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CHAPTER 20

GRADY

E ven though it was none of Joey’s business what happened between me and Jill, I’d let her go the other night with only a kiss. Or, a solid make-out really, with a few nipple grazes—but nothing like I’d wanted to do.

I’d walked her back to her car and pinned her against it so she could feel how fucking hard she made me without even trying. She’d laughed, as if she still found it impossible to believe the effect she had on me, and the flirty sound of it was still in my head the next day when I pulled into the ice rink.

Judging by the number of cars it was a packed house inside. That could be a good thing, working in my favor to keep Joey in check when I told him the news. Or, I’d just have an even bigger audience for when I got laid out. Because I wasn’t going to hit him back. I understood where he was coming from. I got how this looked from the outside. So, I’d let him take his hits. But I wasn’t going to stop seeing Jill.

I smiled, unclipping my seatbelt with a little laugh. It felt good just to think about this thing with her. Whatever it was, or whatever we called it. I was almost giddy, like being a kid set free for the summer. The possibilities were endless, and damn, did I have some ideas. It was going to be fun helping her, ahem, test her limits —as she’d said. I couldn’t wait to get started.

But first I had to do this.

With my bag slung over my shoulder I headed inside, spotting Joey’s pickup as I went. He was already on the ice by the time I got to the locker room, so I hustled, hoping to get this conversation over with before the game started. I didn’t need to be already exhausted when he gave me my due.

The ice was fairly empty as a kid’s camp ended and parents collected their own at the far end of the rink. I kept my head down, a few of the guys tripping over their own feet as they figured out who I was. Joey was cruising past the opening in the boards when he spotted me. He stayed on his line, finished his lap and came to a slow stop where I stood stretching.

His head swiveled between me and the crowd still filing out at the other end. A bitter laugh puffed his chest up. “You want me to call ‘em over? Give your ego a nice fluff?”

“No thanks,” I muttered, switching legs. “But I do need to talk to you about something.”

His jaw clenched, the corners of his eyes squinting at me before he gave a rough nod for me to go on. Might as well just get it over with.

“I’m seeing Jill.”

It wasn’t as though I’d expected him to blow up at me, but the way he didn’t move and didn’t even blink unnerved me more. It was only from the twitch of his eye that I knew he’d heard me at all.

Another guy on the team, Benny, skated up with a wide grin and buoyant energy as he skidded to a stop beside Joey. “Hey, man, good to see you. You gonna team up with us tonight? Have some fun?”

I nodded, giving him a quick glance before locking eyes with Joey again. Benny looked between us and let out a bark of a laugh before skating away toward the rest of the guys lining up along the boards. We all knew the look Joey was giving me.

“Say something, man.”

“Fuck you.”

“Joe, come on. She’s not a kid, we like each other. We have fun?—”

Joey’s head jerked back. “You’re having fun?” His voice was still low, but I could feel the other guys looking our way. “I told you to stay away from her. Jill doesn’t have fun like you do,” he spat, reminding me of just what my friend thought of me. My past was what it was, and as a loyal, married man for over a decade, I’m sure it looked pretty bad.

“We’re on the same page. We’re going to enjoy this summer. No lies, no broken promises. I know about that Adam asshole. I almost punched his face in. I’m not going to hurt her, man.”

The way he was laughing set me on edge. It was worse than him being pissed at me. It was like he thought I was stupid or he knew something I didn’t.

“Well, in that case, congratulations. By all means, have fun fucking my sister on your vacation. Just let me know when you bail out back to Boston okay, so I can make sure she doesn’t go off the rails again.”

“She’s tougher than you think. And I’m not just fucking her, damn.” I scrubbed a hand over my face, trying to shove down my own frustration. “Give me a little credit will you? Christ. It’s like you don’t know me. I’m not trying to mess with her or use her, Joe. She’s too fucking special for that. I care about her.”

His eyebrows shot up. “You think she’s special? You care about her?” He spun, repositioning his skates on the ice. “You hardly know her, Grady. And you sure as hell don’t know how bad this can go. So, I hope you’re right. I hope she’s as tough as you think she is.” He skated off, calling over his shoulder, “But thanks for letting me know.”

I finished warming up, meeting the rest of the guys. Most I knew, some I didn’t. It was a decent team, with a lot more speed than I remembered last time I’d played with Joey. With only a minute left to go we were tied up, 1-1. I was chasing down the puck behind our goal with two guys from the other team right behind me. As I came around the boards and up the side with the puck I saw Joey headed my way. I thought he was going to block the defender, and that was who he hit first, but his momentum was so strong he carried on full-force until he slammed me into the boards too.

My shoulder—the good shoulder, thank god—hit the wall hard. I hadn’t expected the hit and with the wind knocked out of me, I lost my footing and slammed into the ice. I was coughing for air when someone kicked my stick from my hand. Joey glared down at me.

“You better not fuck this up.”

Pushing up onto my knees I tried to tell him I wouldn’t, but he skated away before I could get enough air to speak. I sagged back against the wall, slowly regaining my breath as the clock ticked down and I watched Joey take off for the locker room without looking back.