Fuck,” I mutter under my breath as my heart starts slamming against my rib cage and my anxiety levels peak again.

“Potty mouth at work?” I hear my brother’s voice and snap my head up from my phone to see him standing in the doorway to the locker room. “Classy, Dix.”

“Sorry.” I clear my throat and shove my phone in the pocket of my blazer. “I need to go meet the crew. Welcome back.”

I brush past him without looking inside the room because Eli is in there. I need a minute to make sure my game face is in place before we make eye contact. If I looked at him right now, with no time to prepare my poker face, I’m pretty sure everyone would be able to see the desire in my eyes and know that I’ve seen him naked.

“No quip about how it’s a miracle I’m here early?” he calls out after me. “No barb about our losing streak?”

I don’t answer him. I just pick up my pace. Man, today is turning into a clusterfuck.

The NHL Network crew is at the door chatting with the security guard when I get there. I’ve worked with the producer before and it’s gone great, so I can only hope today will be the same. I lead her, the camera guy and the lighting guy, who is pulling a dolly full of equipment, back the way I came. The producer, Celine, hands me her shot list. It’s pretty straightforward. The guys will take some shots on the ice in their uniforms and pose together for a few stills. This is the stuff the network plays to promote games or in between periods as filler. I’m guessing the need for new footage has to do with Eli being called up for the rest of the season.

The door to the locker room is visible again. He’s in there. I know it. I can feel him. The anticipation of seeing him again creates a tingle down my spine. My brain may know it’s over, for now, but my body clearly didn’t get the memo.

I point down the hall. “You guys can get set up on the ice, and I will make sure the guys are ready. Who do you want first?”

“Darby would be a good start,” Celine responds and continues toward the tunnel to the ice.

I take a deep breath and step into the locker room, shielding my eyes with my hand. “Are we all decent?”

There’s a mix of affirmative answers so I uncover my eyes. Levi looks amused, Darby looks baffled, Jude looks concerned and Eli looks goddamn beautiful. He’s hunched over wearing his goalie pants and a gunmetal-gray Under Armour shirt. He’s looking up at me with those dark green eyes through his thick, almost black lashes. His expression is hard and tense, but it softens as soon as our eyes connect. I look away—I have to—and move my focus to Duncan. “They’ll take you as soon as you’re ready, Duncan,” I say.

“Honey, I was born ready,” Duncan proclaims. He finishes tying his skate and stands, grabbing his stick and winking at me on his way out the door.

“The rest of you can make your way over to the ice once you’re geared up,” I explain and turn to leave.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jude asks, stopping me in my tracks.

I turn back to face him and nervously push my hair back. “Nothing. Why?”

“I don’t know…” Jude cocks his head and his eyes sweep over me. “You’re acting weird.”

“No, I’m not.”

He gives me one of his cocky grins. “You have never covered your eyes coming in here before. You’ve just barged right in.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve decided if I want to see your penis, I’ll Google it,” I reply tartly and Levi laughs. I don’t hear a sound from Eli’s corner of the room, and I don’t look over to gauge his reaction.

“There’s the Dixie we’re used to being horrified by,” Jude announces and acts relieved. I smirk.

“Get dressed and get out there, please.” I turn and walk down the hall toward the ice.

The crew set up quickly and are already positioning Duncan for the shoot. I lean against the boards and watch. Levi and Jude join me a few minutes later. Celine goes through her list with speed and accuracy. Levi and Jude do some drills, taking slap shots and posing as requested. I keep glancing behind me, waiting for Elijah to show up.

“Okay, now let’s get some footage of Levi taking shots on Eli,” Celine announces and looks at me.

“I’m sure he’ll be here shortly,” I reply and glance behind me again.

“Go yell at him like you do at us every time we’re late,” Jude suggests.

“Levi, do you know what’s taking him so long?” I ask, ignoring my brother completely.

“No idea.” Levi shrugs. “Probably his hair. It’s high maintenance.”

Everyone laughs except me. Jude is looking at me with that confused head tilt. My brother is too good at reading people. I force myself to sigh, like I would if I was annoyed with any of the players for being late, and I make my way back to the locker room.

