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I expect anger in his gaze, but I can’t make out his expression. It’s serious and intense. Then he nods, and I’m even more confused.
I nod back, then get swept up with the team as we skate a few victory laps and then are called to the locker room. I can’t stop thinking about Parker, my gut twisting with worry, wishing I were the one holding her and wiping away her tears.
I only hope waiting until tonight to make sure she knows how I really feel wasn’t waiting too long.
“How much time do we have?” I ask Alec.
He glances at the coaches, who are talking in the corner after our brief meeting. “We should probably do it now before anything else. Did you ask Coach?”
“No, but I will right now. You want to round up the guys and get them back on the ice?”
And I hope that he won’t stop me from my big plan to tell Parker in a big way, a way that’s tailored just for her, how I really feel and what I really want.
CHAPTER25
Parker
Celebratinga team win has never felt so hollow. Or maybeI’vejust never felt so hollow?
Overhearing Larry’s words—even though I won’t take anything as certain until Logan tells me—felt like someone took an ice cream scoop to my insides. I’m all emptied out.
Then again, if I really were empty, it wouldn’t hurt so badly, would it?
I scan the huddle of players celebrating, my eyes going straight to Logan. He beams up at me—his rare, full Sasquatch smile—and I can’t help but smile back. Watching him tonight with the guys makes my chest expand with warmth. Not like I have a single thing to do with how the team plays, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling like a mama bird drop-kicking her babies out of the nest and watching them fly.
Logan played so well. Better than the other times I’ve seen him. He was more in sync with the team, more focused, more with it. This wasn’t his highest scoring game, but it’s only because tonight, he was a team player. Any of the other times I’ve watched Logan—and I’ve watched Logan a lot—he was like a reallysingleplayer. Intent only on scoring. Only on winning. Only on his own moves and actions. The rumors about him not being a team player weren’t just idle words. I could see it.
But tonight, he was an Appie.
And only for tonight.
My smile wavers, and I grit my teeth, forcing it to stay in place even as I feel the sting in my nose announcing tears are on their way. Logan’s brow furrows, and he starts to skate my way. I’m not even sure he knows he’s moving. But he’s quickly pulled back to the guys just as I hear my name.
“Parker!”
I turn just as Brandon reaches me. He frowns, seeing the expression on my face, and before he can ask, I throw my arms around him. He hugs me back, though I sense his surprise.
“I thought you were mad at me,” he says.
I squeeze him tighter. “I am. So mad.”
He chuckles and pats me on the back awkwardly. A good hugger my brother is not. He’s honestly not the best at showing affection, period. I feel sorry for any woman who ends up with him. She’ll either have to be the kind of person who hates hugs. Or she’ll need to send Brandon to something like doggy obedience school but for human affection.
“So, what’s with the hug? And the tears?” His voice shifts. “Did Logan do something? Because if he did—”
“No. And get off the Logan hate train.”
Brandon sighs. “I don’t hate him. I’m not even mad at him anymore. I probably owe him an apology.”
“Probably?”
“Shut up.”
“You first,” I say, and then we both laugh. Mine sounds a bit strangled, but so far, I’m succeeding at keeping the tears at bay. My nose still stings and my eyes are watering, but there has been zero leakage, so I’ll take that as a win.
I pull back, and almost like an involuntary movement, my eyes search for Logan. But the guys are heading through the tunnel to the locker room.
“I need to go.”
