Chapter 2

Fraser

I stand outside Levi"s apartment, wondering how long it will take him to open the door. If I had a dollar for every time he"s kept me waiting while he gets ready, I"d be rich.

Well, richer.

But Evie"s in there with him. I spotted her car—a lemon-yellow Mini Cooper is pretty hard to miss—in the visitor parking lot. So I have no idea what"s keeping him.

I glance down at my hands and can"t help but grimace.

The flowers were a mistake.

But it"s too late to ditch them now.

So yeah, I"m going to be the guy who gets his best friend"s sister a bunch of yellow roses because when I saw them, I remembered they"re her favorite.

I"m an idiot.

I shuffle on my feet, regretting having said yes to Levi yesterday.

Not because I don"t want to help Evie out. I witnessed what that jerkface did to her eight months ago. Heck, the whole world saw it. So if Evie needs me by her side at his wedding, that"s where I"ll be.

Glaring.

Scowling.

And doing my best to suppress the instinct to punch him in his smarmy face for what he did to her, even though I"ve never done a violent thing in my life.

So my regret at having agreed to be her date has nothing to do with not wanting to help Evie.

It"s more complicated than that.

For the last seven years, I"ve had to keep two big secrets.

One about my family, the other about Evie.

The family secret will stay safe. There"s no way I"d ever let that slip.

But my Evie secret?

The one I"ve kept ever since senior year?

That one could totally blow up in my face.

Because even though Evie is my best friend"s younger sister.

Even though she has every right to be mad at me for how abruptly I left, without even saying goodbye or properly thanking her for the bracelet she made for me.

Even though she"s probably never once even considered me in any sort of romantic light at all.

I can"t say the same.

The truth is—the truth that no living soul in the world knows—I am truly, madly, deeply, head-over-skates in love with Evelyn Freeman. I have been since senior year.

I never acted on my feelings back then because, hello, she was a sophomore and way too young.

I had too much respect for her to ever try to take advantage of her in any way. I would never do that.

Not to mention Levi.

Nope. Evie was totally off-limits.

I always tried to keep some distance between us. It would have looked bad enough if I"d been caught sneaking into her bedroom late at night. The last thing I needed was for them to jump to the wrong conclusion.

The thing is, I only realized how deep my feelings for her were a week before my family"s world changed forever, and I got whisked away to a training camp, ending my close connection with Evie.

We"ve both moved on with our lives.

I made my way through juniors, to the AHL, to now playing in the major leagues, while Evie graduated high school, went to UCLA, and then returned to Comfort Bay, where she landed a reporting role on a local morning show two towns over.

For seven years, I"ve kept a lid on my emotions.

No one suspects a thing.

Not Evie.

Not Levi.

No one from our families.

Even the Comfort Bay Stick Our Noses into Everyone"s Lives committee remains blissfully unaware.

But now, with this one decision to accompany Evie to her ex"s wedding, I risk ruining everything.

Reining in my feelings is easier when I"m not here. When I"m not around her. When it"s not just the two of us. Alone.

She"ll be classic Evie—upbeat, witty, gorgeous—and I"m going to have to pretend like…like I"m immune.

Like she"s just my best friend"s little sister. Someone I used to know and spent some time with all those years ago.

How am I meant to do that when the truth is, no one I"ve met or dated since has even come close to making me feel the things she made me feel?

The door swings open, snapping me out of my thoughts. I plaster on a smile. "Hey, buddy."

"Fraser. My man."

I hug my best friend. "It"s good to see you. You"re looking well. Have you lost a few pounds?"

"LA passed an ordinance banning carbs, remember?" He smiles, then his eyes drift to the flowers. "Aw. You shouldn"t have."

I shake my head, chuckling. "They"re not for you, bozo."

"Really? I"m devastated. How will I ever get over it? Oh, wait. There. I"m over it. Come on in." He raises his voice, speaking louder than necessary. "Evie"s spying on us from the dining room."

My eyes flick over to the dining room, and I catch the tail end of her ponytail as she zooms out of the room.

By the time Levi and I reach the kitchen, Evie"s perched at the breakfast bar, scrolling through her phone. Which I"m pretty sure she"s holding the wrong way around, if the upside down cats on her phone case are anything to go by.

She looks up and smiles. "Oh, hey, Fraser."

"Hey, Evie."

She drops the phone and moves toward me.

Now, I can do a spin-o-rama on the ice, rotating three hundred and sixty degrees while maintaining control of the puck, but I cannot for the life of me get my feet to move right now.

