Page 42

ERIK

MAY

“Okay, why the hell is your apartment so nice?” Eva asks as she steps through the front door. “This is so crazy.”

“What’s crazy about it?”

She scoffs and strides over to the balcony. “Hello? The water is right there, and you can see Kungsholmen.” She gestures back at me. “And look at the size of this place. You’re seriously splashing out.”

I’ll admit, I found an amazing apartment. It’s walking distance to the rink and the metro, Luke and I both get our own offices, and the bedroom is massive, with a spacious ensuite shower to match. It’s a little pricey, but splitting the rent helps.

“Yeah, well, it’s in the budget for us,” I say, not giving much away. “Luke works from home, so it’s worth it for him to have a good setup.”

“I still can’t believe he’s coming to Sweden for you ,” she teases.

I glare at Eva, but I can’t stay serious. “Hey. Be nice or I won’t let you visit.”

“Fine, fine. Where’s the rest of your furniture anyway?”

So far, the only stuff here is the cheap furniture I bought for my old place and a new sofa that was delivered when I moved in yesterday.

“Luke’s shipping over most of what he has from Toronto,” I say. “He has some nice things.”

Luke decided to leave Toronto as if he was fleeing a crime.

Well, maybe not that quickly, given that it took almost a month for him to get his new passport and actually move out, but he was a man on a mission from the second he got back from visiting me in Minnesota.

Within a week, he’d packed up his entire apartment and sent it to Stockholm in a shipping container, and then he booked a flight to get him here a day before his stuff.

Eva snaps me out of my daydreaming. “When can we go pick Luke up? I’m dying to meet him before Mom and Dad come and make everything boring.”

“His flight lands at noon, and it’s only eleven. We still have to wait.”

She gives me a shove toward the door. “Doesn’t it take ages to get to the airport? Can we leave now?”

“Okay, okay, we can go,” I say. To be honest, I’m buzzing with excitement myself, even though I know that getting to the airport early will do nothing to make Luke’s flight arrive any sooner.

Still, I push the speed a bit on the way to Arlanda Airport, and I park in the expensive area that’s close to arrivals.

“Did you make a sign for him?” Eva asks.

“Do you think I made a sign?” I hold out my hands that are empty except for my car keys and a bottle of water. “That’s too flashy for me. And him. We like to keep things low key.”

Eva hums contentedly. “Good. You guys had better keep it low key. No getting mushy around me.”

I tut. “Oh, just because you said that, I’m gonna lick Luke’s face off the second he leaves baggage claim.”

“Ew, gross.” Eva cringes and speed-walks away, leaving me behind.

I buy coffee for myself and my chaotic but well-meaning sister, and we camp out on a bench while we wait for Luke. Once his connecting flight from Amsterdam shows up on the baggage information screen, I stand up and lean against the railing next to the exit.

And a few minutes later, he’s there. My Luke. Cute as hell and all smiles, pulling a suitcase behind him as he walks over. I close the distance and wrap him in a tight hug, which he returns with matching strength.

“Welcome home, Luke.”

He pulls away and tilts his head up. “I can’t believe I’m finally here.”

“Is it a bad time to say that Toronto wants me back?” I joke, and Luke sighs.

“If that’s true, I’m making you carry all my furniture over by hand. I’m just happy to be here with you.”

I hold Luke’s head close to me, getting a whiff of citrus. “How the hell do you smell so nice after two flights and thirteen hours?”

He shrugs. “I showered and changed during my layover.”

Of course he did—he’s so resourceful.

“Hello? Erik, are you gonna make me third-wheel again?” Eva asks in English, walking up to us.

Luke laughs. “Again? Is this a common theme for you?”

“Eva hung out with me, Nils, and Silja after a game,” I explain. “She thinks spending time with any couple is third wheeling.”

“Okay, let’s not ignore your sister anymore.” He turns to her. “Hi, you must be Eva.”

“I am. Hi, Luke.” Eva smiles back, and for a split second, warmth buzzes through me at the sight of Luke and my sister getting along well.

And then I see the mischief in her eyes.

Shit.

“Since I’m the only other person in our family who’s here, does that mean I have to do the whole ‘what are your intentions with Erik’ speech?”

Here we fucking go.

“No,” Luke and I say together.

“I think I will. Luke, what are your intentions with Erik?” she asks.

Leaning over to whisper in Luke’s ear, I smirk. “She’s only sixteen, so don’t go into too much detail about your intentions.”

Luke chokes on a sip of water. “Jesus, Erik. Behave yourself.”

Eva grins. “He never does, but you know that already,” she says. It’s clear she didn’t hear what I said to Luke, and I’m glad.

“So,” Luke starts, “I guess you could say that my intentions are to make Erik behave himself?”

My breath catches in my throat. That sounds so wrong.

Thankfully, Eva shrugs it off. “That’s good to hear. Erik is a menace.”

