Page 129 of Ethan

Ethan had asked Hank once if he really wanted to sign up for the Barnes experience—and that had been before Avery was coming to New York—and he’d said yes, without even hesitating. He wasn’t exactly hesitating now, but it was alot.

Ethan must’ve known it too because he shot him a worried glance as he pulled out of the parking garage under their building. “You good?”

“I should be asking you that, shouldn’t I?” Hank asked.

Ethan made a face. “Maybe we should be asking Charlie that. Pretty sure I saw Max pry a mop out of Charlie’s hands.”

“It’s good they have each other.” In whatever capacity that was, Hank wasn’t sure. Before, he hadn’t quite believed Ethan’s assertion Max and Charlie weren’t romantically or sexually involved but now after getting a front-row seat to them, Hank thought he agreed with Ethan’s assessment.

They weren’t, but they probablyshouldbe.

“You don’t think . . .” Ethan broke off. Looking like something else had just occurred to him that he wasn’t sure he liked.

“What?”

“What if Avery changes things enough that they—”

“He’s not going to. He’s only going to make everything better. The team better. You guyslovehim. You’ve wanted this, you’ve been talking about it for ages.”

Ethan let out a hard breath. He was quiet for a moment after that. “I think we kinda forgot that. It’s just . . .change.”

“Sure it’s change, but it’s a good kind of change,” Hank reminded him.

“Thanks. I needed that.” Ethan shot him a grateful look. “Maybe you can remind Charlie of that, too.”

Hank just snorted. “Yeah, okay.”

“I’m serious. He’snot scary.”

Okay, sure he wasn’t. Charlie wasn’t scary; he was fucking terrifying.

But in the end that didn’t really matter, because Charlie didn’t needhim. “Do you really think Max isn’t in his car, giving Barney his own version of this pep talk?” Hank asked archly.

“Oh. True. I didn’t think about that. God, I just want . . . well, you know what I want.”

“Yeah.” Hank knew, and he got it, too. When you were happy, you wanted everyone around you to be happy too, but it wasn’t like Max and Charlie seemed particularlyunhappy. “But you also know they’re complicated.”

“So you and Avery keep reminding me,” Ethan said. He pulled into the parking lot of the practice facility.

After parking he pulled out his phone. “Parents are freaking out,” he said, scrolling through his phone. “Oh, and Livvy called and I missed it.”

“You could call her back.”

But Ethan was already craning his neck, glancing around the parking lot. And yeah, that was Inverness’ BMW and Silas’ Range Rover. “Later,” he said, getting out of the car.

Hank had told himself to hang back, but he could see the tenseness of Ethan’s shoulders, even though he was walking fast through the parking lot, so he kept pace.

Over the years, Hank had played a handful of games against Avery Barnes, but there’d never beenthatmany, with his up-and-down-again path to the Bandits’ roster, and Hank had never met him off the ice.

Still, he’d have recognized him anywhere.

Got a glimpse of his face before Ethan threw himself into his brother’s arms.

Dark hair, more wavy than curly, in need of a trim and falling over his forehead. Darker eyes than his brothers—not blue, and not gray, but more . . . greenish brown. Not quite hazel.

And for how much he dominated the ice, surprisingly not big or even broad.

In fact, Ethan nearly wrapped him up entirely.