So I stand frozen in place, my eyes raking over her as she approaches. She"s wearing her dad"s famous 81 jersey and looks like she always does—effortlessly beautiful. Minimal makeup, with just a faint rosy hue in her cheeks. Her wavy blonde hair is pulled into a ponytail. And she"s smiling that smile that makes my chest tingle.

A subtle floral scent hits my nose as she walks right up to me, lifts on her toes, and plants a small peck on my cheek. "It"s good to see you," she says, her voice sounding a little airier than I remember.

"It"s good to see you, too."

We stare at each other for a few beats.

Apart from occasionally running into each other after a home game, we don"t hang out together anymore. The hockey season sees me traveling for eight months of the year, and even though we both have places in Comfort Bay, most of the time, when Levi and I catch up, it"s in LA since we both have our reasons to avoid coming back here.

Unlike Evie.

She"s a small-town girl through and through. Even in high school, she always said she"d be back here after college.

When I left, I knew it"d be for good. I didn"t know where I"d end up settling down, I just knew it wouldn"t be here.

Seven years later, I still haven"t found a place I can truly call home.

She smiles at me.

I smile back.

Her gaze drops.

To the flowers.

Oh. Right. I forgot I was holding them.

I extend my arm. "I got these for you."

Levi bites back a grin and moves into the kitchen to check on dinner.

Evie takes the bouquet from me, her hazel eyes twinkling in delight. "Yellow roses. My favorite." She studies the bright petals for a moment, then brings them to her lightly freckled nose and inhales deeply. "Ah, I love this smell. They"re so beautiful."

I squash down the urge to say something stupid like, I remembered how much you like them and would always have them in your room, and instead go with, "I saw them and thought of you."

"That"s so sweet. Thank you."

She"s still smiling as she heads toward Levi. "Vase?"

"Second shelf on the right."

I pull out a stool from the breakfast bar and watch her as she finds a vase, fills it with water, and then arranges the flowers in it.

Okay. So far, so good.

Operation Keep Things Normal is on track.

She thinks the flowers are sweet. I"ve regained control of my legs. Levi"s staring at me.

Wait.

Whyis Levi staring at me?

Did he catch me gawking at his sister?

Okay. Maybe I"m not as stealthy as I think I am.

I shoot him a friendly smile and deflect by asking, "Whatcha making there, buddy?"

"Spicy shrimp linguine."

I groan. "How spicy?"

The Freemans have a thing for spicy food. And not just a little spicy. I"m talking melt your tongue, make your eyes cry rivers of tears spicy.

"You should be fine," Levi says, cocking his head. "Unless you"re a baby."

Another thing about the Freemans? They"re all super competitive.

"Says the guy who lost the chili dog eating contest at the Comfort Bay Fair four years ago," Evie says, her eyes gleaming.

See? Competitive.

Levi bristles. "You cheated."

"Did not. You devoured the hot dogs like a madman, tiring out way too early. I had a clear strategy in mind, eating steadily and methodically, focusing on maintaining a consistent pace rather than speed. The results speak for themselves."

I chuckle as it hits me how much I love their fast-talking banter.

I"ve got two older brothers and one younger sister. We"re all close, but I"m especially close with Dawn. She"s just as guarded as I am, though, so while we do open up to each other, we"re nothing like these two. When Levi and Evie get together, they generate enough energy to rival a wind farm during a tornado.

"So," Evie says, leaving a sulking Levi and plonking down on a stool next to me. "I"ve re-watched all your games from last season, and I have some notes."

"Of course you do." I drag a hand down the side of my face. "But take it easy on me. I"m still reeling."

Evie"s expression softens. "From the breakup?"

"Yeah," I say, mainly because it"s the right thing to say.

I don"t want to sound like a heartless jerk who wasn"t that upset when Tori broke things off with me. But we were incompatible. It wasn"t going to work. The writing had been on the wall for a while.

The real reason I"m reeling?

"There"s the breakup, but then that was followed by losing six consecutive games."

Talk about a bad run.

"The second half of the season was a trainwreck," Evie agrees. When she notices my pained expression, she throws in, "Sorry. Gentle. I"ll try."

She"ll try. She"ll end up failing.

Like always.

Outside of people actually involved in the game, she"s the most hockey-obsessed person I know. She puts the fan in fanatic.

She watches every single game of the season.

She drives three hours to all LA home games, which is essentially Comfort Bay"s home team since it"s the closest city with an NHL team.

And I know for a fact she still compiles a spreadsheet of team statistics, covering everything from shots on goal to power play opportunities to time of possession because as she starts talking, she pulls out her phone and opens up said spreadsheet, referring to it every so often.