Elijah has his back to me, pulling his jersey over his chest protector. I watch silently as he picks up his neck protector and stares at it. I clear my throat. His head snaps up, but his eyes cloud over even more when he sees me. “They need me?”

I nod. “They want Levi to take some shots on you.”

He nods. “Of course. They want to see me make him look like a rookie. I can do that.”

He’s chipper and his snarky comment is definitely typical Eli, but for some reason I feel like something’s off. “Are you okay?”

He looks up, and there’s a blankness in his eyes. “I’m great.”

He’s looking at me like I’m nothing more than a Thunder employee…and it almost knocks the wind out of me, which makes me a hypocrite because it’s exactly what I told him to do. I take a step back and struggle to fill my lungs, but I keep my shoulders back and my eyes squarely on him, refusing to admit it.

“Let’s go,” he says swiftly and marches past me.

Holy shit. He’s doing exactly what he should do, so why do I feel so hurt right now?

I try to look unruffled as I watch the rest of the shoot. Levi and Jude both take shots on Elijah, who blocks them effortlessly. Celine gets more footage of each of them skating and stopping and of Elijah scuffing up his crease, as goalies do, and then they start with the still photographs. Just when I think they’ll wrap up, the cameraman picks up his camera again and Celine turns to Elijah. “So any thoughts you want to share on how things are going so far?”

Oh no. Just fucking no. “This isn’t an interview, Celine,” I warn her and step onto the ice.

“I know, I just wanted a little quote from the newest NHL goalie,” Celine says breezily, blowing me off completely. She turns back to Eli. “Are you starting tomorrow night, and if you are, are you ready for the pressure of playing in the home arena of two-time back-to-back Stanley Cup champs? These fans are unforgiving.”

“Okay!” My voice is hard and loud. “Thanks for coming out! That’s a wrap, guys.”

Eli glares at me. Levi skates forward and turns so I can’t see his face. He must say or do something because Eli instantly looks away from me and his expression softens. He pulls off his mask and turns to face Celine with a much warmer look than he gave me. “I’m ready for whatever role the coach gives me. I don’t want forgiveness from the fans. I fully intend to earn their adoration.”

Everyone smiles at his charmingly cocky answer. Hell, even the cameraman looks enamored. I clap my hands once to get everyone’s attention. “Okay! That’s a wrap!”

Celine and the crew start to pack their things. Twenty minutes later they’re leaving the building and my phone buzzes. It’s a text from Jude.

I text him back a fine and force myself to walk toward the locker room again. God, I hope everyone else is gone. The door is closed, which is strange, but I know if I knock Jude will think I’m acting weird again so I just push it open and step inside. The main room, lined with benches and the players’ stalls, is empty.

“Jude?” I call out and begin to walk toward the back, where an archway leads to the bank of sinks and beyond that, the showers. “Jude?”

Suddenly Elijah appears from the shower room. His dark hair is wet, droplets of water dripping from the tousled tips to his bare shoulders and then sliding down through his damp chest hair. He meets my gaze with a stormy expression. A hand moves to his only covering, the white towel around his waist, as if to ensure it stays on. “He’s not here.”

His words are clipped and so cool I almost shiver. “Oh. Do you know where he is? He wanted to talk.”

“It’s not my job to keep tabs on your…” He catches himself. “On Jude.”

He brushes past me so quickly the air lifts my hair. I turn and watch as he stalks over to his stall and reaches up for something on the shelf. It’s his underwear. He doesn’t put it on. Instead, he glares at me again. He wants me to leave so he can get dressed, but right now, I don’t care what he wants. I put my hands on my hips. “Did I do something?”

He huffs out a frustrated breath. “Actually, yes, you did. I can handle reporters and their asinine questions. I don’t need you to protect me.”

God, why is he being such a douche? Well, two can play at that game. “For the record, it’s not your job to handle reporters unless I say so. I set up the interviews, and today wasn’t one of them. They were trying to bend the rules, and I don’t bend rules. The Thunder management doesn’t either. I wasn’t protecting you, I was doing my job. And it’ll go down the same way next time, so you better get used to it.”

