Page 35 of Broken Ice, Mended Hearts

Interrupting our mental conversation, the waiter delivered our beers. After we toasted and took our first sips, Blake glanced at me. “I hear you and Gags are having fun this summer.”

I’d been in the middle of another sip but nearly choked on it, slapping a hand over my mouth to keep beer from spraying all over the table. Pip’s eyes had gone wide, and Sako poked Blake with his elbow. “The fuck?”

“I didn’t mean…” Blake shot us a quick look and grimaced. “I heard you’re seeing the city together. You like it here, Sven?”

I swallowed hard to get the last of the beer down. “Yeah. I didn’t have much time to see anything in the spring, but Pip’s been showing me around.”

Sako had no success controlling his quirking lips, and when Blake noticed his expression, he grinned.

“All right, guys,” Pip said, his voice lower than usual. “Let’s get it out there so we can stop acting like fourteen-year-olds. Sven and I are hanging out. I told you that, Blake, and you’ve obviously shared with Sako, which is fine. Yes, Sven and I are having fun, but try to rein in your dirty minds. We’re good friends, and not everything has to be a serious romance.”

I fought to maintain a smile, berating myself for thinking there could be something more than hooking up between us.

“Sorry, man,” Blake said. “You too, Sven. We’re acting like morons.”

“I apologize too,” Sako added. “So, what’s with the Pip thing? Sven, you called Gags Pip, right?”

“Yes.” Pip shot me a sardonic smile and said, “Gags sounds like some Swedish word that pushes Sven’s buttons, so I told him to call me Pip.”

Blake nodded. “Not what I’d expect someone to call you, but it’s cute. Can we all use it?”

“No.” Pip gave him a look that might have made people who didn’t know him well cower. Shifting his gaze to me, he said, “Only one man gets to use that name.” He smiled, and it was like sunshine, a rainbow, and glittering gold, all rolled into one.

Shit, he is trying to kill me. We can’t have a serious romance, but I’m the only man who gets to call him a special name?Mixed messages or not, my heart warmed, and I broke into a dorky grin. “Thanks,” I mouthed.

In a move that would remain forever etched on my memory, he slid his hand across the table and brushed his fingertips over mine.

Holy fucking hell. He likes me more than he realizes. God help us both.

Since we’d acknowledged the elephant in the room, there were no more silly comments or snickers, and the rest of the meal was more relaxed. Sako and Blake acted the way they had when I met them the first time, but there were moments when I caught them looking at Pip and me with something like awe. Or was it pride? They seemed happy about the connection Pip and I had, and I realized how much they cared for him.

After Sako told us about their travels, Blake looked at Pip and me. “What have you been seeing this summer?” Sako poked him in the ribs, and Blake quickly added, “Besides the obvious.”

I was surprised Pip didn’t have a comeback, but he said, “All the sights. Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Phillips Collection?—”

“Don’t forget the Washington Monument,” I interjected. “It’s amazing up there. We could see?—”

“Way out into Virginia.” Pip sounded as excited as we’d been that day, even though I knew he’d been up in the Monument before.

“It was such a clear day,” I added. “It felt like you could see a hundred miles.”

“That must have been something,” Sako said. “We went up there once, but it was overcast that day, and we couldn’t see much farther than the river.”

Pip’s hand found my fingertips again. “We went to see Lincoln’s Cottage one day. Have you been up there?”

When Blake and Sako shook their heads, I said, “You should go. It’s probably not half an hour from here. There are some fascinating things to see.”

Pip snickered. “Sven had me take a picture of him with Abe’s statue.” I gave him a mock glare, which made him chuckle again. “He was wearing a baseball cap and put it on Lincoln’s head.Then the wind blew it away, and Sven ran after it, yelling in Swedish. He fell on his ass, and I?—”

“Laughed your fucking ass off. There I was with a busted ass—could’ve been seriously hurt—and he?—”

“The only thing you hurt was your ego.” Pip smirked and added, “Which is a hell of a lot bigger than your ass.”

We were all laughing by then, and when Pip smiled at me—a sweet, beautiful grin—I wanted to kiss him so much it hurt. The rest of the meal went much the same as we all told funny stories and poked fun at each other. We were with his friends, all of us raising a little hell, and it felt like we were a real couple.

On our way out of the restaurant, we all exchanged hugs and promised to see each other again soon. Pip and I headed to a garage across the street where we’d both parked. He needed to go to level two, and I was on three. When we reached his car, he caught my hand, preventing me from moving on. “I’m sorry about all that back there. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“It’s fine. They’re happy you’re having a fun summer.”

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