Page 112 of Rookie Rules

"He changed that release," Rowan said.

"Last season. He used to open earlier."

"You watched summer film?"

Finn's hand paused over the screen. "League package."

Rowan accepted the answer and advanced the clip.

Luca could not tell whether the captain had missed the evasion or honored it.

That uncertainty bothered him more than either possibility.

Neither man looked unusual.

Luca sat with Eli farther back. Jace and Mateo argued across the aisle about whether a player could be both precise and unpleasant. Gabriel wore headphones at the window, returned to the starting routine after his rough game without anyone calling the return brave.

The Wolves contained whole lives inside seating charts and scouting notes.

Luca looked toward Rowan.

Rowan felt it and turned. Their eyes met above the rows of teammates.

After the trip, he had said.

Luca wanted to believe the promise meant an open door. He knew it might mean Rowan preparing a better lock.

At the airport, the rival preview played again above the gate. Kaito scored the same transition goal. Finn did not look up.

His foot tapped once beneath his seat, matching the moment the puck crossed the line.

Then it stopped.

Luca filed the detail away and hated that love, grief, rivalry, and fear could all be made to look exactly like professionalism if a man practiced long enough.

Chapter 18: Heartthrob Package

The first slide called Luca inevitable.

He sat across from Claire Donnelly in the Wolves PR office and studied a photograph of his own face beside a black glass bottle that did not yet exist.

BOREAL HOUSE

FRONT RUNNER

Below the campaign title, smaller type promised a new expression of confidence, momentum, and modern masculinity.

"Modern masculinity smells expensive," Luca said.

Claire did not look up from the deck. "Cedar, bergamot, and vetiver, apparently."

"I have no idea what the last one is."

"Neither will most buyers. That is why it sounds expensive."

She advanced the slide.

The next page contained the business terms. National digital and print. Short-form video. Retail appearances in three cities. A licensing period of eighteen months with options for extension. The guaranteed payment was more money than Luca had expected from a first national endorsement and less than Boreal House would earn if the campaign worked.