Page 94 of Facing the Line

“Who’s dated people in the past, and will date other people in the future,” I tell him with a firm stare. “Get over it.”

“I, for one, think it’s fantastic.” Natalie rushes me and gives me a hug. Her approval makes up for Hunter’s lukewarm reception. “I suspected, but how long has this been going on?”

“Um.” I glance at Jonas. How honest do we want to be?

He shifts and wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Actually, Hadley and I met in Boston when we won the National Championship. We talked and hung out that night, but I didn’t know who she was. When I made the connection, I knew she was off-limits. And I respected that until we weren’t teammates anymore.”

Hunter raises a brow. “Wow. So this whole time…” He gestures between the two of us.

“No.” Jonas shakes his head. “We were just friends until this summer.”

Well, friends with a lot of sexual tension. But I’m glad Jonas told Hunter the truth—or the sanitized version of it, anyway.

“And we’ll go back to being friends once the summer is over,” I say, steel lacing my voice. “I’m too young for anything serious.”

Jonas stiffens beside me, and a line appears between Natalie’s brows.

But before she can say anything, someone knocks on the door.

I move to get it. “That would be the pizza. Are you staying?”

What I’m really asking is,Can you handle this?The atmosphere is charged as my question hangs in the air.

My brother glances at his girlfriend, sighing. “Sounds great.”

It’s not a ringing endorsement, but it’s good enough.

Chapter

Forty-Two

JONAS

Evan: Meet me at the gym after your clinical tonight?

Jonas: Yeah, I could use another work out. And there’s something I need to tell you.

Evan: Sounds good.

“Damn.” Evan whistles as he spots me during my bench press rep. “You’ve added some weight this summer.”

“Gotta be at the top of my game this season,” I say between pants.

“You’re super serious about hockey this year.”

I’m not sure how to respond to that, so I nod as I sit up, finishing my set. “Yeah, I am.” I clear my throat. “Hey, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Evan raises a brow as he takes a swig from his water bottle, waiting for me to continue.

“Um. Hadley and I are kind of a thing.”

He smirks, and I let him because he’s been chill about it all summer. He deserves to gloat a little at this moment.

“Oh, really?” His tone is innocent, but his smug grin is not.

I kick his shin lightly. “Yeah. You knew?”

“I had my suspicions.” He runs a hand through his hair. “It’s cool. I like her, I like you. And in a weird way, you two make sense together.”

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