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“The fuck, Ashton!”
“I would have told you…”
“When? Clearly not before I was able to put two and two together. Way after youshouldhave told me… I’m such a dumbass. I never even suspected it until tonight. But… the fight?” He shakes his head then offers more. “I haven’t really heard from Jolie in weeks, which is unusual, so I called my mom. She said Jo seems pretty happy. Happier than ever. That Jo has really healed from her time with you… and I actually thought you were just being a good friend, but you were being so much more than that. Weren’t you?”
“I’m still figuring it out…” I glance around, hoping no one is listening. “Lower your voice, man. Just…”
“Oh, you need to keep my sister a secret?” He’s pissed now. “She deserves better, and you of all people should know that.”
“Logan. Just…” I need him to calm down. “Look at me.”
He’s fuming, but clenches his jaw and braces within to listen to what I have to say.
“I should have told you. I should have told you the minute I saw her again and feelings came flooding in.”
His eyes widen. “How long have you been keeping this?”
“Not that long… too long, though.”
“Yeah. Lying by omission is fucked, Ash.”
“But—” My eyes dart up to a rookie who’s leaving and passes us, but thankfully he has earbuds in. “I didn’t tell you for a reason. I’m… the divorce news, and how Chloe is. You know it’s a problem, Lo.” I glance around again. This is far too public for a conversation like this. “I’m worried I’ll draw Jolie into unfair bad press and Chloe will… I thought if we lie low for a while longer…”
More teammates pour out, but they’re engrossed in conversation and don’t pay us more than a chin wag.
Logan speaks through his teeth. “Does Jolie know everything? Like, she knows whatIknow?”
“No… but…”
A sordid laugh escapes him, and his words are unhinged. “You’re such a dick…” He gazes at me with wild eyes. “You better fucking love her… I mean, like as in I better be your best fucking man in a year’s time, because this shit?” He pokes me in the chest. “Tell me you have a plan. I need to know how you’re going to deal with this mess.”
“I’m thinking about it.”
He throws his head back and stares at the ceiling like it understands him better than I do. When his gaze returns, he’s more centered but still full of warning. “I want to be happy for you two. Jolie has always cared about you, and you’re my best friend. I’m not one of these dumbasses who can’t see how cool that would be to be your brother. For my sister to be with a man I actually think the world of. But… I don’t trust Chloe if she hears about this. And my sister just came off a lot of years of, well, judging by what happened on the ice tonight, you know all about Larose.”
I clench my jaw.
Logan’s eyes chastise me. “You should have never caved to Chloe.”
“Yeah?” His words rile me up. “And what was the alternative? Tell her to go to hell and let my family unravel?”
He reaches a hand up the wall and drops his head, defeated.
“I’ll handle it,” I reassure him, even though I have no idea what to do… apart from waiting for Hurricane Chloe to blow over.
Logan’s jaw tics. “I’m sorry, man. This time I… for once in my fucking life I’m speechless.”
“Will you keep it to yourself?” My stomach is sour now with me knowing I’m getting closer to some sort of inevitability I didn’t plan enough for. I need more time to find a way out, to figure out the right thing to do.
His expression says I’m an idiot. “I’m not going to tell anyone.” He turns to leave and throws an exasperated hand in the air. “Figure it out.”
I watch my best friend walk away with a sinking feeling in my belly even worse than the sour taste on my tongue.
That night, I don’t tell Jolie that Logan knows. I let her fall asleep hugging me like a hero for pummeling Eric Larose.
I might be her hero. But when I finally drift off, I feel more like a traitor.
Chapter Eighteen
