Page 18

Chapter 18

MICAH

I bounced my leg and fidgeted with the game controller in my hand later that afternoon. I’d had a very short pregame nap with Josie before she left to pick up her brother, and now I was at the arena, finishing my pregame ritual with some PlayStation and spending time with my teammates. I didn’t even know why I bothered trying to play because I sucked at video games—give me a jigsaw any day—but it was part of my prep, so here I was, nervous as fuck and about to get my ass handed to me by Tally in some random game I didn’t give a shit about.

“Dude. Why you so twitchy?” Tally asked, quirking a brow in my direction.

Dom chuckled from the other side. “Because his bestie arrived today and said bestie still doesn’t know that Micah is sticking it to his sister.”

“Hey, fuck off. Don’t talk about her like that,” I bit out.

“Hey. Don’t be so grouchy. I’m just enjoying that it’s not going to be me getting my ass kicked by an angry brother for once.”

“Same,” Tally said with a grin. “Not that Christian really cared about me and Cora. Okay, he was a bit mad at first, but he got over it quickly. You know, it could be the same with Ray. He might be happy for you.”

I groaned. “It’s not me. I want to tell him. But Josie wants to wait a bit longer, and I stupidly agreed.”

“Is she afraid Ray will kick your ass?” Dom asked, smirking.

“Not a chance,” I boasted. “I mean, I should probably let him get a shot or two in for lying to him.”

“And banging his sister,” Dom added.

“Fuck off.”

“So why does she want to keep it a secret?”

“And you made us confide in you about Ally and Cora, so fess the fuck up,” Dom said.

Tally nodded in agreement.

“Fine. She thinks that we rushed into this, and she has a history of doing that. Honestly, she just knows what she wants and goes for it. It’s hot as hell. But her family, including her brother, can be judgy, so I’m letting her decide when to tell them, even though I want to say something now.”

“You do know that, between our gossipy teammates and her working at Tipsy, the chances of this not coming out at some point while he’s here are like zero, right?” Tally said.

Dom smiled. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

“I mean, I’m not going to go out of my way to make it obvious. I’m not a dick. But if the truth comes out, I won’t be upset. And I already asked the team to keep it quiet. I just reminded them of how Harty went after you a few months ago.”

Dom grimaced. “Glad I could be an example. And Harty’s fine now. We’re best buds.” He paused. “Okay, maybe best buds with a not-so-thinly veiled threat directed at me if I fuck up. Which I have no intention of doing.”

“Of course you won’t. Ally and Livi are your world,” Tally said.

“Yes, they are. Did I show you the latest video? Just took it this morning. She’s so fucking cute I can’t stand it.” He beamed as he tapped on his phone, bringing up the five millionth video he had of Livi doing normal baby shit.

I wouldn’t knock him for his blatant love for his daughter. She was fucking adorable.

“It’s going to be fine. You and Josie just fit, and Ray and anyone else who might have an issue with it will see that. And if they don’t, well, just fuck ’em,” Tally said.

“Thanks, man.”

“Now, can you stop fidgeting so I can officially kick your ass?” He held up his controller.

I laughed. “Why do I even bother trying to play?”

“Because it’s part of your routine, and we stick to that shit so we can win hockey games,” Tally said with a grin.

“And Josie’s going to be in the stands, so we’re totally winning tonight, right?” Dom asked.

“Let’s hope,” Tally said. “We’ve all got our good luck charms showing up tonight, right?”

We lost in OT the other night while Josie had been at work. She really was a good luck charm for me. When the playoffs came around, Simone better give her every home game off. The Cup was that important.

“Damn right. She looks so fucking cute in her Daddy jersey,” Dom boasted. “I could just eat her up.”

“Please tell me you’re talking about Livi and not Ally. Not that Ally isn’t hot as fuck,” Sin said, slipping into the chair next to Tally.

“Fuck off, Sin. Of course, I’m talking about Livi. And what Ally calls me in the bedroom is none of your fucking business,” he finished with a smirk.

“If you guys are done, can we play already? I want to get my ass kicked and then move on to my final pregame snack.” I held up my game controller again.

Tally grinned. “Happy to oblige.”

“Speaking of hot-as-fuck girlfriends, your bestie in town yet?” Sin asked.

“Why do you have to constantly stir up shit?” Tally knocked his fist into Sin’s shoulder.

Sin rubbed his shoulder. “Don’t injure the star winger before the game. Some captain you are.”

“I’m the star winger, fucker,” Dom fired back.

Tally shook his head at both of them. “And you aren’t going to say shit about Micah and Josie to Ray at any point during his visit, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Lips are sealed,” Sin replied.

“Good. Now stop being an annoying shit so I can concentrate and win this game. You get next round,” Tally said.

Then Tally turned on the game, and all of us focused on the TV in front of us. Typically, boasting and bullshit continued as a bunch of us played. I lost quickly and sat back, just soaking in the camaraderie. There was nothing like it.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out, seeing a text from Ray.

