Page 40 of Unrivaled

Hedgie could barely keep his eyes open, so Max didn’t know how he managed to do the judgmental eyebrow. “Who’re you talking to, then? Holding your phone like you’re afraid I’ll see it.”

How could Hedgie be this observant with Max when he was half-asleep and not have noticed his wife was pregnant? “Your mom.”

“Ew, dude.”

“Mind your business.” Max turned the screen off and tucked his phone into his pocket.

“Wow, touchy.” Hedgie suddenly seemed wide-awake. “Something going on? You’re, like, unusually glued to your phone lately.”

Was he? “Checking on my fantasy team.”

Hedgie snorted at the obvious deflection, but he let it slide. “Did you draft me again this year?”

“Yeah, but I traded you for Grady Armstrong.” The Firebirds had started the season 1–2–0, but Grady had four goals and an assist.

If fantasy hockey gave Max an excuse to check up on him, that was Max’s business.

“Ouch, bro.”

Max jostled their arms together in an attempt to elbow his stomach. “That’s what you get for being nosy.”

Hedgie rolled his eyes, but he wasn’t mad. “Oh, excuse me for caring.” His body sagged next to Max’s, and he put his head on Max’s shoulder. “Can I go back to sleep now?”

Max patted the top of his head. “Yeah, you can go back to sleep now. Baby.”

AS GRADYhad suspected, the Firebirds continued to struggle. They only had one solid defenseman, and their forwards were weak down the middle. Grady centered their top line, and he and Coop worked well together, but no one else had any reliable chemistry.

And then there was Barny, who showed such flashes of brilliance that it frustrated Grady when he let in those wobbling shots two minutes later. If he could play consistently, at least Grady would be able to make up his mind if he was staying.

He was pretty sure he wasn’t.

And he was also pretty sure most of the team knew it, which made things awkward. He felt like he was abandoning them. They probably felt the same way. Gatherings with the team carried an undercurrent of tension that made Grady’s shoulders ache.

Grady would’ve liked to say that dating was a pleasant distraction from work. However….

“I asked for this with no onions,” his date of the evening, Chad, told their server.

Grady knew he shouldn’t have broken his no-dinner rule, but Chad insisted theyhadto try this new place, it was so “on trend.” He’d heard their mushroom risotto was to die for.

Grady certainly felt like dying.

“I’m so sorry,” said their server, her face a picture of misery, because this was the third thing Chad had sent back to the kitchen and he had absolutely made no such request. “I’ll take this back.”

Grady met eyes with the server and tried to convey through his expression that he was sorry for inflicting this on her. She grimaced at him behind Chad’s back and sped away with the plate.

Once she was out of earshot, Grady snapped. “Why do you keep doing that?”

Chad plucked a piece of bruschetta from their antipasto plate. “What, the food thing? It’s her job to keep us happy.”

Grady considered swearing off men. “No it isn’t. It’s her job to bring you the food you asked for. Which didn’t include a special request for no onions.”

“Sure,” Chad said with a shrug, “but if I keep her running, she’ll pay more attention to us and we’ll get better service.”

We’ll get our food spat in and we’ll deserve it.He looked down at his own plate. The food smelled incredible. Grady had no appetite for it. “Would you excuse me for a minute?” He didn’t wait for an answer.

In the hallway by the restrooms, he took out his phone. What time was it in Vancouver? Was Max’s game tonight or tomorrow? He couldn’t remember, but this was an emergency. For the first time, he hit the little phone icon next to Shithead.

Max picked up on the third ring. “Hhhhwha?”

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