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“Why not?” asked Lily, looking indignant. “What is the point of having a professional hockey player for a brother if I can’t hook up with your teammates?”

“For starters, I can fly you places for nice long weekends. And haven’t you been driving my car around Montreal?”

“Your car is a piece of crap, Remy.” Lily narrowed her eyes at him. “And you asked me to. I’m keeping it working for you or something.”

“Right, it’s all for me.”

“Yes, it is. And because of my sacrifices, you’re going to come out tomorrow night and dance with me,” Lily said. “Right, big brother who left me behind in cold, damp Canada to pursue fame and glory?” She gave him an exaggerated pout, but Remy could see that behind her joking around, she really did want to go out, and she really did want him to go, too.

What the hell. He could spend an evening at a club with Petey and Jake if it made Lily happy. And if Jed would come. He didn’t like the idea of going out and leaving Jed at home. He hoped Jed didn’t like the idea, either.

“How about this,” Remy said. “I’ll go if you promise there will be no hooking up at all, with anyone, and if you can get Jed to come, too. We can’t leave our host behind.”

Lily gave him a superior look and turned toward Jed, who had finished preparing his tea and was watching them with what appeared to be amusement from the kitchen island.

“My new bestie, Jed,” she began.

“Lily,” he replied, voice dry as usual.

“My brother clearly underestimates what an excellent host you are.”

“Does he.”

“Yes. A host such as yourself would never deny a guest the pleasure of an evening out.”

Remy frowned, and Jed did, too, obviously torn between not wanting to go out and not wanting to disappoint Lily.

“I’ll come,” Jed said, as Remy was starting to worry that he was pissed off and Lily had pushed it too far. “On one condition.”

“Name it,” said Lily.

“I want to get out for some snowshoeing this weekend, and at least one of you is coming with me.”

“Snowshoeing!” Lily grimaced like she’d smelled something bad, which she quickly corrected. “You know, I discovered a long time ago that I’m not a sporty-things-in-the-cold type of person, but Remy will love it, I’m sure. Clubbing tomorrow night, and you two can go snowshoeing the day after while I sleep in. Deal?”

“Deal,” said Jed. “As long as Remy’s foot is doing okay.”

“My foot will probably hurt from dancing,” Remy said. “Which is yet another reason why going clubbing on Valentine’s Day is a terrible idea. But fine. If it makes you happy, it’s a deal.”

“Perfect! Now, I’ve heard you cook, Jed, which is something of a novelty in our family. What shall we do about lunch?”

It was pretty surreal, watching Lily tease Jed like she’d known him for years. Surreal and frustrating, because Remy was stuck on the couch, having to spend all day being around Jed without trying to sneak in a touch, much less talk about the night before.

After lunch, Jed left them alone to catch up while he disappeared to answer some e-mail, which meant Remy couldn’t even shoot what he hoped were hot and flirty glances across the room. He tried to pay attention while Lily told him about her classes and the latest relationship developments in her friend group. And he cared about the ins and outs of her life, he really did.

But as the afternoon wore on, he thought he might literally burst into flames if he had to wait another day for Jed to touch him again—especially because he was starting to doubt himself. He’d been so sure last night that Jed wanted him. But if Jed was also frustrated today, he wasn’t showing it.

After a while, Jed had come out and offered to cook them dinner. He pulled out all the stops on a fancier meal than usual, roast chicken and vegetables and potatoes. Lily took her time savoring each bite while Remy tucked away two servings. Roast potatoes weren’t on the meal plan, but since Jed seemed to be taking a cheat day, he figured he could, too.

If Remy hadn’t already been pretty sure he was falling for Jed, dinner would’ve pushed him over the edge. To have Jed prepare a special meal just because Remy’s little sister was visiting? No one had ever done something like that for Remy before. And all he could do about it was try not to stare too much at Jed from across the table, which they never used when it was the two of them but which Jed had set with place mats and candles and everything.

Remy had no indication that Jed was feeling even the tiniest bit of the pain that he was in until the very end of the evening when Jed said good night. Then, he gave Remy a single searching look, so quick Remy thought he might have imagined it, before heading down the hall to go to bed alone.

But that look said Jed hadn’t forgotten the way he’d touched Remy. And maybe also that he was wondering if Remy was still thinking about it, too.

“So,” Lily said, eyes sparkling, after Jed was out of earshot. “I think he likes you! And I can see why you’re head over heels, Remy. He’s sweet, not at all creepy like I feared.”

Sweet was not the word Remy would have chosen. And he was not head over heels, obviously. But he couldn’t keep from feeling a little warm at the idea that Lily saw the same thing he hoped he was seeing in Jed. “I don’t know what would make you say that. And I don’t want to talk about this right now.”