Page 191 of Sin Bin

“Very.” Priya looked ready to swoon. “I bet he smells good, too. He looks like he smells good.”

“He smells incredible,” Meadow confirmed with a smile. “And, yes, he is an amazing kisser.”

Priya and Cassidy squealed.

Meadow chuckled, sipping her latte. She’d just met these women, and though she felt a strong nerd girl kinship with them, she wasn’t about to share too many personal details about her relationship with Logan.

Cassidy leaned forward intently. “How long have you guys been together?”

“Not long.” Meadow hesitated. “But we’ve known each other for years.”

Cassidy beamed. “No wonder you guys look inseparable in the pictures!”

“Pictures?” Meadow tried to sound casual. “What pictures?”

Cassidy and Priya stared at her, their eyes wide with disbelief. “You haven’t seen them?”

She shook her head.

“How is that possible?” Priya exclaimed. “You guys are all over the gossip blogs!”

Meadow swallowed sickly. Hadn’t Wendi mentioned something about pictures in a society column?

“I haven’t seen them,” she said weakly.

Cassidy whipped out her phone and pulled up a website. “Here. See for yourself.” She passed her phone to Meadow.

She took one look at the screen and felt her heart plummet to the pit of her stomach. The blog headline dramatically declared: Who’s That Girl? Logan Brassard’s Mystery “Meadow” Finally Revealed!

Seeing her name plastered across the headline was shocking enough. But that wasn’t even the worst of it. No, what was even more alarming were the pictures of her and Logan in Vegas. There they were at the glitzy party, entering the ballroom together and later sharing a quiet laugh. Another photo showed her playfully jumping on his back as they left the racetrack with their friends. Someone had even snapped a picture of them kissing in the garden at the hotel.

“Don’t read the comments,” Cassidy advised. “Puck bunnies can be vicious.”

Meadow didn’t care about the catty insults of jealous strangers. What had her completely rattled were the pictures themselves. The last thing she wanted or needed was for her picture to be trending on social media sites. The thought terrified her.

She must have looked downright panicked because Cassidy and Priya exchanged worried glances.

“Don’t let the pictures get to you,” Priya tried to console her. “It comes with the territory when you’re dating a famous athlete.”

“Exactly,” Cassidy said in a gently pragmatic tone. “As long as you and Logan are a couple, nosy people are going to take pictures. He’s gorgeous and rich, and you guys look really happy together. If all you have to worry about is being stalked by paparazzi, I’d say that’s a damn good tradeoff.”

Meadow frowned as her mind flashed to an image of the old house in Vegas. She remembered the gloom that clung to it. Remembered the lingering sense of menace she’d felt.

She knew there was only one way to keep herself out of the public eye, to stop the pictures and silence the unrelenting chatter of social media.

There was only one way to keep the past from catching up to her.

Chapter Twenty-Five

MEADOW

After work she drove to the practice arena to see Logan. She’d made an impossible decision about their relationship, driven by a need for self-preservation. She dreaded sharing her decision with him. But it had to be done.

When she arrived at the arena, there were several cars in the parking lot. She parked near the entrance and took a few moments to pray for strength. Then she headed into the building and made her way to the ice, following the sounds of rock music and raucous male laughter.

About a dozen players were on the ice practicing before empty stands. The moment Meadow picked out Logan’s jersey number, she felt her stomach tighten with nerves. She took a deep breath and forced herself to walk down to the boards on wobbly legs.

The players were running through some sort of drill, rapidly zigzagging between the markers as they stickhandled the puck before shooting on goal.

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