Page 117 of Trade Deadline

I walk around the counter and give Nate a hug. “It’s All-Star week, but he’s gracing us with his presence here.”

Nate returns my hug, then turns to lean against the counter. “Where’s that hot twin brother of yours?”

“Elliot?” Blaine’s eyebrows go up slightly.

“Well, duh!” Nate rolls his eyes. “Unless you’ve got another twin brother you’re hiding from us?”

Blaine casts me a confused look, and I shrug. Nate has no filter, and whatever wild crush he’s got on Elliot isn’t something I’m going to get involved in.

“He’s in Cali with my parents for the week.”

Nate sighs. “Damn, that’s a real shame.”

Blaine’s forehead furrows; I can practically hear the cogs in his brain turning. “Yeah?”

“Anyway…” Nate looks at me with a wide smile on his face, blissfully unaware of the confused state he’s left Blaine in. “You haven’t been in the gym this week. I expect you to be there tomorrow or there’s going to be trouble!”

“Sorry, it’s been a little crazy recently.”

I’m not going to mention the exercise I’ve been doing with Blaine—the bedroom kind.

“I’ll take partial blame.” Blaine puts his arm around my shoulder, tucking me into his body. “I’ve been holding this one hostage whenever I can, and we’ve been… busy.”

Nate smirks and wiggles his brows, his mind clearly going to the gutter.

But I’m not going to correct him.

Because he’s exactly on the mark.

* * *

Over the next few days,Blaine becomes a permanent fixture in the shop. He either comes in with me in the morning and leaves just after lunch to head to the gym or comes after he’s been there already.

But today he’s spending the day with Boomer, as Colleen allowed him to take the puppy home for the day. He’s been blowing up my phone with endless photos, videos, and texts wishing he could have a dog of his own.

Not having him here today has been a blessing in disguise since one of our ovens has stopped working and we’ve just found out it’s out of warranty. It’s just another thing we’ll have to find the money for.

Trying to distract myself from it, I wipe down one of the tables and glance up at the sound of the bell jingling above the door, freezing when the last person I expected to see walks through the door.

“Ethan, hey.”

He gives me a small smile, his eyes searching the store. “Hey, Alex. How’s things?”

“Uh, good, thanks?” It comes out as a question. “Blaine’s not here today; he’s got Boomer for the day.”

“I’m not here to see Blaine, I’m here to see—” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as my brother appears from the kitchen, and a boyish smile appears on Ethan’s face.

Jacob’s eyes widen when he spots him, and then his cheeks flush slightly.

“Hello, Ethan,” he says shyly.

What the heck?

I’m so confused right now. How does Ethan even know Jacob? I’m pretty sure they’ve only met once when Ethan came for the team event, as Jacob doesn’t come to any of the games, and I don’t recall Ethan coming in here.

Ethan closes the distance to Jacob, cupping his elbow with his hand, and says something I can’t decipher.

“Is... everything okay?”

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