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“Logan?”
He flashes me a bright white smile, reaching out to pinch my chin. “Miss me?”
“Like a hole in my head,” I laugh.
He clasps a hand over his heart. “You wound me.”
Logan Thomas went to college with Jack and Ian, but got drafted to Tampa Bay in his senior year. He never misses our annual charity event, usually crashing with Jack while he’s in town. I wonder how that will work now that Ian is there.
Speaking of.
I peek back at the man in question, noticing a tightness to his jaw, his fists clenched at his sides as he watches me with Logan. Part of me wants to tell him to knock that shit off, but a much more feral part of me secretly likes seeing him wound up over me.
“Ian, you remember Logan, right?”
This seems to snap Ian out of it, his eyes blinking a couple of times before he really gives his attention to the man who’s joined us. “Lo?”
“Ian! Fucking hell, man. Get over here.”
Logan pulls Ian into a bear hug, Ian pausing for only a moment with surprise before he returns it full force. I notice his lips turn up in a smile as he wraps his arms around the other man, the tension leaving his face as they clasp each other tightly.
“How long has it been since you’ve played one of these,” Logan asks. “Six years?”
“Almost seven,” Ian tells him.
“Fuck, man. We missed you up there in ice land. It’s good to see you without having to shove your ass into the boards.”
“It’s really good to be back home,” Ian tells him. His brow cocks. “And when have you ever shoved me into the boards?”
“I see your memory has worsened with age,” he laughs. Logan’s warm, umber eyes flit between the two of us, deep dimples etched into the light brown skin of his cheeks with his mischievous smile as he crosses his corded arms over his chest. “So what’s this I read about the two of you being a thing?”
“Oh,” I start, my eyes darting to Ian for help.
I forget that not all the hockey players in our lives know that this thing between us is for show. Or rather, that it used to be. Since it’s not actually for show now. But I guess it still is to everyone else? Except for people like Logan, who didn’t know the truth to begin with. Jesus, we really need to put a label on this thing before I break my brain.
That thought gives me pause, but since I’m just standing here with my mouth hanging open, I shove it away.
“It’s complicated,” Ian says for me, scratching at his beard in what I’ve come to recognize as an anxious gesture. “You see—”
“We are,” I blurt out. “A thing.”
I can practically feel Ian’s surprise projecting from his eyes to the side of my face, but I just reach out and lace my fingers in his, not allowing for him to second-guess.
“That’s awesome,” Logan says with a happy grin. “Look at you, Dee. Making good on that puppy love.”
I feel my cheeks heat. “Shut up.”
“What?” Ian cocks his head. “You noticed that?”
Logan rolls his eyes. “Pretty sure the guys on the space stations noticed it.”
“Fuck off,” I mumble.
Ian surprises me with a loud laugh, his fingers squeezing mine as he flashes me a teasing smile. “Aw. You really were obsessed with me, huh?”
“Getting less so,” I huff.
“Don’t worry, Lila, your secret’s safe with me.”
