Page 34 of Broken Ice, Mended Hearts

He tilted his head. “What?”

“Never mind. It’s okay.”

Pip nodded. “Know what Blake said? ‘In this kind of situation, whatever makes you happy is the right thing. Sako and I met Holmer, and he seems like a fantastic guy.’” Pip wrinkled his brow. “Are you sure you’re not mad?”

I wasn’t, and I needed to talk to him about my feelings, but it wasn’t the right time. So, confused as ever about Pip, I went on an overthinking spree. He told Blake. Could this mean…No. I’ve got to temper my expectations.Despite the need for caution, I broke into a smile. “Guess you’re not ashamed of me, huh?”

He shook his head as his expression grew uncharacteristically serious. “Please don’t think that. I’m a wreck about all this, but I’m trying to get it together. I need a little more time.”

Wow. That said a lot, even if it was between the lines. Overthinking be damned, I needed to sort my feelings, but not while he was looking at me like a kid who was afraid he’d screwed up. Not while his friends—the friends he’d actually told about us—wanted to meet for lunch. In that moment, I barely knew up from down, but I was sure Pip was too special to push away.Lead me not into temptation. I know the way.

His shoulders relaxed, and he found a smile. “Will you go meet my friends?”

“I’m in.” I tapped his elbow for reassurance. We both needed it.

He typed in a response, and a reply came right away. Stuffing the phone back in his pocket, he said, “Jeremiah’s Feast in half an hour. Let’s get out of here for our date.”

We’d driven separately, so we got into our vehicles and headed for downtown DC. Along the way, I couldn’t get what Pip had said out of my mind: “our date.” I was silly to think about it, because “date” was a figure of speech everyone used. “Lunch date,” “date with the doctor,” and in the hockey world, “date to kick his ass.”

It was harder to brush off Pip telling Blake Conti that we were “maybe more than normal friends.” The built-in hedging didn’t surprise me. “Maybe more than” wasn’t a direct admission, but it would have taken courage for him to say that much. Even if Pip was bi, and I suspected he was, telling someone you were screwing around with a man would be hard when everyone viewed you as straight.

Fuck, he told Conti about us. Could Pip actually have feelings for me? Beyond what he’d feel for a fuck buddy? Nothing romantic—I knew better than that—but more than he’d ordinarily have for a friend?

Control your thoughts. You’ll get your heart broken if you don’t.

Distracted, I got caught in road construction. It was half an hour before I arrived at Jeremiah’s Feast, an upscale restaurant in Adams Morgan. The exterior hinted at the building’s historical roots, but when I stepped inside, I found a modern space decorated with light wood and expansive glass panels. Pip had texted to say they were all there, and I wiped my hands on my pants while I followed the hostess to the table. Though I already knew Conti and Sakamoto, I still felt a little like I was meeting Pip’s family, and I couldn’t shake hands with clammy palms.

All three men rose to greet me as I approached the table. I nodded at Conti and Sakamoto, but my attention was drawn to Pip. The khaki pants and pale blue shirt he had put on at the arena looked even better on him here. My eyes traced the lines of his body, accentuated by the well-fitted clothing, and I couldn’t help but appreciate how the blue shirt complemented the gray in his eyes. As our gazes locked for what felt like the millionth time since our first meeting, the surroundings blurred, leaving us in a world of our own.

Our greeting played out in my mind, each word and gesture feeling remarkably real. He widened his eyes—hey, you look awesome.I smiled—I’m really glad to see you.Now, he narrowed his eyes, and the surrounding skin crinkled just enough to make me want to kiss him. What was it he said? Maybe—wait until I get you home.

The orchestrated dialogue in my mind vanished when two distinct throat-clearings jolted me back to reality.Goddammit.

Pip, who seemed to be equally dazed, shot a quick look at his friends. “Sorry, guys. Got a little distracted.”

“No shit,” Sakamoto said, wearing a wry smile.

Pip rubbed his cheek. “You’ve all met, right? Blake and Sako, you remember Sven?”

“Absolutely.” Blake held out his hand for a shake. “We all hung out at a charity thing and staggered back to our rooms together after too many shots.”

Sakamoto’s eyes glimmered with mischief while we shook hands. “Good to see you again, Holmer. Shock me and say something intelligent this time.”

“Like you’d recognize it,” I tossed back. “You’re so dumb it’s a wonder you don’t get hit by a parked car.”

Pip threw his head back for a laugh, which made me want to kiss him again. Instead, I put out a hand to shake his because I didn’t know what else to do.

“Fuck that.” He pushed my hand away and hugged me. The contact was brief, but it was the best thing I’d felt all day.

We all sat down, and after the waiter took our drink orders, the conversation naturally drifted toward teammate gossip. Sako told us about Kev Moore and Tyler Jensen, whose passionate kiss on a nude beach in Europe had been captured by paparazzi. With a sly grin, Blake revealed he had the scandalous photos on his phone.

After we joked about who had the better hockey butt—Tyler won by acclamation—we talked about Cleevs and Drew. Cleevs was their teammate, and Drew was my team captain, so we dug into a few stories. Sako had us roaring when he talked about walking down a hallway at a team holiday party, looking for a bathroom. He heard noise from a storage room, and since he was afraid someone was trapped in there, he opened the door. Two heads turned, and Sako registered expressions of irritation and shock. Cleevs had Drew against a wall, and they were still connected.

We all chortled, and the mischievous glint in Pip’s eyes added an extra layer of amusement. I gave him a subtle nod, silently conveying a shared sentiment—at least we didn’t get caught.

He gave me that smug slide of his mouth that I never quite knew what to do with, and then his eyes settled on mine. I wanted to tell him how handsome he looked, that I couldn’t wait to get him out of his clothes, but I couldn’t do that with Blake and Sako sitting there. Instead, I pursed my lips and gave him an eye-hug. Even that wasn’t enough, so I sent a telepathic message—a plea, really.I like you much more than is safe for either of us, but just for today, could you like me back that much?

He must have received it, because he gave the slightest nod—small enough that no one else would notice, but too big for me to miss.

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