After every game I play, she very kindly emails her notes for me to ponder.

It all comes from a good place, even if she sometimes gets carried away by it. She forgets that big dumb hockey players have feelings, too. But she"s a lot better these days than she used to be. She was harsh back in high school.

I wait until she"s done sharing her thoughts, including encouraging me to work on my shooting techniques in training because apparently my wrist shots have been letting me down. She"s actually right. That"s something I have been working on in the offseason.

"You know, I think you"ve missed your calling," I say.

"How so?"

"You"d be an amazing coach."

"I don"t think so."

"Why not? You"ve got expertise in the game. Great insights. Killer analysis."

"And you"re super bossy," Levi supplies. "An important quality in a coach."

I frown at Levi. "That"s not necessarily a bad thing," I say to him before turning to Evie and lowering my voice. "And you"re not really that bossy."

"Thanks." For a split second, she looks like she may be considering it before shaking her head. "No. No. That"s crazy. I"m not coaching material."

"Weren"t you tossing up between being a reporter and a teacher in high school?" I ask, the conversation we had lying on her bedroom floor, staring up at the ceiling, drifting back to me. "Being a coach isn"t that far off from teaching."

"I was also tossing up whether fanny packs should make a comeback." She smiles at me. "Which, for the record, they should not."

"Okay." I raise my hands. "I"m dropping it."

"Food"s up," Levi announces, and we make our way to the dinner table.

"This smells great," Evie says, taking a seat.

"And not too overpowering," I happily add.

"Thanks. Dig in, guys."

We fall into an easy conversation.

I haven"t seen Levi in over three months. He traveled with the band he manages on the European leg of their world tour, so he regales us with a few backstage stories.

"And how are your folks?" I ask.

Levi"s demeanor changes instantly. "I"m still a huge disappointment to Dad for not following in his footsteps and becoming you, basically."

"And I"m still a huge disappointment to Mom for not moving to Washington and taking up, what she calls, a real reportingcareer," Evie says from across the table.

"Right. Glad I brought that up. Let"s move on. How"s your work, Evie?"

Evie stops eating. "Fine. For the most part."

Levi and I exchange a look.

"What"s going on?" he asks.

She sighs. "Everything"s fine."

"Yes, because that was definitely a happy-sounding sigh," Levi presses. "Very common thing for people to do when communicating good news. Like, sigh, I won the lottery. Or, sigh, I landed my dream job. Or, sigh, I"d like to thank the academy for this awar—Ow."

A breadstick strikes the side of his face.

"Evie." I try to make my voice sound stern. "Please don"t throw food at your brother."

"But it shut him up."

I tap my chin. "Fair enough. Continue."

"Okay, okay, I"ll stop," Levi says, before Evie can peg anything else at him. He rubs his cheek. "But talk. Tell us what"s going on, Evie."

"It"s just…numbers."

I frown. "Numbers?"

"Yeah. My segments aren"t generating the kind of numbers the network expects."

Levi stops rubbing his cheek. "Why not?"

"Because bad news sells, and good news doesn"t," she replies despondently.

Evie is the good news reporter for KCFB"s morning show, The Morning Buzz, and she is easily the star of the show. In fact, if they don"t make her co-anchor soon, I plan on launching a complaint with the FCC for the network failing to give the viewers what we want.

"I really liked your piece on crafts with a cause," I say, twisting a strand of linguine around my fork. "It"s such a great way for the elderly to stay connected and do something fun and creative. And your story about the dog who survived a house fire and is now training to be a therapy dog for burn victims was really touching. Oh, and the one about that old lady who scrolls through social media looking for posts about independent restaurants that are struggling and then goes there, orders lunch, and posts rave reviews about it online. She"s so awesome. I wanted to reach into my screen and give her a high-five."

Evie"s eyes widen. "You…you watch The Morning Buzz?"

Only for you.

The words threaten to spill out of me, so I shove some shrimp into my mouth and reply with a nod.

"How do you watch?" Levi asks, raising an eyebrow. "You"re hardly ever in town."

"There"s this thing called a cell phone, and on it you can download these things called apps. And have you heard of this thing called streaming?"

He rolls his eyes.

I continue. "I downloaded the network app. That way I can watch"—Evie—"the show when I"m on the road."

"You"re more dedicated than I am."

I glance across the table. Evie"s eyes are brimming with an unspoken curiosity. Her cheeks seem a little redder, too.

Is it weird that I watch her show? Weirder than bringing her flowers, or about on par on the Fraser weird-o-meter?

I keep my mouth shut to avoid escalating the awkwardness already filling the room.

