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Adam had gone to Paula’s with the responsible intentions of ordering a light breakfast—maybe a coffee and some toast—but then he’d realized he hadn’t tried the pancakes yet. So now he was reclining with one arm stretched across the back of his booth seat, full of delicious buttery goodness.

“How’d the pancakes treat you?” Paula asked as she refilled his coffee.

“My god,” Adam said, patting his belly, “I might die, but it would be worth it.”

Paula laughed. “I’ve seen hockey boys put away twice as many pancakes without blinking.”

“Well, I’m not a boy anymore. Or a hockey player.”

“Go on with you. Are you an old man now?”

“Feels like it.”

Paula shook her head. “Barely out of your thirties, handsome as sin, complaining about being old.”

Adam smiled. He liked the way people talked here. “Handsome, eh?”

“Like you need to take my word for it. Now what’ve you got planned for today, Mr. Adam Sheppard?”

“I was going to pop into the shop—Tuck’s, I mean—to say hi.”

“Heard they were opening up today. That’s good. I hope it’s not too hard for poor Riley.”

The customers at the tables around them, who weren’t even pretending not to be eavesdropping, all made sounds of agreement.

“I’m sure he’d appreciate it if any of you want to stop in and show your support,” Adam said to the whole restaurant. “He did some reorganizing, and the place looks great.” To Paula he said, “That reminds me: can I get some coffees to go? Maybe some cinnamon buns?”

“Of course.”

“Hey, Shep,” said the young man in the booth across from his. “You should come by the Anchor tonight. We’re watching the game. Be cool to have you there.”

“Yeah?” Adam immediately began to wonder if he could convince Riley to join him. “Maybe I will. Thanks, um…”

The man beamed at him. He was young, probably in his twenties, and spoke with a French accent. “Seb,” he said.

“I’ll try to be there, Seb.”

People were still talking excitedly throughout the restaurant as Adam left with a tray of coffee and a paper bag of cinnamon buns. He supposed he’d have to go to the bar tonight now, though he’d been looking forward to another night in with Riley.

Yesterday had gone well, Adam thought. There’d been a rocky start at the shop, and things certainly hadn’t been smooth sailing at Riley’s house later, but it had felt like progress. This morning, in the empty house, Adam had watched videos on YouTube of Riley and him playing together. It had hurt, like he’d expected it to, but it had also been a rush to let himself remember how life had felt back then. Back when they’d both been young and beautiful and rich and famous. When the city of Toronto had loved them. When they’d loved each other with a fierceness that Adam could see in those videos. Clips where he would get tripped, and then Riley would flatten the poor guy who did it. Where Riley would score a goal and Adam would hold him against the boards, smiling while yelling in his face, their noses touching. So many videos, spanning nine seasons, and ending with the Stanley Cup win. Adam hugging him, and probably telling him he loved him. Riley would have silently acknowledged it, because he hadn’t said any version of those words to Adam since the time he’d tried to say them for real. And Adam, selfishly, had said them all the time to Riley, disguising them as casual, as if showing Riley how to do it properly.

God, Adam had been such an idiot. All the coffee and cinnamon buns in the world couldn’t make up for how badly he’d treated Riley.

When he entered Tuck’s Sporting Goods, there were a few customers and Riley already looked frazzled. He nodded at Adam, then went back to talking to the woman who seemed to have him pinned in one corner of the shop.

Adam placed the coffee and cinnamon buns on the counter, then casually made his way to the hockey stick rack, which was closer to where Riley was trapped. He heard the woman, who looked about his own age, say the word “Harvey” and then “won’t be the same without him,” and he saw the way Riley was nodding, his jaw tight and his eyes unfocused. Adam made a beeline for them.

“Hi, Riley,” he said cheerfully, then to the woman he said, “Oh, sorry to interrupt. I’m Adam.” He held out his hand. As expected, the woman’s face lit up.

“Oh my goodness, hi. Of course I know who you are.”

“Well, that puts me at a disadvantage.” Adam winked and hoped it was charming and not creepy.

She laughed and blushed a little. “I’m Cathy. I went to school with Riley and—” she tilted her head from side to side while rolling her eyes “—I’m a proud hockey mom. Two sons and a daughter.”

