Heart and Snow (Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey) Read Free Page B

behind.
    “No,” he conceded. “But do you really think they’ll be okay with a man on their team that can be sexually attracted to them?”
    “Why wouldn’t they? What about Leo?”
    “Leo’s different. He’s off the market.”
    “So you won’t even try?”
    Gavin gripped the arms of the chair. He wanted nothing more than to tell Misha how he felt, how he wanted to touch him, kiss him. But Misha didn’t swing that way, and he knew better than to try to force the issue.
    “You’re close with Leo, aren’t you?”
    His head shot up. “What? That was one night and it was years ago.”
    “Okay, I’ll take that as a yes. Not what I meant, however.” She smiled at him, threading her fingers together. “He’s had to deal with a lot of backlash for his relationship with Garrett and Brianna. He’s open with it now, but it took him more than a year to say anything to anyone. If anyone understands what you’re feeling, it would be Leo.”
    That almost made sense. The situation so far had turned out okay for Leo, but really, conservative Texas was no place to openly have an alternative lifestyle. Fort Glasgow was a little better than most cities. But talking to his old fling about his new crush? That would just be weird.
    “Why do you always want me to talk to people, Val?” He smirked. “Talking doesn’t solve everything.”
    Val grinned, two rows of white teeth gleaming. She stacked the paper on her desk, and placed them to the side. “Talking is good for the soul. And you don’t ever talk to anyone, Gavin.”
    “I talk to you.”
    “You make the words. But they’re surface words. They don’t encompass how you really feel. One day, Gavin, you’re going to lose control. It’s not going to be pretty. That’s why I tell you to go talk to people now. So that doesn’t happen.”
    “I can’t lose Misha. He’s my best friend.”
    “How can he be, when you don’t even talk to him?”
    “Don’t you try to trick me with your crazy counselor logic.” He paused, thinking. “What if he doesn’t want to talk to me?”
    “Then you know,” Val said. “And you can move on and stop making yourself miserable with ‘what ifs’.”
    Goddamn her, but she was right. He was talking to her so he could avoid talking to Misha and making a fool out of himself. But he also couldn’t keep it in anymore. She was his relief, except that she knew he couldn’t do that with her anymore. It wasn’t helping as much as he’d hoped.
    Leaving Val’s office shortly after, Gavin trudged back down the stairs to where the signing was still going on. His mind flipped through the various possibilities of what talking with Misha would actually bring. He couldn’t talk to Misha. Not about this. It would be breaching a trust between them. Telling him he had a thing for his best friend would completely wreck that trust.
    Gavin slid back into his seat, and took the jersey from the kid in front of him. Misha elbowed him in the side. “Did you fall in, man? You were gone a while.”
    “Nah,” He leaned in so the kids in front of him couldn’t hear. “I was too busy fucking your sister.”
    “Poshol ti!” Misha sneered. He launched into more mutters in Russian Gavin couldn’t hear.
    He grinned at his roommate and turned back to the kid in front of him. “Who am I signing this to?”

CHAPTER THREE
     
    It was Community Outreach Day after practice, which meant that Cody couldn’t go straight home after practice. Instead, he had to leave the safety of the locker room with the other guys and talk to fans and media gathered outside in the hall.
    He so wasn’t in the mood to talk to fans. In fact, he was so low his stomach turned circles, but he hadn’t ever disappointed his fans before. This was his job, and he was damn lucky to have it. Not many people got to play a game for a living.
    The cheers went up as the team left the locker room, clapping as they made their way down the hall. Cody stopped twice for reporters to ask