Page 16 of The Love Trick

“Shut up,” I snap, rolling my eyes. It’s not the first time that someone has tried to say that Addy and I should be together. It comes with the territory of being best friends, especially given that neither of us has ever had a long-term or serious relationship.

“You run off every single one of her boyfriends,” Dylan adds, grating my nerves even further. He’s on a roll today, and I’m not enjoying it.

“I don’t.”

“You do. Come on, none of the guys she’s dated have lasted more than what? A few months? And can you blame them? I mean, whowouldn’tbe threatened by you? You’re a rough and tough self-made hockey player. And you don’t even date because of her.”

“What do you mean, because of her?” I demand, once again growing defensive.

“Oh, come on.” Dylan shakes his head and walks past me. “It’s not hard to see that you’resofocused on her that you can’t focus on anyone else. But also,no, Addy isn’t the one stuck in my head. She’s cute, though—just not my type.”

“Good to know,” I mutter under my breath as I enter the locker room behind Dylan. “I was worried I might have to punch you in the face.”

He bursts into laughter. “Exactly my point.”

“About what?” Kade pops out from the showers, dressed in a pair of sweats with no shirt, towel-drying his hair. “What could Dylan possibly be making a good point about?”

“The fact that Blaze doesn’t date anyone because of Addy,” Dylan answers before I can.

Kade shrugs. “Oh, yeah, duh.”

My jaw drops. “What? That’s not true.”

“Yeah, yeah cause she’s your family or whatever.” Dylan waves me off.

Kade tilts his head, the droplets of water dripping from his hair glistening across his olive skin. “So, you look at her like a sister?”

I hesitate. “No.”

Dylan chuckles. “That’s what I thought. See? You have the hots for her.”

“Addy’s been around forever,” I huff. “Why are you so fixated on this all of the sudden?”

“Because you literally dropped everything at the gym the other day just to go to her house and get her a fresh pair of clothes,” Dylan retorts. “Who does that?”

“A husband,” Kade answers, shooting me a wicked grin. “That’s who does it.”

“No way,” I object.I mean … maybe thatiswhat husbands do… But I wouldn’t know, I’ve never had that kind of insight into a marriage.“She needed to change. I was just being a good friend.”

“Uh-huh.” Kade laughs. “It’s all good if you like her, too. She’s awesome.”

I roll my eyes. “I’ve never looked at her like that.”

Well, that’s a lie.

She was all I thought about in college. But … I buried those feelings a long time ago. And I’m not about to bring up that fact right now.

“Yeah, right,” Dylan huffs, peeling his shirt over the top of his head. “But I guess I’ll let it go. It’s not like you’re gonnadoanything about it anytime soon.”

I ignore the comment.

“Just leave him alone,” Kade says as I gather up my gym bag, choosing to shower at home instead of here.

“Dude, I was just giving him a hard time.” Dylan holds up his hands in surrender.

“It’s just typical Dylan antics.” I wave him off.

“Are you coming with us to Florida next weekend?” Kade changes the subject, his eyes on me. “I figured since Addy will be at her sister’s wedding, you could use some bro time.”

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