Page 72 of Staying Selfless

I swear I’m staring at a five-year-old blond version of Eli right now. I’m fairly certain that Ian will have no problem with the ladies in the future. Or gentlemen, whatever he prefers.

Eli gives me a pointed glance before his mouth gapes, and his eyes sparkle with faux betrayal while I take Ian’s hand instead of his.

Eli playfully shakes his head in disappointment as the three of us take off onto the ice. “Killing me, little man.”

“I like your hair.” Ian’s words to me are confident without a hint of his stutter.

I glance up to Eli, who is holding back the most adorable smile right now. He can’t help but laugh and shake his head, hearing his little protégé flirt with his girlfriend.

“Thank you. I like your hair too, Ian.”

“I...I...Maddison,” he says, reminding me that he likes to go by a different name ever since he met my boyfriend.

“Oh, right,” I laugh. “I like your hair too, Maddison.” Which makes Ian giggle uncontrollably for absolutely no reason.

The three of us do a few laps on the ice with Ian between my boyfriend and me. Ian’s got a hand in each of ours while we glide across the pond together. At one point, I catch Eli staring at me with a soft smile playing on his lips, but even when I notice him, he doesn’t look away. He just continues to stare with a sweet and contented expression on his face. I don’t know what’s going through his mind right now, but whatever it is, it’s making him happy and peaceful, and I’m so here for it.

Chapter 21

Eli

As soon as Logan and I walk into Trev and Stacey’s home, Ian runs at me full speed, bulldozing my legs. I don’t know why he’s so excited, I mean, I just saw him ten minutes ago, and I’ve been over to his house numerous times before. So, the only thing I can think of is that he’s happy my cute girlfriend with the pretty hair is here too.

“Ian, let Logan and Eli walk into the house, please,” Stacey calls out from the kitchen.

Little man doesn’t listen. Instead, he straps himself to my leg, holding on for dear life, as I walk through the entryway with him attached to me.

“Hey, guys!” Stacey comes out of the kitchen with outstretched arms.

“Hey, Stace.” I wrap her up in a hug. Now that she doesn’t have a pregnant belly in the way, I can give her a proper one. “You look great.”

“Eli, stop flirting with my wife!” Trev shouts with humor from down the hall.

“Don’t listen to him,” Stacey says. “I’m three weeks postpartum, I need all the flirting I can get. Happy birthday.”

“Logan.” Stacey’s smile is bright, arms outstretched. “Thank you for coming.”

“Thank you for having us. Your home is beautiful.”

“Thank you. We love it. It’s Trev’s childhood home, actually.”

Before Logan can respond, Ian interrupts.

“You want to sss...see my room?” he asks my girl, big blue eyes wide with hope.

“Of course I do.” Logan reaches her hand out for his. “You lead the way.”

Ian takes her down the hall to check out his room, which he’s shown me every time I’ve come over. However, there is someone more exciting than me here today. Before Logan is out of sight, she looks back and shoots me a sweet smile over her shoulder.

“Trev is changing Seth real quick, then they’ll be out.”

I follow Stacey to their kitchen, finding their island covered with bowls of chips and salsa, veggies and dip, and anything else you’d want to snack on, ready for us to consume.

“I can’t wait to meet him.” I take a seat on a stool at their island as Stacey rounds the partition, standing opposite of me. “How are you feeling?”

“Ehh.” She tosses a chip in her mouth. “I guess as good as one could feel three weeks after pushing a human out of your body. How are you feeling? Trev said you stopped by the coffee shop over Christmas break, and you weren’t doing too great.”

“Yeah, that was a rough few weeks.” I shake my head, trying to erase the memory. “But that actually didn’t have anything to do with hockey. Logan had been going through some family stuff, and I was partly feeling for her and partly feeling sorry for myself. But things are much better now.”

---