Sin Bin

by Maureen Smith

“I think you should go for it,” Reid said encouragingly.

  “Absolutely.” Hunter gave Logan an approving look. “You’re multilingual, well traveled and open to exploring different cultures. Going back to school will make you even more well-rounded. It’ll also set a good example for the kids you mentor.”

  Logan nodded, forking up the last bite of waffle. For the past four years he’d mentored juvenile inmates at a local youth detention center. He didn’t do it because he wanted to be anybody’s hero. He just figured since Santino Tavárez had saved his life, the least he could do was pay it forward.

  “I don’t know if I’m ready for grad school,” Reid admitted. “The season’s brutal enough without adding college coursework. And I don’t need anything else cutting into my time with Nadia, especially once we get married.” He grinned, all but rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

  Hunter and Viggo chuckled.

  Logan rolled his eyes. The Rocket was just as pussy-whipped as Sandström.

  “I’ll revisit grad school after I retire.” Reid smiled wryly. “Nadia has her master’s, so I definitely don’t want her leaving me for some asshole with more letters after his name.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “At least you have a bachelor’s,” Viggo pointed out. “You could’ve turned pro after one year, but you stuck it out and got your degree. Graduating with honors from Boston College is nothing to sneeze at.”

  “Especially as a student athlete,” Hunter added. “Balancing the demands of academics and athletics is incredibly challenging. Not everyone can do it.”

  “Exactly.” Viggo pushed his empty plate away and leaned back in the booth. “When I left home to play in the NHL, I promised my dad I’d get my degree someday. He’s been holding me to that promise. He even brought it up when Scarlett and I went home last month.”

  “That’s no surprise,” Reid said with a chuckle. “Your old man is vice-chancellor of Stockholm University. Even though he’s proud of your success, he’s always stressed the importance of education. Him and my mom.” Reid finished his drink. “Have you told your dad that you’re starting classes this fall at the University of Colorado?”

  “Not yet. I’ll tell him and Mom tonight during our Skype call. Scarlett and I need to hash out some wedding stuff with them,” Viggo said with a wry grimace.

  “Uh-oh,” Hunter intoned humorously. “What’s going on?”

  Viggo sighed. “My mother keeps adding friends and relatives to the guest list. We’re up to six hundred people now.”

  Hunter and Reid let out astonished whistles.

  Logan was confused. “What’s the problem? You’re getting married at a fucking castle. Space shouldn’t be an issue.”

  “It won’t be an issue for the reception. That’s gonna be held outside in the gardens. But the cathedral only holds about seven hundred for the ceremony, so we can’t invite too many more people.” Viggo snorted. “If it were up to my mom, every Swede she knows would be at the wedding.”

  Reid laughed, shaking his head. “I’m so glad I convinced Nadia to hire a wedding planner. Since I’m always on the road, I didn’t want her to be stuck planning everything with our mothers. She can’t say no to them, plus she’s been really busy at work. The wedding planner has been awesome. She’s taken a load off Nadia’s shoulders, and she keeps our moms in check.” He grinned, rapping his knuckles on the table. “Our guest list is capped at five hundred. No exceptions.”

  Viggo chuckled. “Scarlett’s mom would have a conniption fit if we even hinted at hiring a wedding planner. She’s having too much fun coordinating our wedding.” He smiled. “To her credit, she really seems to know what she’s doing. Between her and her assistant, my mom and my sisters—and Scarlett, of course—the wedding’s shaping up to be pretty amazing.”

  Hunter and Reid grinned. “Good stuff.”

  Logan gave a loud snort. “You guys are insane. If I’m ever crazy enough to propose to some broad, we’re getting married by an Elvis impersonator at a chapel in Vegas.”

  As laughter and guffaws erupted around the table, Logan grinned and knocked back the rest of his drink.

  When a small beep chirped from the front pocket of Viggo’s hoodie, he pulled out his phone and read the text. Even before he started smiling, everyone knew the message was from Scarlett. The only reason he hadn’t rushed home after practice was because she had band rehearsal.