“That’s great,” Adam said enthusiastically. “I owe a lot to my own hockey mom.”

She seemed very pleased with that. “I was just telling Riley that I’ve taken on the organization of the end-of-year minor hockey banquet. Obviously we postponed it, and it feels awful to go ahead with it at all without Harv, but it means so much to the kids.”

Adam glanced at Riley, but he was staring at the floor. “Of course,” Adam said. “Do you need help?”

“Well, actually, Riley, I was wondering about the hosting of it. Harv always did it,” she explained, with a glance at Adam, “so I don’t know if you, or maybe Susan…”

“No,” Riley said. “Sorry. I’m not… I can’t.”

She nodded sympathetically. “I completely understand. I only wanted to offer. We can find someone.”

“When is it?” Adam asked.

She glanced at Riley, as if worried she might offend him. “This Monday night. Is that too soon, Riley? It’s just we had things rented and they’ve been good about postponing a week, but I think if we push it…”

“It’s fine,” Riley said. “No, it’s good. It should happen. Dad would want that.”

She smiled at him, her eyes misty. “He worked so hard on it. He always worked so hard on everything.”

Riley nodded. Adam could see his jaw tighten.

“There’s a lot to do,” Cathy said. “But I’ve got it covered, don’t worry.”

“Thank you,” Riley said quietly. “But if you need help at all—”

“Then ask me,” Adam interrupted. “I’m in town until Tuesday and I’d be happy to help. I could even host it if you want.” He grimaced. “Sorry. That’s probably overstepping.”

Cathy gaped at him. Then she grabbed his arm with both hands. “Would you? Oh, that would be so special for the kids.”

Adam glanced at Riley, who was also gaping at him. “I mean, yeah. If you want. It could be fun. Hey, why don’t we let Riley get back to work and we’ll discuss the details?”

After giving Cathy a quick goodbye, Riley retreated to the back room. Adam gave Cathy his cell number, which she was clearly very excited about, and suggested they meet tomorrow. As soon as she left, Adam was approached by a man he vaguely recognized from the last time he’d been in Avery River.

“Hey, Shep. Good to see you again,” said the man. He was stocky, bald, white, and probably in his sixties.

“Steve,” Adam guessed, and held out his hand. Steve shook it happily. “I brought coffee. And cinnamon buns.” He gestured to the counter. “Help yourself.”

“That’s nice of you. Thank you.” Rather than grab a coffee, however, Steve stayed put, grinning at Adam. The man behind Steve—a customer, Adam assumed—stared at Adam with wide eyes.

“Hi, I’m Adam. Shep, if you like.”

The man vigorously shook his hand and said, “Yes, sir, Shep. I’m Lawrence.”

“Nice to meet you.” Adam counted backward in his head: 3…2…

“Can I get a photo with you?” Lawrence asked as he fumbled his phone out of his coat pocket. “Would you mind?”

“Of course.”

Adam took photos with Lawrence, then Steve, then a woman who’d just entered the store. He’d just finished with that photo when he heard, “Egomaniac.”

He turned and found Riley standing right behind him, his lips curved up slightly.

“Hi,” Adam said, a little breathlessly.

“You brought coffee.”

“I did.”

“Thanks.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Riley said on an exhale. “Fine. And, uh, thanks. Cathy’s great, but she can be a lot.”

“No problem.”

“You don’t have to host the minor hockey banquet, obviously.”

“Are you kidding? She said there’s going to be pizza. I’m totally there.”

For a moment, Riley’s eyes almost looked…affectionate. “Did you sleep okay?”

“I slept great. That bed is amazing. Plus I got to listen to the ocean all night. Incredible.”

“How’s your shoulder?”

“Much better.” It was sort of true.

The door chimed, and a group of four people entered the store. They spotted Adam immediately and smiled excitedly.

“Do you want me to hang out for a bit?” Adam asked. “Maybe sign some stuff? Hey, it could be a reopening special—I’ll sign anything people buy today.”

Riley’s brow furrowed. “You’d do that?”

“Sure. I like it here. And I don’t have plans today.” He snapped his fingers. “Except—would you come to the Dropped Anchor with me tonight?”

Riley recoiled slightly. “Why?”

“They’re watching the Northmen game there. I was invited by a young man named Seb.”

