Page 22 of Man Advantage

And hopefully, they’d get along with Cam.

I sighed into the stillness and rubbed my eyes. I wasn’t worried about the boys getting along with Cam. I really wasn’t. They were chill as could be and got along with just about anyone, including at least one teacher who’d mademyteeth grind.

I couldn’t imagine any scenario in which they clashed with Cam. I think I was just so worried about this solution—this HailMary without a backup plan—falling apart that I couldn’t take anything for granted.

That worry was also front and center in my mind now that some of the other issues were out of the way. Cam had agreed to take the job. He’d come to Pittsburgh. Bryan had (if grudgingly) accepted Cam’s role. The biggest logistical hurdles were out of the way.

In the whirlwind of getting Cam here from Seattle, I hadn’t had much time to think about the two of us. I’d worried—and I still worried—how he’d get along with the twins. I’d been afraid Bryan would find some reason to veto the whole thing, leaving me up Shit Creek with no other solution on the horizon. And I’d been scared that too much time had passed. That Cam and I would be strangers, and maybe one or both of us had changed so much that we wouldn’t get along anymore.

But I hadn’t stopped to think about how much I’d missed my friend. Outside of hockey, almost every good memory I had of my youth involved Cam. And he’d been there for a lot of the hockey memories, too. There was no young Trev without Cam, and it was getting harder and harder to imagine adult Trev without him.

I’d desperately given him the benefit of the doubt all these years. Explaining to myself that there had to be some reason why he’d cut off contact. Why he hadn’t come to my wedding. Why the North American continent hadn’t been the largest distance between us.

In the back of my mind, though I hadn’t admitted it to myself, I’d been expecting the explanation to be exactly what I’d gaslit myself out of believing: that he didn’t want me in his life anymore. That he’d moved on from me.

So when it turned out there really was an explanation, and he really did still want me in his life…

When it turned out he’d missed me as much as I’d missed him…

I didn’t know how to process that.

I also didn’t know how to process the way my brain skidded to a halt every time I met Cam’s gaze. Every time he laughed at something. Every time… fuck, every time hebreathed. I still couldn’t decide if this attraction just felt really strong because my dormant libido had very suddenly awakened, or if it really was that intense.

Because it sure felt that intense.

I closed my eyes and squirmed beneath the covers. I did not need to be rubbing one out to my friend. Especially not my friend who was now my kids’ nanny. That would just be… weird. In fact, imagining making eye contact with him across the breakfast table, knowing I’d jerked off thinking about him…

Well, that took care of my hard-on.

I laughed into the silence at the absurdity of this whole situation. Being attracted to Cam wasn’t a surprise. It really wasn’t. I just hadn’t banked onhowattracted I’d be. On how absolutely jaw-droppingly sexy he’d be when he arrived at my door.

I’ve heard of having a glow-up, but holy shit.

He wasn’t here for us to hook up, though. He was here so we could help each other out of some really ugly binds.

Which… now that I thought about it…

I mean, I hated his ex for how he’d treated Cam. Turned out I also hated him for being the reason I’d lost so much time with my best friend.

On the other hand, both of our exes being trash fires at the same time had been the catalyst for landing us back in each other’s lives. So maybe in the end, it wasn’t so bad. We’d helped each other out, and we weren’t strangers anymore. We were friends again.

As long as I don’t find a way to screw this up.

Like, say, letting this attraction make me do or say something stupid and drive him right back out the door.

Sighing, I rubbed my eyes. I really hoped I didn’t screw this up. I hoped this whole arrangement worked out, and not just because I wanted to hold on to joint custody of my kids. And if itdidn’twork out, I hoped Cam stayed in Pittsburgh or at least stayed in contact.

I didn’t think I could handle missing him again.

Pulling into a parking space beneath this condo always gave me mixed feelings. The prospect of seeing Bryan, even for a few minutes, had me tense and irritated. Seeing my boys, though? That had me ready to jump out of the car and excitedly sprint up the stairs.

I shut off the engine and got out. There was a yellow sports car in the open garage, and I suppressed a curse. Great. Bryan’s boyfriend was home. Just what I needed.

I headed up the stairs, trying not to grind my teeth. It bugged me, knowing this was my teammate’s condo—that Bryan and I had come here together for social gatherings in our past life. Bryansworehe and Chats had never so much as flirted until after we’d separated, but I was dubious. Especially with as often as Chats liked to rub it in my face that he was with my ex-husband.

Naturally, that was exactly who came to the door when I knocked. Shirtless, of course, because this man was allergic to covering up his abs unless a dress code required it.

He met me with a shit-eating grin. “Hey. Kids should be ready to go.”

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