Page 132 of The Fake Out Flex

"I thought you'd forgotten all about that."

His eyebrows knit together. "How could I forget about it? I still wear it."

My eyes fall to his wrists. "Has it…turned invisible?"

He grins. "I wear it when I play. It's my lucky charm. I couldn't imagine being on the rink without it."

"Are you for real right now?"

"A hundred percent. Ask Culver. Ask anyone on the team. I kiss it three times before and after each game. It's a known thing."

"Wow."

"You say that a lot around me."

"That's because you're a wow kind of guy."

Fraser's cheeks turn a shade of pink.

I can't believe he's kept the bracelet all these years. I for sure thought he'd discarded it and hadn't given it so much as a second through.

But he wears it on the ice.

At every game.

Kisses it three times.

That's…That's…That's very wow.

He lets go of my hands but keeps his eyes squarely aimed at me. "I'm genuinely sorry for leaving so abruptly. It wasn't my choice, and if I could do it again, I'd defy my parents and sneak out anyway. But I was in a state of shock, and then Dawn…"

We turn our heads to her at the same time.

"I spent all night with her. I'd never seen her so scared. I felt like I'd let her down. I'm her big brother, and I didn't protect her. Which, I know now—and because she's hammered it into me a million times—is silly. There's nothing I could have really done. But that night, as I watched her cry and worry and deal with an uncertain and daunting future, I needed to be with her."

"Of course. It makes total sense that you stayed with her." I split my focus between Fraser, Dawn, and Oakey, processing it all. "It also explains your aversion to the media or any type of press."

"But not everyone from the press," he points out with a cute grin.

"I'm glad you could make an exception. There is one thing that doesn't fit the pieces of the puzzle I'm trying to put together in my mind."

"What's that?"

"Clayton."

"Ah, my publicity-hungry, limelight-loving brother."

"That's the one. If your family wanted privacy, how does that explain what he's been doing all these years? The guy has been on practically every single reality TV show here and in the UK. He even did that one in Australia where he got deported, didn't he?"

"Almost got deported. Dad pulled some strings." Fraser leans back onto the bench. "As you can imagine, Clay was devastated about the show ending. After the first season aired, he became a bit of a pinup boy. The ultimate teenage girl bad-boy crush. After that night, he went traveling for a few months. When he came back, he received an offer."

"What sort of offer?"

"Celebrity Dancing on Ice with Dogs."

A small giggle escapes me. "I still can't believe that's a real show."

"I know. It's ridiculous. Initially, we were all dead-set against it. But the timing of it coincided with Dawn giving birth, so we thought it'd be a good distraction. Keep the media from snooping around us by offering Clay as very willing bait to soak up the limelight. And of course, Clayton being Clayton, he proved to be exceptional bait."

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