Page 52

In the end, Zayn convinced me to join them. I enjoyed spending time with my teammates, and if I went home, I knew I’d only end up overthinking this thing with Logan.

We met up with Georgia, Kylie, and Bryn for dinner and then we were supposed to head to a club, though I figured Frasier and Bryn would bow out before then, considering the way they were eye-fucking each other.

I wanted that. I wanted what they had. I wanted friendship and love, a partnership. But also, passion and attraction. Growing up, I’d never seen my parents look at each other the way Frasier and Bryn did. He was always touching her, protecting her. Even now, his hand was resting on the swell of her stomach, and she was smiling up at him with so much love.

“They’re so disgustingly happy, aren’t they?” Georgia asked, but when I looked at her, she was smiling.

I laughed. “Yeah. They are.”

Boone leaned over me to talk to Georgia. “I hear Logan is coming to LA for the summer.”

I clenched my jaw so I wouldn’t say something I’d regret, instead taking a sip of my drink.

“She is,” Georgia said. I stared straight ahead, even as I felt Georgia’s eyes on me, assessing me. “I know she’s coming for work, but I’m hoping she’ll relax and have some fun too.”

“Is that so?” Boone grinned, and I wanted to punch him in the face.

I was taken back to that night in Minnesota, after Logan’s game. Boone’s flirting. If I had to watch him flirt with her all summer… I gnashed my teeth.

Boone was pulled into another conversation, and Georgia placed her hand on my arm as if to restrain me. Then she leaned in. “Look, Boone talks a big game, but you and I both know the truth.”

“Yeah?” I asked, sipping my drink. “And what’s that?”

She gave me a look as if to say, “Don’t play dumb.” “Oh come on, Carson. Logan likes you.”

I nodded, and Georgia released me. She was right, and I needed to stop letting Boone get under my skin.

“I’m hoping she’ll come for Frasier and Bryn’s surprise baby shower,” Georgia said, and I clung to her every word, greedy for any detail about Logan.

“Right before play-offs,” I hedged. “I don’t know.”

“Logan has this mantra of hockey first, but she will do anything for her friends. When Derek died, Logan dropped everything to be there for Bryn. When Cece was reamed in the news a few years ago, Logan tried to counter the negative stories with her own positive posts about their friendship.”

I nodded. Logan was loyal. “I still can’t believe she and Cece have been friends since middle school.”

“I know, right?” Georgia laughed. “And Cece really is the sweetest. I’m going to be spending the summer traveling with her.”

“Wow. That’s awesome. Though I’ll miss our coffee dates.”

Georgia had been one of the first friends I’d made in LA. I knew some of the guys wondered if I was attracted to her—at least initially. But she was more like a sister to me, the closest thing I’d found to family since cutting ties with my family of birth.

“Maybe Logan can sub in for me.” She nudged me. “She’ll be staying in my apartment, you know. Just a few floors down from yours.”

I chuckled, draping my arm over the back of her chair. “Way to be subtle, G.”

It was so nice to be able to talk about this with someone. And I loved the fact that one of Logan’s best friends was secretly rooting for us.

“Just saying…” She grinned. “You’ll have the whole summer together.”

I wasn’t sure what exactly Logan had told Georgia, but I got the impression she was giving me the green light. Even so, I found myself saying, “She doesn’t date. Doesn’t do relationships.”

“Really?” Georgia rested her chin in her hand, peering up at me with those thick lashes. “Because it kind of seems like that’s exactly what you’re doing. I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re talking all the time. Sharing important things with each other. Being vulnerable.”

Huh. I dragged a hand through my hair, realizing she was right. Well, minus the physical component. Maybe I have a better shot than I realized.

April

“Do you realize how close we are to blowing our chance at the play-offs?” I glanced around the locker room at the dejected expressions of my teammates. Slumped shoulders. Heads down. No one answered, but I hadn’t expected them to.