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“Unexpected?” He polished off the rest of the French toast then set the box aside.

“Yeah,” I said.

“What can I say? I have layers. Well.” He slapped his hands against his thighs, pushing to a standing position. “Thanks for the French toast and the apology, but I have plans.”

I glanced at the TV, furrowing my brow. “Plans…”

“If you must know, I’m watching the latest season of Bridgerton. It’s my guilty pleasure.”

“Um…okay.” I stood, taking that as my cue to leave. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Unless…” He hesitated.

I stilled. “Unless…”

“You want to stay. I’m two episodes in, but I’m willing to rewatch them,” he added quickly. I had to hide a laugh.

“Sure.” I sank back down onto the couch, grateful that Boone, of all people, had shown me some grace. He pressed play, and I lost myself in the story, hoping the answers would come to me.

August

The locker room had emptied out, everyone else eager to attend family day. I hung back, hoping my absence wouldn’t be noticed despite the fact that it was a mandatory team event. Maybe I could just stay here long enough that I would avoid it entirely. It was my least favorite event of the season, and I always dreaded it. This year, it was even worse than usual.

I’d made up with Boone, but I hadn’t heard from Logan in almost two weeks. I knew she’d been traveling with limited connection to cell service. If only that was the reason for her silence.

I hated not talking to her. I missed her, and I was worried about her.

Georgia had assured me that Logan was fine. She’d even offered to show me Logan’s location on her tracking app. I’d said thanks but no thanks. If Logan wanted me to know where she was, she’d tell me. Until then, I’d give her the space she’d requested, hoping she’d come back to me. But with every day that passed, my confidence faltered.

I buried my head in my hands, at a loss for what to do.

I’d considered reaching out to Levi, not that I expected it to change anything. I’d apologized at Cece’s party, and he was still so…hurt and angry. I wondered if he was still upset with Logan or if they’d made up. I hoped so, for both their sakes.

“Carson?” Georgia peeked her head around the corner. “Are you trying to hide out in here?”

“Maybe.” She sank down on the bench next to me, and I nudged her. “What about you? Shouldn’t you be out there? At least your family is here.”

She placed a hand on my shoulder. “This team is your family—Boone and Frasier and the guys. I’m your family. You have so many people out there who care about you.”

“I know.” That wasn’t something I took for granted, but I missed Logan. “I just…I’m not feeling it today.”

“What about the prizes?” She nudged me back. “Don’t you want to see what they are this year?”

The prizes were legendary, everything from the chance to work with a celebrity stylist to an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation. But even those couldn’t tempt me.

“There’s only one thing I want, and I doubt it’s going to be on offer.” I didn’t have to say her name for Georgia to know I was referring to Logan.

Georgia’s shoulders sagged. “Honestly, I don’t want to be here either,” she admitted, surprising me.

I wondered if it had something to do with Atlas. I still hadn’t figured out a way to ask her about him. Partially because I’d been too in my head about my own shit. But I wanted to be a better friend. The kind of friend she’d always been to me.

“Because of Atlas?” I asked.

Georgia tensed, but then she whispered, “How did you know?”

“Lucky guess.”

She glanced around, a fearful look in her eyes that I didn’t like. “Please don’t say anything.”