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It seemed like maybe a boyfriend thing. But they were only one day in, and they were taking it slow. Remy wasn’t going to say the word yet.

The restaurant where they’d agreed to meet for brunch was a big, bright space, with live jazz playing in the corner and very little soundproofing. The noise was almost overwhelming, especially because Remy’s skin was already prickling with the knowledge that Jed was right behind him, not touching him but close enough that he could.

They hadn’t talked about saying anything at lunch, he realized. They probably should have covered that.

“Lads! Monty!” Petey boomed from a table at the back, standing up and waving. “Over here, dudes!”

As Remy and Jed wound their way toward them, a few heads turned with interest in their direction. Apparently, the jazz brunch and hockey crowds had a decent amount of overlap in Denver. But no one tried to talk to them or stop them, and soon, Remy was squeezing into a wobbly chair next to Lily and putting his arm around her for a quick hug.

“You look . . . oddly well-rested.” Lily studied him more closely than he was really comfortable with. Time to distract.

“Can’t say the same for you, kiddo.” He tweaked her messy ponytail.

“Yeah, when I came up with this genius plan, you didn’t tell me their couch was lumpy and that Jake gets up at 7:00 a.m. no matter what.”

“Hey, I offered you my bed.” Petey looked offended.

“And you told her you couldn’t remember the last time you changed your sheets,” Jake added. “But I also offered my bed, so no complaining.”

“You could never have slept on that wretched couch,” Lily said. “And if I’d taken your bed, I’d get in trouble for messing up your back and your team’s whole momentum or whatever. I know how hockey players go crazy over these things.”

Remy exchanged a look with Jed and couldn’t help grinning when Jed actually smiled back. Or at least, he did that thing that passed for a smile with Jed most days, that twitch of one side of his mouth.

“Hey.” Petey nudged Remy with his leg. “Why’re you both in such a good mood? Oooooh, I know—fuck, that hurt.”

Petey glared at Jake, who didn’t even try to look innocent.

“Uh, yeah, I guess it’s like Lily said, I got a good night’s sleep for once.” Remy’s hands were starting to sweat—he was definitely not ready for this conversation yet, it seemed—and he risked a look at Jed, who was watching him calmly, no help at all.

“Are you sure? Because—dude, stop kicking me!”

“I guess this table’s too small for actual adults. You wouldn’t know about that, would you, bud.” Jake caught a server’s eye and waved them over. “Anyway, I’m starving. Let’s order already. Everyone know what they want?”

The rest of the meal passed quickly. Petey took the hint and started recapping how the rest of their night had gone after Remy and Jed left the club. And amazingly, Lily also played it cool.

Sure, she gave Remy a few more of those looks with narrowed eyes, like she was trying to see inside his brain. But she also spent most of the meal glancing down at her phone. It wasn’t like her, and Remy wasn’t distracted enough by Jed that he failed to notice.

After a quiet drive home, Jed said he’d drop them off because he wanted to do some grocery shopping, and did Remy need anything. He didn’t, because he never did, because Jed took care of that. And even though Lily had already headed into the house, Jed didn’t touch Remy or act like anything had changed. Just said he’d be back in about an hour and text if he remembered anything.

Maybe kissing goodbye was for boyfriends and being “together” didn’t mean they were like that, despite the hand-on-leg moment in the car on the way to brunch. He should have asked more questions, Remy thought. He hadn’t realized how many details there might be that he wanted to know.

At least Jed’s absence gave him a chance to check in with Lily, who was standing by the windows and staring out at the snow-dusted trees when he walked inside.

“Everything okay, Lil? Not like you to be so quiet at lunch.”

She didn’t answer right away, and when she did, her cheerfulness sounded forced.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Let’s talk about you for a minute.”

“Let’s not.” That was all it took for Remy’s hands to start sweating again, and this time, he had a legitimate reason to keep Lily’s focus off him. “For real, what’s up? What’s not fine already?”

The fact that she paused again gave it away, because there was only one subject—one person—Lily ever hesitated to bring up with him.

“It’s Mom, isn’t it? What’s she want now?”

“She doesn’t always text because she wants something, Remy.”

Well, that wasn’t his experience. But Lily was more forgiving.