  His thumbs flew over the keypad as he texted her back while saying, “Scarlett and I wanna open our own talent agency one day, so I’m getting a bachelor’s in entrepreneurship. Since I can only go to school part-time, the academic advisor told me to get my prerequisites out of the way first.” He glanced up at Logan. “It’s not too late for you to apply for the fall semester. I’m registered for an online English class. We can take it together, help each other out with homework and shit.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” Logan grunted, rubbing his bristly jaw. He hoped it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to request transcripts from the Toronto high school he’d attended while playing in the OHL.

  Hunter hitched his chin at him. “You’ve always said you hated school, but Santino told me you were a pretty good student.”

  Logan shrugged. “Didn’t really have a choice. He stayed on my ass, and if I didn’t pass my classes, the league wouldn’t let me play.”

  Dionne appeared again, bringing refills and clearing the table. She winked at Logan and poked him in the shoulder before strutting off. Such a damn tease.

  “So,” Reid said casually, “what’re you doing for your birthday?”

  Logan shot him a hard look. “The same thing I always do.”

  “You don’t do anything.”

  “Exactly.”

  “C’mon, bro,” Viggo protested. “You’re turning twenty-five. That’s a milestone birthday. You gotta do it up big like we always do. I mean, we’ll already be in Vegas for the last game of the season—”

  “I don’t care,” Logan growled.

  Viggo frowned. “So you’re just gonna hole up in your room and drink yourself into a coma?”

  “Pretty much.”

  When the others exchanged disappointed glances, Logan eyed them suspiciously. Although he hadn’t shared everything about his troubled past, they knew why he didn’t celebrate his birthday. Why were they suddenly trying to get him to change his mind?

  He narrowed his eyes at them. “Jenna better not be planning a surprise party.”

  Jenna Vasiliev was married to their goalie. A former actress and model, she was like the den mother of the players’ wives and girlfriends. She organized team charity events, dinner parties, baby showers and other social gatherings. Logan had heard that she was planning surprise bridal showers for Nadia and Scarlett. He wondered if she had something up her sleeve for his twenty-fifth birthday.

  The fellas’ expressions were a little too innocent for his liking.

  He jabbed a warning finger at them. “Tell Jenna I don’t want a damn party. I’m so fucking serious. I will lose my shit if she—”

  “We hear you,” Hunter calmly interrupted. “We’ll make sure your wishes are respected. You have our word. Right, boys?”

  Reid and Viggo nodded.

  Scowling, Logan picked up his refilled glass and swigged down the contents. Right at that moment he felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck.

  Lowering his empty glass to the table, he glanced out the window, his gaze moving across the street.

  Suddenly he went still, barely breathing.

  There was a woman standing at the bus stop. She was wearing a short black cocktail waitress uniform with black mesh stockings and black pumps. Her long black hair was blowing around her face and she had on dark sunglasses.

  She appeared to be staring right at Logan.

  Heart pounding in his ears, he scrambled out of the booth and raced toward the exit. People stared at him, their faces blurring together as he rushed past them.

  When he got outside he
could still see the woman across the street, her hair blowing slowly in the wind.

  He started running across the parking lot, desperate to reach her.

  Suddenly a car backed out right in front of him and almost hit him. He cursed in frustration as the driver slammed on the brakes and then rolled down his window.

  “Hey, buddy, watch where you’re—” The aggrieved man broke off when he recognized Logan. “Hey, sorry about that, Brassard. I didn’t see you coming.”

  Logan had already walked off, his frantic gaze sweeping over the bus stop.

  The woman was gone.

  Shielding his eyes against the bright sun, he looked up and down the street. There wasn’t a bus in sight.

  It was like the woman had vanished into thin air.

  A shiver ran up his spine like invisible fingers.

  He heard voices coming up behind him.

  “Damn, bro,” Reid said jokingly. “You took off like a bat outta hell. Good thing it wasn’t your turn to pick up the check.”

  Logan didn’t respond. He was still staring at the spot where the woman had stood. Had he only imagined her? Was he seeing ghosts now?

  A convulsive trembling passed over his whole body. He felt like he was losing his fucking mind.