So of course, that"s the precise moment when Levi decides to step in with, "So, should we talk about my genius idea?"

Evie"s eyes dart between me and her brother, and yeah, her cheeks are definitely getting redder.

"Thanks for agreeing to take this one to her ex"s wedding," Levi says. "I owe you one, man."

Tightness bands around my chest.

I realize Levi"s just messing around and doesn"t mean anything by what he"s saying, but I don"t like the way he"s making it sound like I"m doing him a favor. Like it"s a chore. Or something I"m doing out of obligation.

It"s not any of those things.

There"s nothing I want more than to spend time with Evie.

Despite the danger.

I"ve deliberately avoided spending time with her alone all these years. Don"t I deserve just one day with her? A few measly hours when I can let my imagination run wild, and who knows? Maybe I"ll be able to shake her out of my system.

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, buddy.

"You don"t owe me anything," I clarify to him, then turn to look directly at Evie. "It"s an honor to escort you. Even if I am a little surprised you actually want to go in the first place."

Evie forces a smile. "I wouldn"t say I want to go, but it"s the right thing to do. Half of Comfort Bay is going to be there, and if I don"t show up, everyone will whisper in hushed tones about poor Breakup Sneeze Girl who got dumped on live TV and was so traumatized by it, she went into hiding, spiraled, and by the time she hit thirty, lived with at least that many cats named after members of eighties punk bands."

Levi chuckles, but I simply stare at Evie.

She"s trying to be brave about this, but I know it"s taken a toll on her. Levi told me she didn"t leave her apartment for a whole month after the story broke.

As someone who already has a very low opinion of the media, they managed to sink even lower in my estimation. Why is someone"s pain considered newsworthy? I"ll never understand that. Just like I don"t get why Evie"s segments aren"t more popular. They"re the best part of the show. What is wrong with people?

"No one"s going to think any less of you if you decide not to go," I say.

"But I need to go," she says, determination rising in her voice. "I don"t want to be Victim Evie anymore. I want to be Revenge Evie, who shows up at the wedding with a guy who"s ten times hotter than Bryce."

I can"t help but grin. "Ten times hotter, eh?"

"At least." Evie grins back. "Right, Levi?"

Levi gives me a once-over, then shrugs. "If you"re into wildly successful athletes with huge trust funds who"ve got that whole mysterious, broody vibe going on, then sure. I guess."

"Remind me again why we"re best friends?"

"Because I"m one of the very few people who can put up with you." Levi stands. "Seconds, anyone?"

"Not for me. I think I"ve reached my heat limit."

"Sure," Evie says. She hands him her plate, then smiles teasingly at me. "Because I"m not a baby."

Levi leaves, and then it"s just the two of us.

Alone.

Evie"s smile fades.

She leans in and lowers her voice. "Listen, thank you. For taking me. I really appreciate it. And sorry for Levi springing this on you. If it"s any consolation, he sprung it on me, too. On the upside, I"m no longer walking around with a stick in my hair."

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind." She blows out a heavy breath. "This whole situation is such a mess. I feel so stupid about it."

"You have nothing to feel stupid about."

I reach across the table and take her hand in mine. Her skin is so soft. I brush my thumb slowly, steadily, trying not to show any outward signs that indicate my heart is clanging wildly against my ribcage at this unexpectedly intimate moment.

Keep a lid on it, Rademacher.

"The only dumb person is jerkface for letting you go. What he did to you was cruel, Evie, and I am more than happy to do whatever you need me to do to get back at him."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. Feel free to use me in any way you see fit."

She perks right back up, pulling her hand out of my grip. "Can I pick what suit you wear?"

"Of course."

"Can I order you to break into his house and steal random stuff like the microwave turntable or one shoe from every pair of shoes he owns?"

"No."

"Okay. Forget the microwave turntable and the shoes. What if you break into his house…"

"No."

"Steal his beloved PlayStation…"

"Still no."

"Pawn it…"

"I know you can hear me."

"And use the money to sponsor a pig at the local petting zoo, which we"d name after him?"

I suppress a smile. "We are not doing any of that."

"You"re no fun." She pouts, but she"s trying not to smile, too.

I peer over into the kitchen. Levi"s almost done plating up seconds. I don"t have much alone-time left with her.

So I take Evie"s hand in mine again and say, "You are not defined by what that guy did to you, okay? We are going to that wedding, and you will show him and everyone else there that you are a brilliant, vibrant, beautiful woman who has moved on with her life."

Her hazel eyes meet mine, and I give her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Because I promise you this, Evelyn Freeman, I will do everything I can to be the best date you"ve ever had."