“Seb Gallant, probably.” Riley rubbed his beard thoughtfully. “I guess he’s not unattractive.”

“Shut it, I didn’t mean like that. Jesus, Riles. No.”

Riley’s slight smile returned. “I know.”

“So will you come? I get it if that’s too much people in one day for you.” Something else occurred to Adam. “Or, oh, right. I get it if you don’t want to go to a bar.”

“It’s not that. Being around people drinking doesn’t bother me. I just don’t—” He sighed. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

Adam clapped his hands together. “All right. You got any Sharpies?”

* * *

“I guess he works here now?” Steve said jokingly.

Riley blinked, realizing that he’d been staring at Adam from behind the counter. Adam was near the door, chatting animatedly with three teenagers who Riley was pretty sure were supposed to be in school right now. “He seems to think so.”

“He’s good for business.”

Steve wasn’t wrong. The shop had been busy all day, especially as word that Adam Sheppard was hanging out had spread around town. Adam had been there for nearly three hours so far.

“How long is he in town?” Steve asked.

“Apparently forever,” Riley grumbled as he checked some inventory levels in the computer.

“Harv would have loved this,” Steve said. “Adam Sheppard’s here, everyone’s laughing, and lots of sales.”

Riley realized he was right, and that Adam had kept the energy positive in the shop all day. “He would have,” Riley agreed. He glanced at Adam again and saw that he was showing the kids different hockey sticks from the rack.

Steve laughed. “He’s making sales now.”

At that moment, Mom and Lindsay entered the shop. Lindsay looked at Riley while pointing at Adam. Riley shrugged.

“Well,” Mom said when she got to the counter. “It hasn’t been a slow day, then.”

“Nope,” Riley said.

“Did you see our new staff member?” Steve joked.

“I thought he’d be gone,” Mom said. “I ran into Deb today and she told me he’d checked out.”

“That’s strange,” Steve said. “Not sure where he’d be staying if not there.”

Riley sighed. “He’s staying with me.” He made the mistake of glancing at Lindsay after he said it. Her eyebrows were sky-high.

“Good on you, Riley,” Mom said. Then, to Steve, she said, “I told him to offer up his guest room to poor Adam.”

Poor Adam. Jesus.

“I need to get more pucks from the back room,” Riley said. “People keep buying them for Shep to sign.”

“I’ll help,” Lindsay said immediately. In the back room, she closed the door behind them and said, “He’s staying with you, is he?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Listen, I have been listening to boring gossip from Aunt Ruth about people I don’t know for days , Riley. What I actually want to hear about is why my brother is tied up in knots about Adam Sheppard.”

“I’m— what? ”

“Give me the quick version. What’s going on?”

Riley pulled a box of hockey pucks off a shelf with a grunt. “There is no quick version.”

“Come on.”

“We were friends, and now we’re not.”

“I know that.”

“There’s nothing else to know.” Riley handed her the box.

“Jesus, this is heavy.” She put the box on the table behind her. “And fine. Don’t tell me. But I think it would do you some good to talk about it. All I’ve pieced together is that things got bad for you after you stopped talking to him. I’d like to know if I should go out there and punch him or what.”

Riley snorted. “You don’t need to punch him.”

“I will, though. If that hockey superstar is bothering you…”

Riley smiled at that. “Thank you.” He remembered that Lindsay had been the one to listen to him when he’d hit rock bottom, and she’d been the one to convince him to come home. He owed her a lot. He glanced quickly at the door, lowered his voice, and said, “The thing with Adam is that I was in love with him for years.”

Lindsay placed a hand on his shoulder. “Unrequited, I take it.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry. Does he know?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” She was silent a moment, then said, “But he’s here.”

“So?”

“I mean, he must not be horrified by your feelings for him, if he’s here.”

Riley stared at her. “He’s a bit late.”

“Is he?”

“For fuck’s sake, Linds, yes . I was twenty-four years old when I told him. I’ve moved on. We both have.”

“If you say so.”

With a huff, Riley turned back to the shelf to grab another box of pucks.

“I’m just saying,” Lindsay said, “what I see is a handsome man who obviously cares about you a lot. There are worse places to start.”

“Start what ?”

“Start letting someone in, Riley.”

Riley dropped the box of pucks next to the first one on the table with a thud. “No thanks.”

