Page 314 of Sin Bin

Logan looked over her head, his eyes growing shuttered and his face hardening. His reaction told her who had walked through the door even before Ephraim came up beside her, standing possessively close.

“Hey, Logan,” he said cheerfully. “How’s it going?”

Logan inclined his head. “It’s going.”

“It’s going rather well, from what I hear,” Ephraim said. “I don’t follow hockey, but it’s impossible to escape all the buzz in this town. I hear you guys are roaring your way through the playoffs. Congratulations.”

“Congratulations to you,” Logan murmured.

Ephraim raised an eyebrow. “On what?”

Logan’s eyes shifted to Meadow and lingered. “Congratulations on getting the girl.”

Her heart squeezed painfully.

Ephraim looked surprised, then pleased. It was as if he’d been waiting all his life to hear those words.

Meadow shook her head at Logan. “It’s not—”

“Enjoy your dinner. I recommend the rabo encendido.” With a cool nod, Logan brushed past them and walked out the door.

Meadow watched him go, her heart in her throat. It wasn’t lost on her that oxtail stew was his least favorite dish on the menu.

“Well. That was interesting.” Ephraim had a smug grin on his face. “Am I to assume things didn’t work out between you and Brassard?”

Her spine stiffened. “That would be correct.”

His eyes flashed with triumph. “I hate to say I told—”

“Would you excuse me a minute?” She turned and hurried outside in time to see Logan’s truck backing out of a parking space.

Her heart plummeted when she saw that he wasn’t alone. There was a woman sitting beside him in the front seat. She was wearing a Rebels baseball cap pulled low over her face, partially obscuring her features. She sat with her knee pulled up to her chest, a relaxed pose that suggested a comfortable familiarity between her and Logan.

It was too dark to make out much more than that. But Meadow had seen enough.

Barely a week after they broke up, Logan had already moved on. It was a crushing realization. Devastating.

As she stood there staring after his truck, hot tears burned her eyes. All she wanted to do was go home, crawl into bed and curl into a fetal ball. But it wouldn’t be fair to ditch Ephraim after he’d changed his plans to have dinner with her.

So she wiped her tears away, took a steadying breath and went back inside the restaurant.

Ephraim had found a small table in the corner. He shot her a disapproving look as she took a seat across from him.

“Running after a man who dumped you? Not a good look.”

Her hackles went up. “You know what—”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, instantly contrite. “That was uncalled for.”

“Damn right it was,” she snapped. “You don’t know me, Ephraim. Don’t presume to lecture me on matters that are none of your business. And for the record, I didn’t get dumped. So get your facts straight before you open your mouth.”

His lips tightened at the sharp rebuke.

A brittle silence fell between them until the waitress showed up to take their order. Meadow had no appetite, so she ordered the lightest thing on the menu.

After the waitress left, Ephraim snatched off his glasses and rubbed his eyes in frustration. “I feel like we keep getting off on the wrong foot—”

“Maybe because you keep inserting that foot in your mouth,” Meadow said acidly.

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