I wince at the thought of having to share a roof with Jim and his twenty-six-year-old wife.
“At least you get to hang out with Mason and Maddox.” That’s the only silver lining I can think of.
“Yeah, they’re the only reason why I’m not staying at the Certon on Park,” he says with a tired chuckle. His three-year-old twin half-brothers are a riot from what he’s told me. “By the way, I’m deciding to invite you to their birthday party in January.”
“What?” I ask, shocked.
“Don’t look at me like that.” He huffs after a quick glance and goes back to watching the empty ice. “You’re literally the only friend I have who could survive it, and I’m not spending the day alone with the nannies or mothers of all their friends.”
I choke on a laugh.
“What about Zack?” I ask quietly. This is technically breaking the rules, but no one can possibly hear us.
“Please,” he scoffs. “Dude’s too fancy to have fun.” The tiny, really minuscule smirk he offers is all I need.
It’s not like I’m swimming in friends over here. My only real friend lives across the country and I barely see him a dozendays a year because he’s busy being a hockey star. Also, I’m desperately in love with him, he’s my stepbrother, and worst of all, he knows I’m in love with him and that’s more than likely why he keeps his distance.
But maybe . . . maybe Tucker’s my friend too.
There are no rules against being friends with other Heirs... and we did go to the same school all our lives, at least until I graduated early. And he’s a couple of years older than me, like Lex.
Just then, the announcer’s voice rings out over the filling arena and the Demons and Empire players skate out for warmups.
As I see Lex do a quick lap around their half of the ice, I focus on the bright gold fifteen on his back, below the last name that weighs more than he should ever have to lift.
I want, more than anything, to be the one he allows to carry it with him, just like he’s been helping me carry Ellsworth since the moment we met ten years ago.
But he doesn’t want that.
All he’s ever wanted from me is my friendship, and I know that soon enough I’m going to have to find a way to accept that’s enough.
3
Lex
He’s been doing worse.
Mom’s words from earlier today ring out like an alarm bell inside my head the second I step onto the ice, and it’s not because Eli’s all I can think about, really, it’s not.
It’s just that I immediately know he’s here, and he’s watching me. Like a sixth sense or something. This weirdknowinghas been a thing from the moment Eli came into my life with a wonderful father who only made my poor teenage head even more confused.
Ihada wonderful father already.
I had a brother already.
I didn’t need any more of them.
But it turns out . . . maybe I did.
The second father thing, not the brother thing.
Eli isnotmy brother.
Definitely not.
For one, he’s not annoyingly good at hockey, he doesn’t tease me every chance he gets, and he doesn’t shoot deadly laser beams from his eyes at my teammates and decimate my team in some twisted protective older-brother way.
Also, I’ve never in my life been able to tell when Vinny enters a room, or when he’s looking at me, and I’ve definitely never been mesmerized by how Vinny’s eyes pop when he puts on eyeliner.
