Page 76 of Secrets on Ice

“Yeah, just, you know …”

I nod, because I know. “We’ve got to win the cup before we retire.”

“Hell yeah,” he agrees.

Just then, Fish stands up and taps his fork against his glass. The table quiets, chairs scraping as everyone turns toward him. Collette is tucked against his side, glowing in a simple white sundress, looking like she still can’t quite believe yesterday was real.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Fish starts, voice thick. “To every single one of you for being here. For making yesterday the best day of my life. I still can’t believe she said yes … again.” He looks down at Collette with this stupid, lovesick grin that makes half the table groan and the other half aww. “And to my boys, thanks for not letting me get too drunk last night. Barely.”

Laughter ripples down the table. I force a smile and raise my champagne in his direction, but my eyes keep drifting to the far end where Ember sits. She’s smiling, too, small and genuine, clapping along with everyone else. I wish she would smile at me like that, just for one moment. And as if she can read my mind, she turns, our eyes meet, and for half a second the whole brunch disappears, the clinking glasses, the laughter, the ocean in the distance. It’s just her. Then she quickly turns away again, but I notice the tips of her ears have gone pink. Good, she’s not as unaffected by last night as she’s pretending to be.

Fish keeps talking, but I only catch pieces of it. My attention stays on her. Every time she laughs at something Jo says, something tightens in my chest. I don’t have time to have a crush on my best friend’s sister. Fish eventually finishes his toast and sits down to more applause. Collette leans into him, glowing, and for a second, I let myself imagine what that would feel like, having the woman you love look at you like that in front of everyone. Like you’re her whole world. I want that.

And yet you keep looking for it in all the wrong places.

My gaze drifts back to Ember. True.

I laugh when Emmett makes a joke. Pierre comes over to talk about next season, and before I know it, the rest of the guys are joining the chat, and we are getting pumped, it might be our year. It feels good to talk hockey, it’s what I need to get out of my head. I lean into it, throwing in my two cents about line changes and how the young guys are going to push us all year. Bouch is already hyped, Nelly’s nodding along, and even Evan cracks a rare smile. For a few minutes, it’s easy to forget everything else. When the conversation finally slows, I lean back in my chair and take a sip of my champagne as my eyes drift down the table without thinking.

And there she is.

Ember and Ledger are talking again. They’re close, he says something that makes her smile, that real, bright smile I haven’t seen much of lately and she leans in a little, touching his arm for half a second as she replies. He’s looking at her like she’s the most interesting person at the table while openly flirting with her. Something tight and unpleasant twists in my stomach.

“Um, what the fuck?” Bouch says. “Is the hot footballer chatting your sister up, Cap?” he asks.

Emmett sits up and pays attention to the giggling going on further down the table. His eyes narrow and his brows pull together, and I can see he is holding himself back from saying something, which is pretty hard for him.

“Good for her.” The guys freeze. Then he looks at them. “Don’t get any ideas, he isn’t a teammate,” he warns.

“I mean, you could do worse for a brother-in-law. Ledger Crawford is going to be a Hall of Famer one day.”

“What the fuck, Bouch?” Pierre punches him.

“What?”

“She’s literally just separated from her husband,” Evan adds.

“I was just saying …” He moans, rubbing his arm.

“That’s Cap’s sister …” Pierre tells him.

“I know, I was just saying because you guys are all protective over your sisters, that Ledger’s a good guy. And I didn’t want Cap to worry,” Bouch explains.

“Ledger is a great guy. He’s my cousin,” Fish says, joining the conversation.

“And he’s flirting with Cap’s sister,” Bouch adds.

Fish’s eyes widen. “Oh shit. Sorry, Cap, he didn’t know.”

Emmett shakes his head. “It’s all good. I haven’t seen her smile in such a long time.”

She is smiling a real one that lights up her whole face and makes the corners of her eyes crinkle. Ledger says something else, and she laughs again, soft and genuine, leaning in just a fraction as she replies.

It shouldn’t bother me, and it’s none of my business. She’s allowed to talk to whoever she wants. She’s allowed to flirt, she’s single, and I know she’s trying to move on. And Ledger’s a good guy, like Bouch said. He’s young and successful with no baggage. He’s exactly the kind of distraction she probably needs right now.

So why does it feel like someone just kicked me in the ribs?

I take another sip of champagne and force my eyes back to the guys. Bouch is still muttering something about Hall of Famers, Pierre’s giving him shit, and Evan’s just watching the whole thing with that unreadable expression of his. I laugh at the right moment, add a comment about next season and keep the conversation going. But my attention keeps slipping, and every time I glance down the table, they’re still talking, still close, still smiling.