Page 41 of Sin Bin

Their oversized booth was in the back by a large window. They always sat in the same spots—Logan and Reid on one side of the table, Hunter and Viggo on the other.

As soon as they were seated, Dionne brought them glasses of water. She was a voluptuous honey-toned beauty with braids down to her ass. She always flirted with them, but it didn’t mean anything because she only dated women. Damn shame.

She’d been their waitress for as long as they’d been coming to the diner. She never had to write down what they wanted because they always ordered the same things. Hockey players were creatures of habit.

“Hey, fellas.” Dionne gave them a knowing smile. “The usual?”

They grinned. “You know it.”

She laughed and winked. “Coming right up.”

As soon as she sashayed off, Hunter started grilling Logan.

“So what’s the story with Meadow?”

“Yeah,” Reid and Viggo chimed in. “Where’ve you been hiding her?”

“I haven’t,” Logan said, toying with the paper wrapper on his straw. “Like I already told you guys, we met at a group home when we were kids. We were there together for five months before she got adopted. I haven’t seen her in fifteen years.”

“Wow,” Viggo marveled. “That’s a long time.”

“I know.” Logan shook his head. “Seeing her yesterday shocked the hell out of me.”

“No doubt. I mean, what are the odds of her showing up out of the clear blue at one of our games?” Hunter’s eyes twinkled. “Nothing happens by chance.”

Logan thought the same thing, but he wasn’t about to admit it.

Viggo was grinning broadly. “Remember the convo we had that time in the weight room when Reid was moping over Nadia? Remember Logan casually asking why black women aren’t into hockey?”

Hunter and Reid started grinning.

“As I recall,” Hunter said humorously, “he got real defensive when you suggested he was secretly pining after his first crush.”

“He sure did.” Grin widening, Viggo pinned Logan with a gotcha look. “Is Meadow the one you’ve been hoping to see in the stands? Is she the one that got away?”

Logan felt his ears redden. “Fuck off.”

Raucous laughter erupted around the table.

Shaking his head, Logan ripped the paper off his straw, plunged it into his glass and took a long gulp of water.

“Well, well, well,” Reid drawled, slapping him on the back. “Just when we thought we’d have to hire a private investigator to track down your first crush.”

“What the hell’re you talking about?” Logan grumbled. “Jupiter wasn’t my first crush. We barely—”

“Wait a minute. The pendant in your truck…the one that’s shaped like the planet Jupiter…” Viggo’s gray eyes gleamed with sudden comprehension. “She gave that to you, didn’t she?”

Logan hesitated, then nodded.

A slow smile stretched across Viggo’s face. “All this time I thought you were keeping that old thing for good luck. But there’s more to it than that. It holds sentimental value because it came from Meadow.”

Logan shrugged, bouncing his right leg under the table. Hunter and Reid grinned at him.

At that moment, Dionne arrived with their meals. He could have kissed her for her perfect timing.

Unfortunately, the reprieve was only temporary.

As everyone dug into their food, Hunter resumed the conversation—which was really more of an interrogation. “When is Meadow’s job interview?”

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