“Eva, I am not a menace, come on.”

Luke snickers into his hand. “You kind of are, but that’s why I love you.” And when he rests on my shoulder and slips his hand into mine, I can only agree.

That’s met with a groan from Eva. “Hey, what did I say? Stop making me a third wheel.”

Luke and I are existing, nothing more. We’re even holding ourselves back from all but the mildest PDA. This is an Eva problem.

Nope, it’s a me problem, apparently, because Luke decides to throw me under the bus.

“Sorry, Eva, affection is one of the things that I pay Erik for. He needs to meet his end of the bargain.”

Where the hell did that come from? I didn’t tell him about Eva’s sugar daddy joke from two months ago.

Eva doubles over in laughter, joined by a quieter but still amused Luke, and I accompany the two of them in absolute silence.

If I’m a menace, it’s because I’m surrounded by them.

The drive back to the apartment passes in a blink, thankfully, and I guide Luke and his luggage to the lift.

And when the doors opens, we’re greeted by my parents, who are on their way up from guest parking.

They’re early.

“Oh, hi guys,” Dad says in English, stepping back to make room for all of us.

Luke and I say hi back at the same time. Despite this being the first time he’s meeting them, Luke sounds infinitely calmer than me.

“Uh, so, this is Luke,” I say, pointing to him. “Luke, this is my mom, Katrine, and my dad, Jens.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you both,” Luke says, extending his arm and shaking my parents’ hands.

We arrive at our floor, and Dad offers to help Luke with his luggage, which Luke politely declines. Mom nudges me in the meantime.

“He’s so charming and nice,” she says in Swedish. “And he’s cute, too. Good job.”

I blush, but Luke stays silent while I open our apartment, not giving anything away.

Dad’s gaze flicks between me and Luke. “Can he understand us?”

Luke offers a charming, polite smile. “Yes, I can. Not that much, but a bit,” he says, also in Swedish.

Eva giggles, and my parents raise their eyebrows in surprise, even though it wouldn’t take a lot for an English speaker to guess what attraktiv means.

“It’s not a lot,” he continues, “I learned a little before coming, and I’ll start classes soon.”

“That’s so great,” Mom says, switching back to English. “We’re all really happy that you made it here, although Erik is certainly the happiest out of all of us.”

The blush that was about to fade comes back in full force, and I sling an awkward arm around Luke, who simply maintains his pleasant expression.

“Have you been to Sweden before?” Dad asks, even though everyone here knows the answer.

Luke nods. “Yes, for a week this past February.”

“And you still moved here.” Eva crosses her arms.

“Hey, I’m Canadian. I’m used to it.”

“Eva has a misguided point,” Mom says. “Simply put, summers here are a lot… livelier.”

“Of course. You and Erik should come to the…” Dad pauses, searching for the right word. “... summer house sometime.”

Luke’s getting invited to the cottage ten minutes after meeting my parents? Oh, they love him already.

My grip around Luke’s shoulder tightens, and he leans in.

“That would be amazing, thank you for the invite,” he says.

Mom waves him off. “No problem at all. The two of us are heading up next Saturday, but you and Erik can go whenever you’re free.”

“Awesome,” I reply, and the five of us fall into silence until Dad pipes up.

“Well, we’ll see you two later for dinner as planned, but Katrine and I need new phones, and Eva needs to help us pick them out.”

“We’ll let you guys get settled,” Mom adds. “Again, Luke. It was lovely to meet you.”

We part, and then Luke and I are alone together for the first time in far too long.

I press a soft kiss on his lips, and he exhales against me, returning it slow and gentle.

He brings a hand up to my jaw and runs his thumb along it—that always makes me melt, but this time, it’s so much more.

I pull Luke in while increasing the pressure, spearing his tongue with mine, and pure comfort blossoms in my chest.

“Whoa, slow down,” he says between breaths. “I don’t want to be sex-flushed and messy when we’re eating dinner with your parents.”

“Shut up and let me love you.” My mouth is back on him with even more intensity. From the way Luke reciprocates, he sure isn’t complaining. I keep my hands around his waist, cautious to not ramp things up too much, but my god, I need more. And not sex-more, just more Luke .

“Fuck, I missed you so much,” he says, pulling back for air. I chuckle as I run a hand through his hair and sit down on the sofa, and Luke joins me.

“Oh yeah, the past month was pure torture.” I boop his nose, and then he snorts.

“God, we’re insufferable,” Luke says.

Smiling back, I put my hand on his. “We’re hot, though, so it’s kind of expected.”

Luke freezes. “Holy shit. Erik, you just admitted you’re hot! That only took you the better part of a whole year.”

My neck flushes and I turn away. “Oh, shush.”

“Nah. It’s true.” Luke stands up and unzips his luggage. “Now I need to unpack, and we have to get dressed for dinner. This insufferable couple needs to take on Stockholm in style.”