Faking It With The Hockey Star

Harper’s POV

I was putting the final, meticulous touches on the YouTube video upload when the heavy click of the front door lock echoed down the hallway.

My heart did a quick, instinctive flutter. I glanced toward the dimly lit entryway.

Finally.

I forced my focus back to the bright screen resting on my knees, ensuring the title hit every emotional beat I wanted. I opened the description box one last time, my eyes skimming through the words line by line, catching a minor typo, fixing it, and hitting save.

The progress bar at the bottom of the dashboard was already creeping forward smoothly.

I closed out the editing interface, carefully lifted the warm laptop off my lap, and set it onto the cushion beside me. Then, I swung my legs over the side of the sofa and turned around to face Justin.

"Finally, you’re home," I said, letting out the long, pent-up breath I had been holding for the last two hours.

He offered me a small, terribly tired smile, his dark eyes shadowed with a depth of exhaustion that made my stomach knot up.

I immediately narrowed my eyes, searching his face. "Can you please tell me what the hell has been going on today, Justin?"

He crossed the room, stepping straight into my space. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, my love."

He leaned down, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my forehead before bringing his lips to mine in a brief, possessive kiss that tasted like cold evening air and pure relief.

I pulled back just enough to look at him, folding my arms tightly across my chest. "I’m listening."

"I know you are," he murmured softly.

"I woke up from a nap and literally found myself trapped inside our own house," I reminded him, the residual panic from earlier rising up in my throat.

His expression softened, dark remorse softening his sharp jawline. "I know, babe."

"So? What happened?"

He sank down onto the couch right beside me, the sheer weight of his body collapsing into the cushions as if his bones were made of lead. "Something happened while I was stuck at the lawyer’s office reviewing the bank files."

My breath hitched. "What?"

He took a slow, heavy breath, staring at the empty space between us. "Diane’s father tried breaking into my grandparents’ estate."

My jaw dropped. The air vanished straight from my lungs. "What?!"

"He actually went there, Harper."

"Oh, my God... oh, shit!" I sat up completely straight, grabbing his arm as cold horror washed over me. "Was he... was he caught?! Are your grandparents okay?!"

"Yeah," he breathed out, letting out a long, shuddering exhale. "He was caught."

I let out a shaky breath, trying to calm the wild hammering in my chest. "He was actually arrested?"

"I watched the entire thing happen live on the security cameras," Justin murmured, reaching up to rub the back of his neck, his knuckles white. "Law enforcement was already stationed around the perimeter. The private investigator had anticipated his move and arranged a full tactical team. They were waiting for him inside the treeline. He smashed his way into the house, but they cornered him before he could reach anyone or do any real damage."

I stared at him, my mind reeling as I tried to process the dark reality of what he had been dealing with while I was complaining about locked doors. "This is absolute madness..."

"I know."

"What was he even planning to do, Justin? Why would he go after them now?!"

"We don’t know for certain yet," he replied darkly, his jaw clenching.

I frowned deeply, the heavy shadow of the upcoming trial looming over us like a thundercloud. "Does this... does this add another charge? Another layer to the criminal case?"

Justin shook his head slowly. "Not immediately. The prosecutors need to interrogate him, review the footage, and establish clear legal intent first."

He leaned his head back against the top of the sofa, staring up at the ceiling lights. "We have roughly six or seven days before the official pre-trial hearing, and now we have a whole new crisis dropped onto our laps."

His face darkened, a profound, gut-wrenching worry taking over his features. "I honestly don’t know what Diane’s family is going to pull next, Harper. I just... I just want to make sure everyone I love is completely safe before we ever set foot inside that courtroom."

I watched the subtle tremor in his jaw, the raw, bleeding love he carried for his family, and my heart broke for him.

"Damn it, Justin," I whispered softly, reaching out to brush a stray lock of hair from his forehead. "This must be so fucking stressful for you."

"It is," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

He reached across the space between us, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tightly, his fingers locking into mine like a lifeline. "But I’ll handle it. I won’t let them hurt anyone."

I nodded slowly, resting my head against his shoulder.

After a quiet moment, his eyes drifted over to my laptop sitting on the cushion. "What were you working on?"

I shifted slightly, turning the glowing screen toward him so he could see the dashboard. "Oh... I just finished putting in the final title and description for the new video." I pointed a finger at the blue status bar. "It’s processing the upload right now."

Justin looked at the screen, his dark eyes flickering over the text. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. It’s almost done."

He looked back at me, a subtle shift in his expression. "Can you send me the direct link the second it goes live?"

I raised an eyebrow, eyeing him suspiciously. "And what, exactly, are you planning to do with the link?"

He gave me the most innocent, unbothered look imaginable. "Nothing."

"Justin..."

"Just send it to me, Harper."

I narrowed my eyes, a small, knowing smirk catching on my lips. "We’re being sneaky now, are we?"

A slow, devastatingly handsome smile spread across his tired face. "Maybe."

He pushed himself up off the couch and walked over to the kitchen. I watched him pull open the refrigerator door, grab a chilled drink, and walk back into the living room, taking a slow sip.

"Can we order something heavy to eat tonight?" he asked, looking down at me. "I’m starving."

I smiled softly. "Sure."

"Or... we could actually go out for a proper dinner. Get you out of the house for a bit."

I looked down at my old sweatpants and oversized t-shirt. "Give me a second. Let me see if I even have anything decent to wear."

I quickly stood up, grabbed my bag, and began sifting through the clothes I had packed away earlier. I hadn’t really planned on stepping foot outside tonight, so I had to rummage through the entire pile before finally pulling out a simple, pretty black dress.

I held it against myself and turned toward the bedroom hallway.

Then, I stopped dead in my tracks.

My eyes drifted back over to the laptop resting on the couch cushion. The processing bar was sitting at roughly fifty percent, the little loading wheel spinning rhythmically in the corner.

I watched it for a few seconds. The progress was steady, but it was moving slowly. It was definitely going to take a while to finish completely.

I turned back around to look at Justin. He was standing near the island, watching me quietly with that deep, protective warmth in his eyes.

"Do I really want to go out tonight?" I murmured to myself.

He tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

I let out a soft, heavy sigh, the tension of the entire crazy day suddenly settling into my muscles.

"Actually..." I dropped the dress back onto the chair and walked back toward him, sliding my arms around his waist and resting my cheek against his chest. "Can we please just stay in tonight?"

He wrapped his arms tightly around me, resting his chin on top of my head. "Sure, baby."

"I really don’t feel like stepping outside," I whispered, my voice softening into a quiet confession. "With everything going on... with Diane’s father, the locks, the trial... I just don’t want to be out in the world right now."

Justin nodded immediately, kissing the top of my hair. "No problem at all."

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I’ll just call down to the doorman and have him pick up whatever we want and bring it straight up."

I let out a massive, relieved sigh, burying my face deeper into his shirt. "Ah... much better."

Justin let out a quiet, velvety laugh, his chest vibrating against mine. "That’s all you had to say, my love."

"I know." I pulled back with a soft smile and picked my dress up off the chair. "I’ll just go freshen up and change into something cozy."

I disappeared into the master bathroom, washed the exhaustion off my face with cool water, brushed my hair out, and changed into a soft, oversized set of lounge clothes.

When I stepped back out into the warm light of the living room, Justin was still waiting for me, two glasses of water already poured on the coffee table.

I walked over, curling up right beside him on the couch, pulling his arm around my shoulders as I glanced back at my laptop screen. The upload progress bar was still moving forward, steady and sure.

I smiled, letting my eyes flutter closed as Justin’s thumb gently traced patterns against my arm.