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MIRA

I hate moving so much that I’d do almost anything to avoid reliving this torture. Bargain away my first-born child to some creepy faerie creature? Probably worth it. Sell my soul to the Devil himself? Eh, why not? It’s all such a soul-sucking ordeal, I’m not sure I’ve got much of one left, anyway.

If you’d told past me that my boyfriend and I would only cohabitate for a few months before breaking up, I would have scoffed. If you’d gone on to tell me I’d be moving in with my older brother’s best friend and teammate, I’d have called you crazy.

But that’s the funny thing about life, isn’t it? It never works out the way we plan.

“You ever going to tell me exactly why you and Jared broke up?” My big brother Maddox asks as we load all my earthly belongings into a small moving truck.

His dark brown hair is wet with sweat, dripping into his brown eyes and making him grimace.

It’s the first time he’s helped me move, but my third time busting my back hauling boxes in as many months, and I’m over it already.

That’s why I’m grumpy. He’s grumpy because he broke up with his sweet girlfriend, Isla, a few days ago.

“Gonna tell me why you and Isla broke up?”

He grunts. “Touché.”

That’s one of the nice things about my big brother. He cares, but he doesn’t push. He’s got his own complicated dating history. Though, I really thought he’d found the one in Isla.

I guess both of our pickers are broken. Not that I’m surprised. It seems to run in the family. My mom picked a real shithead too. He left us when I was only five years old. I barely remember him. Maddox was seven, so he has a few more memories of the guy than me.

When one of your parents leaves and you have to watch the other struggle to do everything alone, it leaves a mark. On how you view family, whether you want kids, and how you view love. My big brother never really wanted to fall in love.

Me? I’m a sucker for happily-ever-afters. I’ve always dreamed of finding a love that eclipses everything else in your life. The kind that romance writers go on and on about. The I’ll burn the world for you stuff. Soulmates and fate and being fully seen and fully loved shit.

I hoped I’d found that with Jared, but after a few months of living together, it became clear he was not my soulmate. I was looking for a knight in shining armor. He was looking for a maid/mommy/living sex doll.

I’m sure as hell not telling any of that to my grumpy older brother. The last thing I need is for him to hunt Jared down and kick his ass. Maddox is having enough image problems right now. I don’t need him getting kicked off the pro-hockey team he plays for because of a basement-dweller like my ex.

“That everything?” my brother asks as he follows me inside Jared’s cute little house. A house I thought would be my cute little house for a lot longer than three measly months.

I survey the living room, making sure I haven’t forgotten to pack any little knick-knacks or my favorite throws. The sad part is, I hadn’t even fully unpacked by the time I realized Jared had duped me into thinking he could be marriage material. “Pretty sure, yeah.”

A heavy arm lands on my shoulder, and I let myself lean into my brother for comfort. I left Minneapolis for Chicago because I wanted to create a life for myself outside of his shadow.

It’s not easy growing up with a hockey god for an older brother.

Especially when you don’t have any particularly special skills of your own to make you stand out.

It was nice living seven hours away for a while, but I’ve missed being in the same city as him.

I suppose if one good thing has come out of all this, it’s that we’ll get to spend more time together now.

And he’ll get me free tickets to watch the Rogues play whenever I ask.

I grew up watching Maddox play hockey. It’s just as much a part of my blood as it is his. Plus, the guys on his team are solid human beings. They’re the kind of people who have your back no matter what.

Which is why I’ll be living with one of them for the foreseeable future.

At least, until I get situated and my website and branding business becomes more profitable.

A couple of weeks ago, when I was visiting Maddy, I asked him and the guys if they knew of anyone looking for a roommate or who had a room to rent.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when Griffin Wright—Maddy’s best friend and the Rogues’ star left winger—offered to let me stay with him. Rent free.

“You sure you want to live with Wright? I love the guy, but I’m worried he’ll drive you crazy.

I did warn him to keep his hands to himself, though, so you shouldn’t have to deal with that.

He knows you’re off-limits and that if he ever tries anything with you, I’ll disown him in a second.

” Maddox rubs the back of his neck, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes at the protective older brother schtick. “You know you can always stay with me.”

“I know,” I reply sweetly. “But this will be fun.” Plus, I’m still holding on to hope that Maddox will pull his grumpy head out of his ass and fix whatever went wrong with Isla. I don’t want to have a shared wall with my brother if that happens.

There are some things siblings just shouldn’t share.

