Page 250 of Sin Bin

He laughed. “I’ll never live that down, will I?”

“Nope. Never.”

He tweaked her nose, then couldn’t resist leaning down and brushing his lips over hers. This time Cam made gagging noises to show his disgust.

Logan and Meadow smiled into each other’s eyes, breath mingling warmly.

“We’ll finish this later,” she whispered.

“Absolutely,” he agreed before grinning down at Cam. “Ready, champ?”

Cam beamed. “Ready!”

As they left the house, Meadow told Logan, “We have to transfer Cam’s booster seat to your truck.”

“No problem.”

When she unlocked her aunt’s car, Logan unstrapped the booster seat and transferred it to the second row of his crew cab truck. He secured the seat so quickly and effortlessly that Meadow couldn’t help feeling impressed.

He caught her admiring gaze and grinned. “I’ve had some practice. Santino and Roxanne have a bunch of nieces and nephews.”

“Ah.” Meadow smiled, watching as he lifted Cam into the seat and strapped him in. It made her feel all swoony to see Cam handled so gently and protectively by this big, tough hockey player. When he swooped her up and put her in the passenger seat, she melted right into the leather.

On the way to the ice rink, Logan gave Cam some pointers. “When you get out there on the ice, make sure you listen to the coach and know the drill he’s asking you to do. You don’t wanna be that kid who doesn’t have a clue what’s going on. Don’t stand around, and don’t be the last in line. You don’t always have to be first, but you definitely shouldn’t be last. Remember to pass hard, shoot hard and skate hard. And if you screw up, don’t slam your stick. The coaches are paying close attention, and everything you do matters.”

Meadow shook her head wonderingly at Logan. “How can he possibly remember all that?”

“He will,” Logan said confidently.

She glanced in the backseat. Cam was listening intently, hanging on Logan’s every word.

Logan met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “Above all else, kiddo, just do your best and have fun. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing. Feel me?”

“Yeah!” Cam whooped.

Logan grinned broadly at Meadow. She grinned back.

When they got to the ice rink, Logan lifted Cam out of the booster seat and grabbed his gear bag. As the three of them walked toward the entrance together, it was impossible not to feel like a little family, impossible not to wonder what it would be like.

When they entered the building, Meadow was surprised at how many people had showed up for tryouts. There were throngs of parents and children toting equipment bags and hockey sticks, their eyes shining with dreams of hockey stardom.

One of Cameron’s friends spotted him and waved enthusiastically. “Hey, Cam, you’re—” He broke off, his jaw dropping as he gaped behind Cam. “No freaking way! It’s Logan Brassard!”

Every head whipped around, eyes widening in shock. A wave of excited gasps, squeals and exclamations could be heard.

Oh puck, Meadow thought.

A split second later, pandemonium erupted as a herd of children and adults stampeded toward them.

Meadow pulled Cam out of the way just as the crowd mobbed Logan, swarming him on all sides and clamoring for his autograph. The starry-eyed kids babbled excitedly about how awesome he was. The dads wanted to talk playoffs. The moms wanted to flirt and take selfies with him. Even the coaches and instructors made their way over, grinning like starstruck idiots.

Logan took it all in stride, smiling warmly as he shook hands, returned hugs and signed everything from jerseys to hockey sticks.

While he was busy with his adoring fans, Meadow and Cam headed to the registration station to get him signed in. After he was given a numbered vest to wear over his hockey jersey, Meadow steered him to a bench so she could help him put his skates on. They were already partly laced up, but she found herself struggling to finish the job, grunting as she pulled and tugged at the laces.

“You’re doing it wrong, Meadow,” Cam whined.

“No, I’m not.” She totally was.

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