Page 148 of Sin Bin

“For God’s sake, Santino! I’m not banishing you from his life! Just because I want him to live with me doesn’t mean you should disappear. I’d fully expect you to maintain an active role—”

“An active role?” Santino fired off a string of rapid Spanish that was cut short by the sound of a loud smack.

“Shut your mouth!” Roxanne raged at him. “How dare you? It’s your fault I’m leaving!”

Santino banged his fist on the counter. “The boy stays with me, and I won’t hear another word about it!”

Logan had crept back to his room, crawled under the covers and curled into a tight ball, heartbroken at the thought of saying goodbye to another woman he loved.

But Roxanne hadn’t deserted him. After the divorce, she’d still attended his hockey games, waving homemade signs and cheering her head off every time he scored a goal. She’d kept him every other weekend unless he had a tournament out of town. She’d made his favorite dishes, rented his favorite movies and snuck him gifts the day after his birthday. She’d cried when he moved to Canada to play junior hockey at sixteen. And when he graduated from high school just days after her emergency appendectomy, she’d defied her doctor’s orders and traveled to Toronto so she could watch him walk across the stage, whooping and cheering loud enough to nearly rupture her stitches.

“Logan?” The sound of Roxanne’s voice pulled him out of his reverie.

He gave her a crooked smile. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

She smiled. “I was just saying how excited I am about tomorrow’s game. We’ll be rooting you on—”

“Speak for yourself,” Cynara interjected from across the room. “I won’t be at the game.”

“But it’s the last game of the regular season,” Roxanne protested. “And it’ll be Logan’s birthday.”

“Sorry. I have other plans.”

Roxanne gave Logan an apologetic look.

He chuckled. “No worries. Having you there will be more than enough.”

“Don’t forget my family and friends are coming, too,” she reminded him. “It was very kind of you to rent a suite for us, but you really didn’t have to. We would have been perfectly fine sitting in the stands.”

“I know, but it was hard getting good seats together for such a large group.” Logan smiled. “Everyone will enjoy the suite. The view is nice and you’ll get VIP service.”

Roxanne gave him a loving smile. “Congratulations again on winning your division last night. I’m so proud of you boys.”

“Thank you.” Logan chuckled. “It really came down to the wire.”

“But you came out on top, and that’s all that matters.” Roxanne held up her glass for a celebratory toast. “To going the distance and winning the Stanley Cup.”

Logan grinned. “I’ll definitely drink to that.”

They enthusiastically clinked glasses and laughed, then swigged their wine.

Cynara rolled her eyes at them before turning away to resume her murmured conversation.

Roxanne patted Logan’s knee. “I was so glad when we got an expansion hockey team in Vegas. Now that you play here at least once a year, it gives me another chance to see you.” Her voice softened. “At the same time, I know how hard it is for you to come home.”

“It is,” Logan admitted, lowering his eyes to his glass. “But it’s been…easier this time. Better.”

“Really?” Roxanne looked hopeful. “You mean that?”

He nodded.

“Oh, baby, I’m so happy to hear that.” Roxanne gave him a warm, twinkling smile. “Any particular reason for the change?”

The memory of waking up with Jupiter had him smiling from the inside out. He wasn’t a big fan of baring his soul and talking about his feelings. But he found himself wanting to confide in Roxanne. He knew she’d be thrilled at the prospect of him being in a relationship for the first time, and hearing a woman’s perspective might be really useful to him for future reference. But he didn’t want Cynara to overhear the conversation and start ragging on him.

So he leaned toward Roxanne and murmured, “We can talk later.”

A delighted gleam lit her eyes. “You mean you have something to tell me?”

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