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Liam works his full lips to the side. He’s hesitating now, as if he’s not sure if he should be telling me something. “The breakup hit him hard. Yeah. But he was acting off a couple days before it, too.”
I stare. “What do you mean?”
“I usually have a pretty good sense for people. I don’t think the other guys noticed it. If they did, they never said anything. But something was bothering him. A lot. And then you guys broke up after that.”
I frown. “What do you think it was?”
“No idea. I tried letting him know I was open to talk if he wanted. Nolan never took me up on it.”
We ride the rest of the way mostly in silence, except for when I decide the awkward quiet is too much and ask Liam about hockey. We make smalltalk about the past season until we reach Jesse’s cabin, where I already know Caroline and Andi are planning to spend the evening.
I’m excited. I haven’t really been around all the guys since two years back when they stayed in town to be with Jesse for Christmas while he was sidelined with an injury. Back then, I thought some of the bonds we formed would last more than they have.
I’ve barely talked to any of the guys, except for Jesse, who comes back to Frosty Harbor every chance he gets to be with Andi. To my pleasant surprise, most of them seem to have remembered me, though. Even if we haven’t kept in touch, they’re all making sure I don’t feel awkward and treating me like part of the group.
When I step inside Jesse’s cabin, I see Maddox and Carter playing cards by the fire. Liam gives me a friendly pat on the shoulder as he walks past me and joins them, pulling up a chair. Maddox is holding his side, laughing hard at something Carter must’ve just said.
Jake and Caroline are on the couch, talking about something that looks relatively serious. They’re both speaking quietly and positioned a little separate from the group, as if they don’t want to be overheard.
Andi and Jesse are taking turns feeding eachother grapes in the kitchen while they share flirtatious smiles.
“Mia!” Maddox calls. He hops up from the table with his arms wide as he approaches me.
“Maddox?” I say, feeling a little weird. Everybody has been nice, but I’m still getting used to these famous NHL players even noticing me. Over the past two years, the time I’ve spent around all of them feels more and more like a foggy dream.
He wraps me in a tight, muscular hug. “We’ve all missed you. I think you may need to start that cooking club up again and invite Jesse and Jake. They both keep trying to cook for us and I think maybe they’ve been infiltrated by a rival team. Because I’m pretty sure they’re trying to slowly poison us.”
I grin. “No cooking club, sorry. There definitely wasn’t much interest last time that happened in Frosty Harbor.”
“There was some interest, though,” Liam says pointedly. Liam is still at the table with a few cards in his hand. He has his arm draped over the back of the chair and looks like James Freaking Dean or something. He doesn’t talk as much as the other guys, but when he does, it almost always feels like his words have more meaning than meets the eye.
“Yeah, some,” I say, not sure which layer of his comment I’m really responding to.
Caroline and Jake give me a brief greeting, then break off whatever quiet conversation they were having. Jake goes back to the bathroom and Caroline pulls out her phone. I go into the kitchen, where Andi and Jesse are still acting like newlyweds, even though they got married over a year ago.
I pause at the sight of them. Andi has on tight black leggings and a deep purple sweater. She is reaching up with her arms around Jesse’s neck, and the position is pulling her sweater up high so I can see the shape of her belly–the shape, which is distinctly rounded and not in the way it would be if she’d been enjoying her cookies more than usual. “Wait a second,” I say, kneeling and staring at Andi’s stomach. “When were–”
She pulls her arms from Jake, tugging her sweater down and then coming to put her hand over my mouth.
“Shhh,” Andi says, bulging her eyes. “Secret,” she mouths.
Jesse looks seriously at her. He lowers his voice. “If she noticed, other people will, soon. We need to tell them.”
“I don’t want to jinx it,” Andi whispers back.
“You sound like Maddox,” Jesse says. “Come on, Andi. I’m fucking dying not being able to tell everyone.” He pulls her into a hug and kisses her.
“Tell everyone what?” Maddox appears, almost as if by magic. He’s chewing a grape. “And why do you say ‘you sound like Maddox’ as if it’s a bad thing? I thought we were buds, Jesse.”
Jesse grimaces. “We are. I just… Andi, please.”
She bites her lip, then gives the slightest nod.
Jesse beams. He rips open a few drawers, finds a big black sharpie, and touches both of Andi’s shoulders. “Give me just a minute. I know how to do this.”
“Okay?” she says.
Maddox is stuffing grapes into his mouth as he leans casually on the counter. “I still have no idea what’s going on,” he says, cheeks full like a chipmunk preparing for winter.
