morning. But the panic was real, and it’s been a tornado of a day. I can’t be honest with them. Not now. Not when Dallas’s mom is already excited about it. And Mom is the worst liar in the world. She has the most obvious, embarrassing tells. Huntsville is too small a place, and everyone is in everyone else’s business. And if Sam finds out he’ll unalive Dallas in retribution. And then the team will really be screwed over. I have no choice but to sell them on this. It’ll be a feat considering that I talk about Dallas all the time, and it’s not with any kindness or affection.

I take a deep breath and hit the answer button. “Hey, Mom!”

“Hi, sweetheart, it’s both of us on the line here,” Mom replies.

“Hi, Ma.” It’s typical of them to call me together.

“Hi, Hemi, seems like you might have some news to share.” Ma’s tone tells me she’s less than pleased.

“I hear you ran into Dallas’s mom.” No point in beating around the bush.

“We did. But it also seems to me like all of the hockey-watching nation knows about our daughter’s love life before we do.” Mom’s nails tap on the counter. Based on the sound, they’re in the kitchen. “I was under the impression you and Dallas didn’t get along all that well.”

That’s because we don’t, and currently I want to murder him all over again for making me lie to my moms. “Well, you know what they say about the line between love and hate. We’ve flipped from hate to really strong like. He does a lot of charity work.”

As if that last detail somehow explains everything. Of all the guys on the team, Dallas volunteers the most. And honestly, the more obscure the charity, the better. For some of the guys, promo ops and volunteer work are also about visibility and helping their image. Like Flip. Sure, Tristan coaches hockey for kids with special needs with his brother regularly, but Dallas is the one who makes meat pies with grandmas as a church fundraiser.

“They do spend a lot of time together,” Ma says thoughtfully.

“And you talk about him more than any of the other players,” Mom agrees. “Although usually it’s with disdain. I can see how that might shift over time, though, especially after he birthed that foal.”

“That was so sweet, even though he did pass out,” Ma adds.

“He is quite handsome,” Mom says.

“And he knows it,” I mutter. So does anyone who lays eyes on him.

“Well, darling, you are very beautiful, not to mention intelligent, driven, and successful. And I’m sure he sees the same things we do. It makes sense that he’s smitten.”

I’m thankful they can’t see my face right now because my mouth is hanging open in disbelief.

“He’s definitely smitten,” Ma agrees. “He looks radiant. And so do you, sweetie.”

“Yeah. I’m ecstatic.” That my voice doesn’t crack is a small miracle. I clear my throat into my elbow to muffle the sound. “We had to keep a lid on things because of the rules at work and the paperwork around it,” I add. That’s probably what I should have led with. “But we finalized all of it this morning.”

“Of course. I wondered about that. Dallas’s mom seemed just as surprised as we were by this development. Everything is okay with the head office? I would have had our lawyer look it over.” Both of my moms are independent businesswomen. Mom is a general practitioner, and Ma is the CEO of an organic health product line. They supported each other and their career goals while each of them carried one of my brothers to term. Then they decided to adopt me. They’ve juggled careers and family and are incredible parents. I strive to have a love like theirs.

“I didn’t have time, but Shilpa answered every question I had in great detail.” Her duty is to the Terror, but she was exceptionally clear about what exactly I was signing.

“Of course she did. How are she and Ash?” Mom asks.

“Good. They’re both good.”

“Oh! And now you and Dallas will be able to go on double dates with them! How fun!” Ma claps.

“We’re all going out tonight to celebrate.” Dallas was not the partner I imagined for my double dates with my best friend, but I have to lean into it like Shilpa said.

“I’m thrilled that you’ve found someone who adores you, sweetheart,” Mom says gently.

“Thanks. I’m sorry you had to hear about it the way you did. He wasn’t supposed to post until after we talked to our families, but he’s a little impulsive like that, and then the cat was out of the bag.”

“Sometimes life just happens. You’ll be going to the reunion together, then?” Ma asks.

“That’s the plan.” It’s my only option now.

“That’ll be a great opportunity for us to get to know him again, especially since he’s the man who’s stolen your heart. Are you excited?”

He’s renting it, really. Temporarily. I’m his fake girlfriend without benefits. I have to really own it now. Lying to my moms is a cardinal sin in our house. Honesty above all would be on our family crest if we had one. But this is bigger than a fake relationship. This affects the whole team and my place with the Terror. So I try my best to be convincing because I need them to believe this. At least until we figure a way out of it. After the reunion. “I’m really lucky to have someone so committed and passionate.”

The layers of complication keep growing.

“We’ll figure out plans when we get closer to the date.”

“Sounds good, Moms.” I need to get off the phone. Being dishonest with my moms feels horrible.