Ray: Dude. Sweet puzzle room. Very zen.

I rolled my eyes. Guess he’d arrived.

Micah: Fuck off. Glad you’re here. Don’t touch that table. I’ll know.

Ray: Such a puzzle freak. You got a camera in here or something?

Instantly, my brain remembered how I spread Josie out on that very desk after finishing one recently. My body tightened with need. But I didn’t need that recorded on video since the scene played on a loop in my head whenever I thought about her. Or puzzles. Or that room.

Fuck.

Ray: And thanks for being here for Josie. She just told me about that dick ex. Crazy that she’s living in your building, and sorry if she’s driving you crazy. How’s her roommate?

Ray: I know you gotta prep for the game.

Ray: Fill me in over a beer tonight after you beat Anaheim.

I swallowed hard. She was driving me crazy, but definitely not in the way Ray could possibly imagine.

Fuck .

I sucked in a breath.

Micah: She’s fine. And pretty busy, so I don’t see her a lot.

Dig. Dig. Dig.

Micah: Harper’s great. She’s a bit like Josie. Two peas in a pod.

Ray: Great. You know Josie’s going to be Josie. Not surprised things didn’t work out with that idiot. I’m sure it won’t be long until she’s moved on and is out of your hair.

My chest clenched. That was the last fucking thing I wanted. I knew that Ray didn’t know what was going on and that I was dating his sister, but it was still a punch to the gut.

Micah: She’s not too bad.

Ray: I love my sister dearly, but she marches to her own drum.

I chuckled softly. It was one of the things I’d grown to love about her.

I hated this secret, hated lying to my best friend, but Josie was setting the pace.

Was this going to blow up in my face?

JOSIE

“What’s so funny?” I asked, trying to keep the edge out of my voice. The edge I’d been on since picking up my brother because I was afraid I was going to spill all my secrets.

Freaking hell, I was being so ridiculous about the entire situation. I was a grown-up. So was Micah. But I knew my brother and his concerns about my dating history, my flightiness, and his stable best friend. Micah was an only child and his parents had worked a lot. He’d always been at our house, and he was like a brother to Ray. Yeah, I was his actual sister, but considering both of our relationship track records, Ray would side with Micah, and I hated that idea.

“Josie?” he asked.

I glanced at him. “Yeah?”

“You okay?”

“Yep. So, what’s funny?”

Ray held up his phone. “Just texting Micah, and he warned me to stay out of his puzzle room. Shit, he’s protective of it. Did you know about it? Don’t give him shit over it.”

Yup. It burned.

I waved my hand. “Oh yeah. I know all about his puzzling. He’s very protective of it and has it all wrapped into his pregame ritual. One time, I messed up a pile, and I swore he was going to blow his top.”

Ray chuckled. “Not surprised. So, you spending a lot of time at Micah’s?”

I swallowed hard. “Um, no. Just stopped in a few times to be neighborly. It’s so weird that Harper ended up living in the same building. I mean, she’s dating Connor, of course, but how random.”

That sounded nonchalant, right?

“I’m glad that he’s there if you need him.”

“Ray, I’m a big girl.” I bristled and took a bite of my sandwich. We’d stopped by the condo to drop off Ray’s stuff, and I tried not to think about how I’d been living there and snuggled in bed with Micah only hours before. Then hunger got the best of my brother, so we were currently at the sandwich shop Harper had introduced me to. I did not order the Gobbler this time.

My body heated just thinking about it. I was going to miss Micah gobbling me for the next few days.

I snorted.

Ray eyed me, probably wondering why I was all over the place—not that he wouldn’t consider that typical. I paused, needing to stop this train of thought. My brother really wasn’t that big of an asshole, and he wasn’t nearly as bad as our mother, but I was letting assumptions get to me, and that was not how I usually rolled.

“I’m fine. Really. And I love Denver. I have fun jobs, my art business is growing, and I want to stay here. I’m even setting aside money so I can get my own place soon.” That last bit was a lie because I had no plans to leave Micah’s condo for as long as he’d have me.

And based on our conversation last night, it would be a good long while. Maybe even forever.

“That’s great. Can I see some of your stuff? I mean, you always were the best artist in the house.” He chuckled. “Yeah, I know. It’s not like that’s saying much. I’m good at stick figures at best.”

I grinned. “No kidding.”

“Seriously, I’m glad you’re doing well with your art. And that Etsy shop. It’s amazing that you’ve managed to find a job where you can do it anywhere.”

“Thanks, Ray.”

“You look happy. Almost dreamy,” Ray said with a chuckle.

“I like it here.”

“So stay. It makes it convenient for me. I get to visit my best friend and my sister in one visit.”

“Yeah, it does,” I murmured.

***

I glanced around my temporary room at Harper’s. They actually had a second bedroom, no puzzles to be seen, and it really was nice of her and Connor to let me crash in it for a few days. Harper had only said to put in earplugs so I wouldn’t cramp their style.

