Page 153 of Breaking the Ice

“It was good,” Gavin agreed, smiling. He handed the bottle to Zach, who took it and finished it off. “I was thinking about starting dinner. Throwing some chicken and veggies on the grill.”

“Sounds good,” Zach said. He needed to take a shower, still, but he didn’t move yet. It felt too good, too right, to be standinghere on the porch, nearly a year to the day since he’d done it the first time.

Back then, he’d been a mess, worried and anxious and more than a little terrified his old crush was making a valiant comeback, but now all he felt was a bone-deep satisfaction. Happy in a way he’d never imagined being and now couldn’t imagine being without.

“Your phone buzzed a bunch of times,” Gavin mentioned. “I glanced at the screen. It was Pat.”

Pat was still Zach’s agent and never knew when to just leave a good thing alone. Zach groaned.

“He still fielding offers?” Gavin wondered, his voice carefully neutral.

Zach knew what Gavin had said a few months back, when they’d won the championship, but he’d wondered at the time if Gavin really meant it.

“Yeah,” Zach said.

Their relationship was still pretty new, and Zach was honestly still satisfied enough being Gavin’s assistant that he felt no reason to even bother entertaining any of the offers Pat was getting. But that wouldn’t always be the case. Someday he might want to try being a head coach on his own, and when that happened, what was Gavin going to do? Just follow him, like a puppy dog? Becomehisassistant?

Zach didn’t know, and maybe that was okay.

They didn’t need to have all the answers, especially to questions he wasn’t sure he was ready to ask yet.

“You know you can talk to him about them, right?” Gavin asked hesitantly. Too hesitantly. Like he thought Zach wasalready ready to move on. Andyessince he’d retired from the NHL, it felt like every single year had seen him moving on, movingup. But he wasn’t ready to keep doing that now. Where he was at felt right, so right, and not just because of Gavin.

He had more to learn, and he didn’t feel even remotely ready to shoulder a whole team, even if it was college or juniors, and the best place to learn was at Gavin’s elbow.

“Of course I know. I just . . .there’s no reason to do it yet. I’m not ready. You know I’m not ready.”

Gavin scrunched up his face. “I don’t know if I’d say you’renotready, because you’re already a great coach, but yeah, I can’t say I’m eager for you to move on.”

He shouldn’t ask. Hadn’t hejustthought that they didn’t need all the answers right now? But he asked the question anyway. “What would you do if I did?”

Gavin lifted himself out of the chair and wrapped a hand around Zach’s waist, tipping his face up. “I meant it,” he said softly. “I love you. Where you go, I’m going. But that’s not why I said it.”

“I’m . . .” Zach felt a little breathless, the happiness punching him right in the solar plexus. “I’m good where we’re at. Really good.”

Gavin nodded his agreement. “I don’t want to leave either. We’re doing good work in Portland. Can do some more, next year and the year after. But I don’t want to hold you back, either.”

“You’d never,” Zach said.

Gavin smiled then, slow and knowing. “It’s probably gonna have to be me kicking you out of the nest, if we’re being honest.”

“Probably.” Zach chuckled. Gavin probablywouldthink he was ready before Zach himself thought he was. “And then what are you gonna do? Becomemyassistant?”

“Yeah. Sounds good, doesn’t it?” Gavin’s expression was totally serious.

It did. But Zach hadn’t thought he was necessarily in earnest but it appeared he was.

“Listen,” Gavin added, “I don’t care what I do. I don’t have an ego that way. I don’t give a shit who they say is in charge, officially. I could care less if some media asshole theorizes that I’m regressing or taking a position that isn’t as important, or whatever. I want to be with you and I want hockey. That’s it. I’ve learned what’s important and yeah, don’t get me wrong, the accolades are nice. I like winning. But I love you more.”

Zach pressed his mouth against Gavin’s. It was easy and hot and sweet. “Love you more, too,” he agreed, pulling back a fraction. “Might be fun, too, to boss you around.”

Gavin grinned, his smile suddenly turning filthy. He kissed Zach again, nibbling with his teeth on his bottom lip, making Zach groan. “Don’t need a new job title to dothat.”

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