We make plans to talk again later in the week, and I end the call. I take a moment to calm my heart rate. It’s one thing to fool my moms into believing I’m head over heels on the phone, but it will be totally another to convince them in person.

The Badass Babe Brigade chat is taunting me as my number of unread messages keeps growing, and I cannot mute it forever. I scroll through, finding an excessive number of shocked GIFs and speculation. They must have gotten tired of my lack of response because they started planning our evening half an hour ago.

Looks like I get to start with my girlfriends. I really wish I had more than grade-eight drama class to rely on for my acting skills. I can’t afford to have them question this.

It’s already four. Where the hell did my day go? Down the drain, along with my freedom and my reputation, thanks to Dallas. I’m too amped up to focus right now.

I type out a text to my semi-regular hookup and put him on hiatus. Allen is a pharmaceutical rep. He was the first guy I went out with on my quest to find a reunion date. He travels often for work, and we realized quickly that we weren’t relationship compatible, but we have great chemistry. So when we’re in need of stress relief, we’ll hook up. It’s only happened a few times, and it’s been a while, but if ever I could use some stress relief, it’s this week. And now that’s impossible. He’s presenting at some massive conference on the weekend of the reunion, so he was out as a potential worst case scenario back up date.

There’s nothing I can do about it, so I manage the last of my emails, make sure my checklist reflects all I’ve accomplished today, and create a new one for tomorrow. Only when I’m finished with my work tasks do I realize Dallas and the guys will probably end up at the Watering Hole too, and we need a plan.

A picture of the two of us follows.

I don’t respond, just grab my purse and leave the office. Twenty minutes later, I’m tucked into a booth with Shilpa, Rix, Hammer, Tally Vander Zee, and Dred Reformer.

Tally’s dad is the head coach of the Terror. She interned with me last year, too, and is heading to university in the fall. She’s part of our Badass Babe Brigade, and we adore her. Dred lives in the same building as Rix’s brother, Flip Madden. She works at the local library and has been folded into our group over the past year. Like me, she wasn’t raised by her birth parents. Unlike me, she wasn’t adopted and spent her childhood shuttled from foster home to foster home. It takes a while to get to know her—I’m still working on it—but she’s a super interesting person.

“This is so exciting! I can’t believe you and Dallas are finally a thing.” Tally does an excited seat shimmy. Her dad was nowhere near that thrilled when I got called in to meet with upper management this morning. Coach Vander Zee can have a very intense face.

I try not to frown. “Finally a thing?”

She folds her hands together and props her chin on them. “We’ve all seen the way—” She flinches. “I mean, I’m just excited. Everyone is falling in love.”

I glance around the table. Rix is rubbing her lips, and Hammer is biting hers together. Dred’s eyebrow is arched, and Shilpa is doing a terrible job of suppressing a smile.

“We’ve all seen the way what?” I try to cross my arms, but we’re sitting in the booth and my boobs are big, so it’s impossible.

“The way you and Dallas look at each other, of course. It was only a matter of time with how much you’re together,” Shilpa says, helpfully digging me out of my hole.

“Oh, right. Yeah.”

“I gotta say, you’ve done a pretty solid job of making everyone believe you can’t stand him,” Dred says, voice laced with what might be skepticism.

“Yeah, well, we were fighting the draw.” That sounds ludicrous.

“Usually you want to murder him. When did that change? How did it change?” Hammer asks, apparently second command in the interrogation committee.

Although I’m grateful she seems more confused than hurt. We work together, she knows me, so pulling the wool over her eyes will be harder. I’m glad I don’t have to do that with Ash and Shilpa.

“Mostly I was trying to convince myself that my feelings hadn’t changed. But it’s recent. The feelings changing. Very recent.” Like this morning recent. God, I suck at this.

I mentally run through all the different promo ops I’ve done with Dallas. There are dozens to choose from. Once he had an allergic reaction, so I fold that into our origin story.

“He came to my place because he was stressing over one of his promo ops.” He usually texts compulsively the night before. “He couldn’t sit still, so he started cooking, because it calms him.” This is good. I can filter in some truth. “I used to think he was sucking up when he brings sweets to promo ops, but now I know it’s because he had a bake-off the night before.” I’m rambling, and I need to get a grip. Too many details will make the lie harder to remember. “Anyway, Dallas was in the kitchen.”

“What was he making?” Tally asks.

I scramble for a second. “Homemade cheese and potato pierogies, with fried onions.”

“Those are my favorite,” Dred says.

“I love the sweet cottage cheese ones.” Hammer sighs.

“I like the ones with jalapeños,” Shilpa says.

“I like the cherry ones,” Tally adds.

“We should have a pierogi-making party,” Rix suggests.