“Fine. But you always have a place with me if you need it.”

Feeling kinda squishy inside, I wrap my other arm around my brother’s middle and give him a big hug.

He may be only two years older than me, but when our dad left, he became extra protective.

Our mom never made him feel like he had to step up and become a little parent or anything, but I believe some part of him still feels like it’s his job to protect us both, since he’s the only man in the family. “Thanks, Maddy-poo.”

“Please don’t call me that in front of my team,” he says with a groan.

“I make no promises.”

“You’re a little shit sometimes, you know that, right, Mi-Mi?” Maddox rubs his knuckles over the top of my head, messing up my braid.

I squeal and shove him away. “Not the hair!”

He chuckles, enjoying the mess he’s made of my long, brown tresses. The bastard’s not even remotely threatened when I narrow my green eyes at him and purse the full lips I inherited from our sperm donor.

“All right. If this is everything, are you ready to head out?”

I nod, giving the place one last good look. It’s not lost on me that I’m more annoyed than I am sad about things ending with Jared. Guess that tells me everything. Blowing out a breath, I say a silent goodbye before turning to Maddy. “I’m ready.”

“Jared’s not even going to see you off?” Maddox looks affronted by the fact, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Maddy’s just mad he won’t get a chance to intimidate the guy. He loved doing that to my boyfriends. Especially since he’s always been so much taller and broader than any of the guys I knew.

Hockey players are just built differently.

“Nope. And I’m glad. Really.” I am glad that Jared hasn’t shown his face.

I said some things when I broke up with him that were pretty harsh.

Even though it’s taken me a bit to move out since then, Jared and I have done a solid job of avoiding one another.

There’s really nothing left to say to the guy I thought I loved, but who, as it turned out, only loved being taken care of.

“Okay, then. Let’s hit the road. I want to get to Wright’s place before dark.” Maddox walks out of the house, and I follow, locking up one final time before tucking the keys under the welcome mat.

I give my brother another hug before he climbs into the U-Haul.

We’re driving separately so I can take my little old silver Toyota.

I’m well prepared with iced coffee and water in the cupholders, and plenty of snacks on the passenger seat.

It’s only a seven-hour drive from the Chicago suburbs to Minneapolis, but boredom hunger is real.

When I turn the key in the ignition, my car sputters and whines.

“Oh, come on. Seriously? Not today, Artax. Not. To. Day.” I glare at the ignition while turning it again, and it finally sputters and starts.

It probably wasn’t the smartest idea to name my car after the horse that gets sucked into the Swamp of Sadness, but some movies stick with you.

I don’t know any kid who wasn’t emotionally damaged by The Neverending Story .

My mom must have been feeling particularly sadistic when she made us watch it.

Whatever. As long as Artax doesn’t succumb to the sadness today, it’ll be fine.

“You good?” Maddox rolls down the moving truck window and asks with a raised brow.

“Yep. Let’s go.” The last thing I need is for this stupid car to break down at the same time everything else in my life is crumbling.

As the miles accumulate, my mind wanders to my new roommate, Griffin.

He’s Maddox’s best friend and the Rogues’ first-line left winger.

The guy is crazy talented and so much fun.

He always makes me laugh, and he’s never made me feel like I’m just Maddox’s little sister.

Griffin treats me like a friend, and I enjoy his company.

But living with him could be interesting.

Because, while Griffin is one of the nicest men I know, he’s not the steadiest. As far as I can tell, hockey is the only thing he takes seriously.

He loves to go out, drink, and have a good time.

Then there’s his reputation with women. If Maddy and the gossip blogs are to be believed, there’s a steady stream of puck bunnies flowing through Griffin’s bedroom. And almost no repeats.

Which could be awkward.

Who wants to be drinking their morning coffee, only to be greeted with some random chick’s ass when they do their walk of shame?

I know it’s Griff’s place, but we’re going to have to lay down some ground rules.

On the plus side, if I decide I need some rebound sex, I know he won’t judge me for it.

My phone buzzes, and an incoming text pops up on my screen, momentarily obscuring my GPS directions.

Griffin

Madds says you’re on the road. I hope you like Chinese, because that’s what I’m ordering for dinner. All the guys will be here to help unload your stuff. Drive safe, Little Gravesy. Or should I say, ROOMIE?

Grinning, I stop worrying about silly things like how I’ll deal with Griffin’s hookups. It’ll be fine.

Besides, this is just temporary. Two friends sharing a space.

What’s the worst that could happen?