Page 31 of The Captain's Curfew

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Me:No, wasn’t me.

Declan:Weird.It’s blowing up.Just wanted to check.

I open the team account and scroll.Someone must’ve snapped a behind-the-scenes shot and tagged us.It’s Logan, crouched beside a service dog during a veteran appreciation game.He’s smiling, relaxed, soft in a way most people never see.

And the comments are wild.

@HockeyWife95:If Logan Carter smiled at me like that, I’d melt into a puddle.

@MapleQueen:I swear he’s been happier lately.Anyone else notice?

@Thundergirls:Who’s the girl he’s been seen with outside the arena??Blonde.Cute.

My stomach drops.

Because I know exactly who they’re talking about.

And it’s only a matter of time before Declan connects the dots.

I’m distracted during the meeting.I keep glancing across the table at Declan, wondering if he knows.If he suspects.If he’d lose his mind if he found out I’ve been playing tonsil hockey with his best friend in the kitchen.

I barely speak, and when the meeting ends, I bolt.

Back at the apartment, I pace.

I don’t know what we are.

But I know what we’re not.

We’re not safe.

We’re not smart.

We’re not hidden anymore.

Logan gets home around six, and the second he sees my face, he knows.

"What happened?"

"It’s starting," I say quietly."The rumors.The pictures.The speculation.People are talking.Declan is talking."

He closes the door behind him."Did he say something to you?"

"Not yet.But it’s coming.And I need to know what we’re doing, Logan.Because I like you—more than like you—and if this blows up in my face, I at least want to know it mattered."

He crosses to me, rests his hands on my hips."It mattered."

"Then what are we?"

He hesitates.

And that—that—is when the panic sets in.

Because if he has to think about it, if he has to weigh it against the team, the rules, my brother, then maybe I already have my answer.

I step back, putting space between us."You know what?Never mind."

"Violet—"

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