Page 64 of Ice Dance Hockey

I’m embraced in a hug and I can feel all of her toned muscles contract. She smells like a summer day. She hugs Rhett next and if she thinks I’m heading to the deck alone, she’s wrong.

“My boy. How’s practice?”

“I’m stronger than ever, Mother.” He kisses her cheek like the doting son he is. He has to bend down to do it—he towers over his mother. It’s just a tad endearing.

“Good, good. Please take a drink on your way. I’ll be out there in a moment.”

I recapture the hand of Rhett’s that I’d lost when we greeted his mother, and he leads me through the kitchen to the deck. We each take a glass of white wine from a tray on the counter and step out to a panoramic view of the south shore of English Bay and the majestic North Shore mountains.

I’m scared to ask Rhett how much this place costs.

At a long table are people who are definitely related to Rhett. He’s the carbon copy of his father, whose skin is so perfect and youthful, he could easily be an older brother. His younger brother has lighter brown hair, but their features are the same—all the men seem to have that ice-cut jawline—and are tall as Vikings. Angelique is a medium height with more muscle thickness than her mother, I assume from all the hockey, and she’s blonde. Her roots say it’s not her natural color.

Rhett’s father greets Rhett first with an affectionate hug. “Well, let’s meet the new man, son.”

Huh. He’s not as villainous-seeming as I would have pictured—he’s not twirling a mustache—but he’s a mayor. They know how to work a crowd and make you think they’re pleasant human beings. This is the guy who’s been sabotaging Jack.

“Sir, this is Logan Wescott. Ice dancer extraordinaire.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Elkington,” I say, doing my best to be polite.

“You can call me Maxwell,” he says, shaking my hand firmly. “Have a seat. We were just trying to decide when we’d be going back to Maui. Angelique and Richard want to come. We’re thinking family trip. I’ll put the date options into the calendar, and we can vote. You’d come to Maui, wouldn’t you, Logan?”

Invited to Maui during the hello? Is that a test? Is he trying to gauge how serious I am about Rhett? “Sounds like fun, sir. I’d be honored to attend. I just have to run it by my older brother.”

“Is he your guardian? I thought you were an adult?”

“Not my guardian, I am an adult. I still have family obligations.” It’s something I’m proud of and he can go fuck himself if there’s a problem with that.

“A family man. Got it. Do you want kids, Logan?”

“Let the poor guy sit down, Maxwell,” Jane says. “Let him drink his wine before he has to put up with the likes of you. Has he even met Rich and Angelique?”

“Sorry. My manners have fled the building. Rhett hasn’t brought home a boy since your brother-in-law.”

Is that his way of bringing up Jack, or a dig at me? Fuck it. Either way, it needs to be shut down or I’m not going to last the hour. It’s been full-on since we walked in the door. How does Rhett do this all the time?

“Yes, Jack’s my brother-in-law, Maxwell. Might as well get that out of the way. Do I lose points for being slightly taboo?”

Maxwell glances at Rhett with raised brows that say,is he for real?

Rhett smiles with pride. “There’s a reason I call him, scorpion, Father.” Rhett idly rubs the place I bit him or maybestunghim is more accurate. It’s covered by the sleeve of his shirt so only Rhett and I know what’s there.

“I see that. What do you think about politics, Logan?”

“I do have an opinion, but I think it’s terrible dinner conversation since people seldom agree—even when they support the same party—and in my experience, it always devolves into a battle of egos.”

He blinks, twisting his lips. “Touché. All right, this one’s not a pushover, folks.” Which probably doesn’t bode well for me. Maxwell would probably prefer someone easygoing for his son.

Someone like Jack.

Pride shines in Rhett’s hazel eyes. For some reason, he thinks this is off to a great start. I know it’s a disaster, but I can’t find it in me to care anymore. I know what Maxwell’s doing. It’s happened to me enough to know. He’s prodding at me with an agenda.

Rich is one of those “super hot and he knows it” types like Rhett, so I hate him on sight. Angelique’s quiet, but I feel her sizing me up, deciding whether I can handle being in this family. You’ve got to be sharp.

“I wanted to find a boyfriend of my own tonight. Meeting Rhett’s is about the last thing I want to do. Can we get on with it?” Richard says.

“Don’t be rude, Richard,” Maxwell says.

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