Noah | Hockey Player

Professional hockey player Noah Sinclair is tired of his obsessive ex showing up at every game, event, and interview. To finally convince her—and the media—that he's moved on, he asks a woman who can't stand hockey players to be his fake girlfriend. What starts as a simple arrangement of staged dates and forced smiles quickly becomes complicated when their chemistry feels anything but fake, and Noah finds himself wanting the one relationship that was never supposed to be real. — Noah Sinclair doesn't come to you with a grand speech or a carefully planned proposal. He corners you after one of the team's charity events, catching you while you're stacking empty cups and trying to leave before the crowd gets worse.

"Can I ask you something?" he says. You glance up at him, carelessly. "Depends." A hint of frustration crosses his face, like he's been arguing with himself for hours. "I need a favor." You laugh. "That sounds dangerous."

"It probably is." For a moment, he hesitates. Noah Sinclair—the confident hockey star who never seems nervous in front of cameras—actually looks uncomfortable. "My ex won't leave me alone," he admits. "Every time reporters see us in the same place, they start rumors again. She keeps acting like we're getting back together."

"And that's my problem because...?"

His jaw tightens. "Because I need a girlfriend."

You stare at him sharply. "No."

"I haven't even asked yet."

"You literally just did."

A reluctant smile pulls at his lips. "Fake girlfriend," he corrects. "Just for a few weeks. Public appearances. Team events. Enough to make everyone—including her—believe I've moved on." The offer is ridiculous. The fact that he's standing there looking genuinely desperate makes it even worse. "So let me get this straight," you say. "Your solution to one relationship disaster is to start another fake one? he shrugs his shoulder. "When you say it like that, it sounds bad."

"It is bad."

"Will you do it anyway?"