  “What’re you looking at?” Viggo asked curiously.

  “Nothing.” His voice was a dry croak. “I-I thought I saw someone.”

  The others followed the direction of his haunted stare. “Who?”

  “Someone I…once knew.” He felt nauseous, the meal he’d just eaten threatening to come back up.

  Hunter put a hand on his shoulder, concerned green eyes studying his face. “You okay?”

  Logan jerked his head in a nod. He had to get out of there.

  Reid held out his sunglasses to him. “You left these on the table.”

  Logan pulled his gaze from the empty bus stop to accept the sunglasses. His hand was shaking.

  The others exchanged worried glances.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Reid asked. “You look like you just saw a fucking ghost.”

  Logan swallowed hard and shoved on his sunglasses. “It was nothing.”

  Hunter frowned, unconvinced. “Brassard—”

  “I’m fine.” Logan turned and stalked off to his truck.

  He’d just chased down an apparition of a woman he hadn’t seen in twenty years.

  He was anything but fine.

  Chapter Nine

  MEADOW

  * * *

  By the time meadow and her aunt returned from shopping and sightseeing, she had just enough time to shower and change into a red off-the-shoulder sweater with tapered black pants before Bianca arrived to pick her up for dinner.

  Her soror was a pretty, full-figured woman with stylishly layered hair and skin the color of Godiva chocolate. She was wearing a red belted knit dress with matching Jimmy Choo pumps.

  She took one look at Meadow’s red sweater and grinned delightedly. “Twinsies!”

  They both laughed and shared a warm hug.

  “Sorry you missed my aunt,” Meadow said. “She had to leave for work. Even though she doesn’t go on air until ten, she has to be at the studio a few hours beforehand.”

  Bianca waved a manicured hand. “No worries. I’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet her now that you’re moving to Denver.”

  She’d squealed in Meadow’s ear that morning when she’d called to share her good news. Bianca had been meeting with a client and couldn’t talk long, but her excitement had thoroughly warmed Meadow’s heart.

  She grabbed her handbag and cropped leather jacket, then locked the front door and followed Bianca to her pearl-white Acura.

  As they climbed into the car, Bianca said apologetically, “I’m sorry our sorors couldn’t join us tonight. They already had plans, but they’re eager to see you again and welcome you to Denver. In the meantime, I have some special friends I want you to meet. They’re joining us at the restaurant.”

  Meadow smiled. “Sounds good.”

  On the way to the downtown restaurant, Bianca asked Meadow a bunch of questions about her new job. “I’m so excited that Gamenetic is located in the Denver Tech Center,” she gushed. “I work over there, too. So we’ll be able to have lunch together when I’m not traveling.”

  Meadow beamed. “Yay.”

  Bianca had a bubbly, effervescent personality that served her well as a marketing representative and as president of their sorority’s local chapter.

  As she drove, she told Meadow about the upcoming sorority events she was organizing. They all sounded exciting, and Meadow eagerly volunteered to help.

  During a brief lull in the conversation, she gave Bianca a sidelong smile. “So how are things going with Nelson?”

  “Good,” Bianca said with a quietly radiant smile. It was the smile of a woman deeply in love. Meadow wondered what that must be like.

  They arrived at the restaurant and valet parked before strolling arm in arm toward the entrance. It was a Friday night so the restaurant was pretty full. It was one of those chic places that catered to a young, upwardly mobile crowd.

  Bianca gave her name to the hostess, a sleek blonde who belonged on a runway.

  “Your table will be ready in a few minutes. Would you like to wait at the bar with the rest of your party?” The hostess pointed toward two young black women sitting at the bar. They were laughing and sipping cocktails while two attractive guys hit on them.

  Bianca grinned at the scene. “If those dudes knew who my girls are engaged to, they wouldn’t even think about trying to spit game.”

  The hostess laughed.

  Before Meadow could ask who the two women were engaged to, Bianca grabbed her hand and led her toward the bar. They reached her friends just as the pickup artists finally got the hint and moved on.

  Grinning mischievously, Bianca snuck up behind her friends and said with mock sternness, “I see I can’t leave you hussies alone for a minute, can I?”