I chuckled. That woman was so awesome. I loved that she’d forced me to be friends with her. Or maybe I’d done that to her. However it happened, it was amazing.

I’d left Ray to get situated on the couch at Micah’s and gone back to Harper’s to get some stuff done. Harper was still at work, so I had the place to myself for a bit. I changed into my jersey with Micah’s name on the back. Since I’d had his jersey from various teams over the years because of his friendship with Ray, it wasn’t out of the norm that I would have his Stampede jersey, so I told myself that Ray wouldn’t think anything of it when we were at the game later.

Ugh. I was annoyed with all my overthinking. Annoyed with myself.

Snap the fuck out of it, Josie.

It was going to be fine. We were going to go to the game, and I was going to try to avoid drooling over Micah on the ice. Or at least keep my brother from seeing it. It would be totally fine.

Totally fine.

***

“Get that puck out,” I yelled later that night as Micah checked one of the Anaheim forwards into the boards and then tried to get possession of the puck. The glass rattled, and I could see the determination in Micah’s gaze from my seat. I loved sitting this close to the ice.

Holy freaking hell, he was so hot. My body felt like it was going to combust because I knew exactly how it felt when he turned that intensity on me. And how ramped up he was after a game.

Dammit. I was going to miss his feralness tonight. He’d texted me between warm-ups and the start of the game to tell me how hot I’d looked in the stands and that if Ray hadn’t been there, he would’ve found a way to kiss me. But instead, he’d just said hello to both of us like I didn’t know the sounds he made when he came.

I shuddered.

Stop it right the freaking hell now.

Then Tally got in the mix, and Micah managed to get the puck to his teammate.

“Go, Tally, go, boys,” someone shouted next to me, but my gaze was locked on Micah’s, and I swear he turned his fired-up eyes on me for a split second, then skated up the ice toward the center line.

I sucked in a breath and took a quick peek at my brother, but he was focused on the game. My body squirmed with barely banked need. Maybe I could sneak down to the locker room before the game ended.

“Fucking yes!” Ray yelled as the goal horn blared, and everyone got to their feet.

Crap. I’d missed the goal, dreaming about what I wanted to do to Micah.

“Sweet fucking goal, right?” Ray said to me, a bright smile on his face. “Didn’t think it was going in for a second.”

“Yeah. Great goal.” I clapped along with the crowd and stared up at the jumbotron so I could see who actually scored it.

Focus, Josie. Focus.

The Stampede was now up two to one, thanks to Santa’s goal. I didn’t even remember seeing him get the puck.

Sitting back down, I took a sip of my soda. I needed to stop drooling over my boyfriend so my brother wouldn’t catch me.

My boyfriend.

“This game is going to be tight. It already looks chippy,” Ray said, popping a nacho in his mouth.

“Yeah. They’re feisty tonight. Micah slammed into that guy so hard.”

“Kind of his job. He’ll be fine.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“Hey, is Harper here? I want to meet your new roommate,” he said.

“You don’t have to check up on me, you know. Harper is very normal and nice,” I muttered.

He knocked his shoulder into mine. “You’re my sister and I love you. Of course, I want to meet your new roommate. And I have to say, Denver seems to suit you. I’m glad you’re happy here.”

Ugh. I felt like a total asshole.

“Uh, thanks. Love you, too. And I promise you’ll get to meet Harper at the bar tonight.”

“And all your coworkers. It’s crazy that you ended up working at the team bar, just hanging out with hockey players all the time. They all try to flirt with you, don’t they?”

“They can try, but I just like hanging around with them.”

“I bet Micah warned them off.”

I swallowed hard. He had, but not for the reasons Ray was thinking of. Obviously.

***

Three hours later, after the Stampede squeaked out a win, I walked into Tipsy, my nerves on edge. It would be fine. My coworkers had my back, and it would be fine.

“Man, Micah railed Bruzzy after that hit on Sweets. I know he doesn’t fight a lot, but I’m glad I’ve never been on the end of his fist,” Ray said, following me inside.

A few people said hello or waved at me as we walked through the amped-up crowd.

“Micah’s got a mean right hook. Took Bruzzy right out,” one of the regulars said to me as we passed by, his grin wide.

“Bruzzy deserved it, taking a cheap shot at Sweets. That hit was dirty as hell,” someone else said. “I’m buying Micah a drink when he gets in. Sure he’ll be here soon.”

“Hey, Josie, who’s this?” Glen, another regular, asked when we got to the corner of the gleaming bartop. “Micah know him?”

“Yeah, he’s my best friend,” Ray called out, his gaze darting between Glen and me.

Crap.

“Hey, you must be Josie’s brother, Ray. I’m the owner, Simone,” my boss said. “We love Josie.”

I flashed a grateful smile her way, and she gave me a wink. She had my back.

Ugh. I should’ve just told Ray everything already.

“Her brother? Oh, right. Ray. Nice to meet you.” Glen held out his hand, which my brother immediately shook.

Everything would be fine.

How many times was I going to tell myself that before I actually believed it?