“Agreed,” Hammer says and motions to me. “Continue with your story.”

“I didn’t have butter, so Dallas made do with oil. Except it was a bottled coconut oil blend, which he’s allergic to.” I discovered this at a church fundraiser. He had a reaction that required a boatload of Benadryl and a several-hours-long nap in my car. “He must have touched his face because his lip swelled, and then he broke out in hives.” That’s exactly what happened at the church. One second he was pretty Dallas, and the next he looked like something out of a weird horror movie. “He started to panic. He was dancing all over the kitchen, and I have a gas stove.” I draw from another incident that happened in my building, several months back. “He bumped into the cookbook and his shirt caught on fire. I had to tackle him to the floor and smother him with a blanket.”

“And one thing led to another, and you started making out?” Tally asks.

“Uh, no, that wasn’t how it ended.” Dallas is literally the last person I would willingly make out with, except for maybe Charles.

Shilps clears her throat.

“I can’t believe we haven’t heard this story before,” Dred muses. I can’t tell if I’m imagining her skepticism or not.

“Well, they were trying to keep it a secret,” Shilpa explains helpfully.

A murmur of agreement comes from around the table.

“The fire alarm went off, we had to evacuate the building, and the fire department came.”

“I love firefighters,” Tally says.

“Same,” I agree. “So we’re standing outside, Dallas is wearing a half-burned T-shirt, covered in hives, and the fire department shows up. They do their thing, and of course we have to talk to them because it was my apartment. I was explaining what happened, and Dallas was boring holes in the side of the firefighter’s head. I didn’t know if he was just loopy from the Benadryl, but he went totally caveman.”

“Caveman how?” Hammer’s eyes light up.

I glance at the TV where two people are fencing and blurt, “He challenged the firefighter to a duel.”

“No!” Rix throws her head back and laughs.

Dallas appears out of nowhere, a smile lighting up his stupid pretty face. “What’s so funny?”

“Hemi was just telling us the beginning of your secret love story,” Shilpa explains. Thank God for her fortress of a memory.

“You mean the time we went to karaoke and I serenaded you?” Dallas asks.

Of course he’s going to screw this whole thing up for me. Sweat trickles down my spine. We’re only hours into this charade and about to blow it all up. And my life. Worse than it already is. “No, that came later. Although your memory of the night in question might be a little foggy thanks to the Benadryl.”

He nods slowly. “Because I had an allergic reaction.”

“And nearly burned my apartment down. Then you challenged the firefighter to a duel when you thought he was flirting with me,” I say as though I’m reminding him, not making this up on the fly. Why is fencing on TV right now?

I’m incredibly surprised when Dallas tucks a hand in his pocket, and gives me a sultry, impish smile. “I didn’t think he was flirting with you, Wilhelmina, I know he was. And I needed him to know that despite the state of my face and how high I was on antihistamines, I was ready to fight to the death in your honor.”

“You’re giving the antihistamines a lot of credit.” I prop my chin on my clasped hands and bat my lashes at him. I am more than happy to throw him under the bus and back up a few times. “But they were helpful in getting you to be open and honest with me about your feelings, considering you professed your undying love once we were back in my aired-out apartment.”

Dallas’s eye twitches. As much as I hate lying to my friends, there’s immense satisfaction in watching him try to keep his expression neutral while I weave this outlandish tale.

“Well, I had been holding on to those feelings for a long time.” He sighs and shakes his head. “It was a challenge. The allergic reaction, combined with the near-death experience, and that firefighter hitting on you—a man can only take so much. I couldn’t hold back any longer. I had to tell you how I felt.”

“You did, extensively and emphatically, and then you passed out with your head in my lap.”

“I don’t regret it. I could sleep with my head in your lap every day for the rest of my life and be a happy, happy man.”

I don’t have a chance to reply because Ash appears and slings an arm over Dallas’s shoulder. “Not to be a party pooper, but the four of us really should get going if we’re gonna make our reservation tonight.”

Shilpa glances at her phone. “Oh wow, I didn’t realize the time.”

Dallas rolls with it, and so do I, glad for the escape.

I hug all the girls and slide out of the booth. I don’t have a choice but to accept Dallas’s hand and allow him to wrap his arm around my shoulder and pull me into his side.

He kisses the top of my head. I smile and try to laser beam him to death with my eyeballs at the same time.

“Are you staying at my place tonight, my little peach pie?” he asks as we move toward the exit.

“That’s the first and last time you’ll use that nickname if you don’t want to end up at the bottom of Lake Ontario.”

He nods. “You’re so damn sweet, honey.”

I dig my nails into his side, and he smiles down at me.

If today is anything to go by, the next few weeks will be an epic test of my patience. And my questionable acting skills.