  The women turned, saw Bianca and broke into big smiles. “Hey, girl!”

  Bianca laughed as they slid off their stools and took turns hugging her.

  Gesturing to Meadow, she made the introductions. “Girls, I’d like you to meet my soror from Las Vegas. Meadow, these are my good friends Nadia and Scarlett.”

  It was only when Meadow heard their names that she made the connection. Nadia and Scarlett were engaged to Reid Holden and Viggo Sandström.

  “Hey, Meadow,” they greeted her warmly.

  “Hi.” She smiled shyly, shaking their hands. “Nice to meet you both.”

  Nadia was beautiful with flawless brown skin, pouty lips and perfectly flatironed black hair that hung past her shoulders. She was wearing a pink babydoll dress with matching ankle boots. She had a sweet smile that immediately put Meadow at ease.

  Scarlett was a little intimidating. She had several piercings along one ear, a nose ring and purple-streaked curly hair. From the exotic tilt of her dark eyes to her luminous brown skin, she was an absolute stunner. Drop-dead gorgeous with bombshell curves poured into a long-sleeved black leather dress. Next to her, Meadow felt like a troll under a bridge.

  “In case you couldn’t tell,” Bianca was saying, “Nadia and Scarlett are cousins. Their fathers are twins.”

  Meadow smiled at them. “I can see the family resemblance.”

  The cousins made playful faces at each other.

  Bianca laughed, helping herself to a sip of Nadia’s drink. “As we were making our way over here, I was thinking up ways to scare off those dudes who were hitting on y’all.”

  “Ugh.” Scarlett rolled her eyes. “They were so lame.”

  “And thirsty.” Bianca snickered. “Did they not see those big ass rocks on your fingers?”

  Scarlett and Nadia laughed. Both were sporting the most spectacular engagement rings Meadow had ever seen. The massive center diamonds had to be at least ten carats each. They were nearly blinding. Wow.

  The hostess a
ppeared and showed them to their table. As they sat down and picked up their menus, Scarlett informed them, “Ana’s on her way. She told me what to order for her.”

  The others nodded.

  “Ana is marrying Scarlett’s big brother,” Bianca explained to Meadow. “Their wedding is next month.”

  “And it can’t get here soon enough,” Scarlett grumbled from behind her menu. “They’re driving me absolutely crazy.”

  Bianca and Nadia laughed. “That’s because you don’t like weddings.”

  “What’s to like?” Scarlett retorted. “Weddings are stressful as hell, from the planning to the actual day of the ceremony. Who needs all that drama?”

  “Says the woman who’s marrying her Prince Charming at a castle in Sweden,” Bianca teased.

  Scarlett lowered her lashes, trying not to smile.

  Knowing laughter swept around the table.

  “When’s your wedding?” Meadow asked her.

  “July twenty-third. A month after Reid and Nadia’s wedding.” Scarlett winked at her cousin. “We wanted to give the newlyweds enough time to enjoy their honeymoon—”

  “In the Maldives.” Bianca sighed. “I’m so jealous.”

  “Me, too,” Meadow said with a laugh. “I’d love to visit the Maldives. I’ve heard it’s amazing.”

  Nadia smiled. “I’m definitely looking forward to it. But what I’m most excited about is having Reid all to myself for three whole weeks. The hockey season is really tough on relationships.”

  “Amen,” Scarlett agreed. Her punk-rocker hair swooped over one eye, and there was an intricate tattoo on the inside of her wrist. It looked like sheet music. Pretty badass.

  Meadow smiled at her. “Where are you and Viggo honeymooning?”

  “Well, since we’ll already be in Sweden, we’re spending our wedding night at our summer cottage—”

  “A cozy, picturesque cottage by the sea,” Bianca elaborated with a dreamy sigh.

  Scarlett grinned before continuing. “The rest of our honeymoon will be spent traipsing around Italy. My band will be touring Europe that month, so Viggo and I had to schedule our honeymoon around the tour dates. Thankfully we’ll have at least two uninterrupted weeks to ourselves.”