“I know the timing isn’t great, but I wish—”

“Nope. But if you love Adam Sheppard so much, you should head to the Dropped Anchor tonight. Apparently he’s going to be the guest of honor.”

Lindsay wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, I’m not going there.”

“I forgot you’re big city now. Too fancy for us townies.”

“I’m too fancy for that place. But so is, like, a bag of trash. Are you going?”

“Fuck no.”

“You should go! Go relive your glory days with the boys.” She playfully punched his arm a couple of times. “Go talk about all the goals you scored and all the undiagnosed concussions you had.”

“Sounds horrible.”

Her expression turned sad again. “I hate that you’re not proud of your NHL career.”

“I am proud of it,” Riley argued. “I just don’t want to talk about it.” Or think about it , he added silently. “I also don’t want to talk about Adam. Or anything right now. Like, what the hell, Linds? You really think I’m looking for a date?” He flapped a hand in front of his face. “Fucking look at me. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can’t go more than a few hours without crying. A matchmaking sister is the last thing I need.”

He went to open the door, but Lindsay stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I get it, and I’m sorry. Maybe I’m a little desperate for something good to come out of this nightmare. I want you to be happy.”

Riley rolled his eyes. “Adam Sheppard will never make me happy.” Then he ended the conversation by opening the door and grabbing both boxes off the table.

By the time the shop closed, Riley was exhausted. He’d spent most of the day fighting back tears, and the rest of it being intermittently charmed by, and angry about being charmed by, Adam.

As he drove home, he wondered how exactly Adam had managed to invade his life so thoroughly in only a few short days. Riley had been sure he’d kept his guard up and hadn’t even been nice to him. And yet, here Adam was, helping at the shop, living in his house, and, apparently, volunteering his time for the local minor hockey banquet.

When Riley and Lucky entered the house, Lucky immediately started barking, alerting him that there was an intruder.

“I know, Lucky,” Riley grumbled. “We have a guest, remember?”

But Lucky tore off up the stairs, on a mission.

Riley turned on the oven, figuring they may as well have lasagna again. Assuming Adam didn’t have dinner plans.

He heard Lucky barking upstairs, and Adam saying, “Oh, hey, boy. You’re home.”

Lucky kept barking, so Riley sighed and went upstairs. He stopped short when he saw that Adam wasn’t in his own room, but was, in fact, exiting the bathroom wearing only a towel around his waist.

“Lucky,” Riley said, then lost his train of thought. Adam was still carrying a lot of muscle, especially in his chest. His belly was softer than Riley remembered, and he had a surgical scar on his left shoulder. There were a few gray strands mixed into his dark chest hair.

He blinked, and said, “Come on, Lucky. Leave him alone.”

Lucky seemed satisfied that his detective work had paid off, and slipped between Riley’s legs to go downstairs. Adam, in what looked like a self-conscious gesture, tugged the towel up a little higher, covering most of his belly. Was he ashamed of it? Ridiculous. He looked incredible.

“That’s a nice shower,” Adam said.

“Thanks.”

“Good water pressure,” Adam continued. “I hope I didn’t use too much hot water.”

Riley watched a drop of water slide down Adam’s neck, landing in the hollow of his throat. Adam’s skin was flushed and glistening. “It’ll replenish,” Riley said. He couldn’t rid his imagination of a clear image of Adam in his shower, the water hot enough to fill the room with steam and turn Adam’s skin pink. He heard himself say, “Take all the showers you want.”

For the first time in over a week, Riley’s cock was getting hard, and he didn’t miss the way Adam’s gaze dropped to the growing bulge in his jeans.

Adam clutched the towel tighter, the muscles in his forearm bulging.

“Lasagna,” Riley blurted out. “I’m heating up the rest of that lasagna. If you’re hungry.”

Adam’s eyes flew back to Riley’s face. “Sounds good. Or I could just eat at the Dropped Anchor. You don’t have to keep feeding me.”

“Don’t eat at the Anchor. The kids will be disappointed if you die before the banquet. I’m sure Cathy has told the whole town by now.”

Adam smiled. “All right. I’ll get dressed and be right down.”

Riley’s gaze took another quick tour of Adam’s body, then he turned his back to him and headed down the stairs.