His jaw is clenched, but he manages to spit out a “Fine.”

“Now what else is bothering you?” I challenge.

“Can you leave so I can change, please?” His tone is so cold and he looks so uncomfortable right now just because I’m in here with him.

“I’ve had what’s under that towel in my mouth, so stop treating me like I’m an awkward virgin,” I snap. God, I hope his brother and Duncan have already left. I didn’t ask.

“Then stop acting that way,” Eli snaps. “Because if you’re going to keep walking in here covering your eyes and turning seven shades of pink, someone is going to figure out that you know what’s under this towel and you like it.”

My eyes drop like they’re bungee jumping—straight down to the bulge under his towel. Forcing my eyes up to his face is as hard as lifting a hundred-pound weight. He must see that, because he swallows hard and softens his tone just a little. “Look, you can’t have it both ways. You want to pretend this didn’t happen? Then I get to treat you like you’re just some incredibly hot, unbelievably uptight Thunder employee.”

His words hurt. It’s like he’s breaking up with me, only we both agreed we aren’t together. This is crazy. This is exactly why we never should have touched each other. And great, he isn’t done talking. “I need to focus on my career right now anyway, just like you.”

“Good.” Only it doesn’t feel good. But I say it anyway and then walk away, ignoring him when he calls after me to wait. I take a step into the hall and Jude is coming toward me with Duncan. They both look up as I step into their path. Duncan gives me one of his typical goofy smiles. “Hey! Are Eli and Levi still in there? I need to invite them to my party.”

“Eli is,” I mutter, and Duncan thanks me and wanders into the locker room.

Jude slows to a stop in front of me with that curious look on his face again that is starting to annoy the hell out of me.

“What do you want?” I demand.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” he counters. “You’ve been acting strange all day, and now you look like you might cry. Why?”

“You’re nuts. I’m fine,” I reply tersely and cross my arms. “Now I need to get back to work, so what did you summon me for?”

“I just wanted to know why, when I walked by that intern Nadine a few minutes ago in the hallway, she stopped me and said”—he pauses and switches into a high-pitched voice, his impression of Nadine—“Oh my God, I don’t know how I never noticed the resemblance before! Of course you and Dixie are related. You look totally alike!”

He stops his ridiculous impression and gives me a confused shrug. I sigh and shake my head. “Fuck,” I groan and hang my head for a second in defeat. Of course Trish told Nadine. Obviously she’s going to tell everyone. I look up at my brother. “They know.”

“That you’re my sister?” Jude clarifies, and I nod. “How many people know?”

“I’d guess just about everyone by now,” I reply. Could this day suck any harder? “One of my co-workers went to HR because they heard me on the phone with you and thought I was sleeping with you.”

Jude looks like he might vomit. He actually turns green. “That’s disgusting.”

“I know!” I agree wholeheartedly. “Anyway, Mr. Carling told her the truth, and I guess he didn’t say to keep it under wraps so…my cover is blown.”

“Oh.” Jude looks at me with sympathy because he knows this is the last thing I want. He reaches out and pulls me into a hug. “It’s not the end of the world. I mean, the management knew anyway. And they also know that you’re awesome at your job, and it has nothing to do with the fact that your brother is the best player on the team.”

I pull out of his arms. “No. I said they know I’m related to you, not they think I’m related to Levi.”

I grin and Jude looks annoyed. “I’m trying to be a good big brother, and you’re ruining it. Fabulous.”

“Big brother? Who is a big brother?” I turn at the inquiry and see that Duncan and Eli are now in the hall too. I turn back to Jude, giving him a pleading look: Please don’t tell the team too.

Jude moves his eyes from me to his teammates. “I am. To my sisters.”

“Right! Your family moved to town.” Duncan nods and scratches his curly red hair. “You should invite them to my Halloween do-over party too. The more the merrier!”

“Okay. I’ll invite them.” Jude looks at me. “We had a road trip for Halloween, which is Duncan’s favorite holiday, so he’s throwing a do-over party this weekend.”

“You should come, Dix,” Duncan says enthusiastically.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” I say. “You guys have a blast.”

I walk away, careful not to look at Eli as I go.