Page 78 of The Spice Play

But then she came through the doors.

The same woman, in her loose-fitting jeans and her Atlanta Fire hoodie, her auburn hair shining beneath the overhead lights. She sat down on the opposite side of the rink, one row up from us, her feet up and resting on the back of a set of bleachers as she watched the boys skate.

Anytime I’d caught Morris, he’d always been defensive before I could even get a word out. That was myonlypoint of contention here — Seb hadn’t seemed phased in the slightest other than his eyes going wide for a moment, and that could have been just because I was in the back area alone. It could have been because I’d surprised him. But none of that explained what I’d heard, and none of it explained why he’d left the room half-naked with his jeans unbuttoned.

But the moment Coach called for a ten-minute break to let the Zamboni on the ice, my worries were only amplified.

Instead of skating straight to us, Seb hopped off the ice, put his guards on his skates, and leaned against the boards on the opposite side of the rink. He spoke toher.

Even from here, I could see him laughing, could see the way his lips tilted up as they talked. Matty wasn’t phased in the slightest — he was far too interested in watching the man on the back of the Zamboni control it.

“Maybethat’swhat I wanna be when I grow up,” Matty said, his eyes wide with wonder and glued on the machine.

“You want to be a Zamboni driver?”

Luke’s voice cut through the faint noise of the Zamboni as he slunk off the ice at our exit. Matty’s smile doubled, and he nodded ferociously.

“Dream big, kid, you can do it,” Luke laughed. His gaze moved to me briefly, and I looked away, watching as the woman laughed at something Seb said before sitting forward in her seat. “You’re not hiding it very well, Nelly.”

I shot him a glare. “You know?”

“I figured it out a little while ago,” he chuckled. “Don’t worry, the secret’s safe with me. But you’ll give it away yourself if you keep looking at him like that.”

“At who?” Matty asked, and I moved all of my attentionaway from his father on the off chance he picked up on it. “What aren’t you hiding? I’m confused.”

Luke reached forward, ruffling Matty’s hair as he laughed. “Don’t worry about it, squirt.”

“Ahh, the nanny’s back?”

For fuck’s sake.

I didn’t bother to turn my head. I knew that voice, and I didn’t want to deal with it, especially not in front of Matty.

“Piss off, Addaway,” Luke grunted, covering Matty’s ears. I almost thanked him for thinking ahead like that. “Why don’t you go annoy Seb if you want to be combative?”

Bryan stepped into my line of sight, balancing on his guarded blades as he leaned back against the boards in front of me. “Who said I wanted to be combative?” he asked, one sandy-brown brow lifting in curiosity as he looked me up and down.Ugh.“Besides, Blue’s far too preoccupied with Zoe.”

I must not have hidden my irritation withthatin particular based on the way Bryan reacted.

He chuckled, a sneaky little smirk tipping his lips up. “Aww, is that getting under your skin?” Bryan mused, his head tilting to one side like a puppy. “Blue can’t bethatgood of a lay that you’re getting possessive already, surely.”

Beside me, Matty pawed at Luke’s hands, trying to push them off his ears. But Luke held them fully in place. “Can you for one second stop being antagonizing?” Luke spat, glaring at Bryan over his shoulder. “Surely you know how to be nice.”

I glanced at the boards on the opposite side of the ice, watching as Seb laughed out again. He was too engrossed in whatever the fuck was going on between him andZoeto pay a single bit of attention to what was happening here.

“Of course I do,” Bryan quipped, dragging his gaze backto me. Mischief danced in his eyes as he stared at me, too hard, too intensely. “Maybe Nelly here should get on her knees for me. I’d be more than happy to show her just howniceI can be.”

“What iswrongwith you?” I snapped. “Surely your rivalry with Seb hasn’t messed with you so badly that you’d go after his sloppy seconds.”

Luke’s mouth popped open as his eyes went wide. “Christ, girl.”

“I should just take Matty home,” I grumbled, pushing up and out of my seat. I grabbed my bag from beside me, turning away from Bryan’s surprised expression, and picked up Matty’s abandoned backpack, too. If all I was going to be doing here was feeling like shit watching Seb flirt with that woman he’d come out of a room half-naked with and fielding Bryan’s bullshit, then it wasn’t worth it, even if it upset Matty to have to go.

He looked up at me, his ears still covered but his big blue eyes wide with confusion. “Are we leaving?”

I nodded, and Luke hesitantly uncovered his ears. “Yeah, bud.”

His lower lip jutted out, and just as I was about to lean forward and comfort him, Luke’s turning head made alarm bells go off in my head.

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