Page 124 of Breaking the Ice

“Would that change your mind?” Zach wondered.

Gavin chuckled. “No? Probably not?”

“You don’t sound too sure about that.” Zach shouldn’t be delighted about this—they were supposed to be professionals, supposed to be keeping their personal relationship away from the rink—but it was hard not to be. Not when he was so wildly in love it was difficult for him to keep his feelings partitioned away from the work they did here.

“Let’s not test it,” Gavin said, ducking his head, but not enough for Zach to miss his fond smile.

“Sure thing, boss,” Zach joked, enjoying the way the color on Gavin’s cheeks deepened again.

Zach texted Mal to meet him at Koffee Klatch before practice and to bring Elliott.

Funny, Mal texted back,I don’t think I could’ve kept him away.

And that was true. In the last few months, Mal and Elliott had become like a matched set, rarely seen without each other.

Zach pushed down a spike of guilt that he should’ve done more to convince Gavin this wasn’t a good idea.

Maybe itwasa good idea. Maybe shaking up things would help break everyone out of this weird scoring malaise they’d been in since the beginning of the year.

He was at the coffee shop five minutes early, but Mal was already sitting there, Elliott at the counter, chatting with someone by the espresso machine.

“Hey,” Mal said, as Zach slid into a chair opposite him. “What’s up?”

He looked a little apprehensive, but then this was Malcolm, anda little apprehensivewas pretty par for the course for him.

“I just wanted to give you a heads-up about something Coach is changing,” Zach said gently.

Mal sighed heavily. “We’retrying, I swear to God, and if you’d let us, we’d be at the rink—”

“No,” Zach interrupted him. “I get that you’re trying, and Coach gets that you are. But sometimes things need to be shook up.”

“Shook up how?”

Zach looked up and Elliott was standing there, a frown on his face and an enormous iced coffee in his hand.

“You’re not drinking that,” Mal said bluntly to Elliott. “You’re gonna be hyper for fucking forever if you do.”

“I need a pick-me-up before practice,” Elliott said blithely, sitting down, kitty corner to Mal and tucking his legs under Mal’s chair.

Zach didn’t look but he was pretty sure Elliott had hooked his ankle around Mal’s.

“Uh, well, shook up like . . .” Zach hesitated again.

“You’re moving me back down to the second line.” Elliott said it bluntly, flatly.

“Actually, no,” Zach said.

“I told you.” Mal elbowed Elliott gently. “You’re too good. Coach B would never do that to you.”

“Wearemoving Mal to the second power play team,” Zach said, finally getting it out.

Elliott digested this information, not looking particularly put out, but not pleased either. “Permanently or temporarily?”

“Temporarily, of course,” Zach said hurriedly. “And I want to make it clear, of course I support this decision, because Coach B is my coach too, but I don’t necessarily think it’s the right call. You two play the best hockey when you’re together.”

“We know,” Elliott said smugly.

“Yeah, if you know, how come we’re not then?” Malcolm complained, shooting Elliott a look that Zach couldn’t quite interpret. There was affection, sure, and the kind of bone-deep certainty you felt when you knew you loved and were loved in return, but it was also tinged with frustration and something else.