CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The next few days passed quickly.
Thad took advantage of the day off and ran some errands. His car still wasn’t ready—they’d found another fucking issue—and he used the time to browse for some late-evening freelance photography gigs. He was going to need them to help offset the quickly rising car repair bill.
And then it was back to work and squeezing in one of those photography gigs. It wasn’t easy, the Harriers’ schedule kept him incredibly busy, but he’d rather lose sleep than watch his emergency savings disappear.
During the season, the gigs he picked up were usually situations where a photographer’s assistant cancelled at the last minute due to an emergency and they needed a warm body who knew enough about lighting setups and equipment to slot in.
Thad didn’t mind. They weren’t exciting creatively but they helped pad his bank account and make him a little less anxious he’d be completely fucked if the Harriers let him go.
Plus, Thad was focused on the home opener and Graham was too.
He wasn’t deliberately avoiding Graham—they texted a little—but he didn’t go out of his way to bring up why he’d left in the middle of the night and Graham didn’t either, so he figured he’d wait until they had some time alone again in person.
The team managed to pull out a win against Columbus for the home opener, which seemed to make everyone in the organization—plus the fans—let out a collective sigh of relief.
Starting the season with an extended winless streak would have put a damper on the excitement of hockey returning and it took a lot of pressure off the guys.
They had a lot of work to do still, but that home opener win had boosted morale.
That win also meant a celebration at O’Neill’s Pub.
It wasn’t a private one—the team hadn’t rented out the space for their private use or anything—so it was packed with hockey players and fans alike as Thad wove his way through the crowd to the bar.
He ordered a drink from the white-haired Irish bartender, slipping a few bucks into the tip jar in thanks for his service because yeah, Thad had worked as a barback for a while in New York and the job fucking sucked when the place was as slammed as this one was.
Thad caught a glimpse of Graham across the room, talking to Connor and Jesse. He wanted to go over, to pull Graham aside and talk to him, but his brother was around here somewhere, and Thad was half-afraid he’d give them away. Or someone would overhear.
So he played pool with a few guys on the team.
A woman nearby eyed him appreciatively while he waited for his turn and normally, he would have played it up for her, but he was not a single man anymore.
He’d expected to feel like he was missing out or uncomfortable being tied down, but all he could feel was gratitude for Graham’s quiet understanding and affection when he thought about how it had felt to lie in bed with Graham curled up in his arms.
Thad briefly thought about flirting with the woman for cover anyway, but while they had talked about the idea of Graham telling everyone he was taking a break from dating, they hadn’t discussed how Thad was going to play this.
He didn’t want to give Graham the wrong impression. What if he misunderstood and thought Thad was seriously flirting?
Especially after he’d ducked out in the middle of the night without any real explanation after planning to stay.
When that same woman sidled up to him after he’d beat Crawford, Rafe, and Tanner at pool and collected his winnings, Thad stifled a groan.
After he placed his order at the bar, she eyed the cash in his hand. “Gonna buy me a drink with that, handsome?”
She was beautiful, dark-haired and curvy, with a sexy, husky voice, and in the past, he’d have said something flirtatious back to her, and they’d have ended up in her bed within the hour.
Maybe two, depending on traffic.
But this time, he shook his head. “Sorry. I’m, uh …” He floundered for a moment, not sure of what to say, but apparently it was enough.
“Got it,” she said with a shrug and rueful smile. “Figured it was worth a try. Enjoy your evening then.”
“Thanks. You too,” he managed.
A moment later, his brother slid onto the stool beside him. “Huh. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you turn someone down. Are you feeling okay?”
He held out his hand like he was going to press the back of it to Thad’s forehead to check for a fever.
Thad ducked out of reach, rolling his eyes. “I feel fine. But I just got here. I wasn’t ready to leave yet, that’s all.”
“And there’s that guy, isn’t there?”
Thad panicked for a moment before he remembered he’d told his brother there was a guy he was into.
“Right. Yeah,” he said, nodding at Liam in thanks as he slid a beer over to him.
He took a sip while Gavin ordered a whiskey for himself, then asked, “How’s that going?”
Thad shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck and trying to remember what exactly he’d told him.
Thad thought he’d told Gavin the guy was dating someone. It was probably a little risky to say he was single now. Gavin wasn’t stupid. He might easily put the pieces together and figure out it was Graham.
“I was starting to feel a little more hopeful but I dunno. I might have screwed things up.”
He sighed because all of that was true. What if he had fucked up everything when he’d ducked out the other night?
To his surprise, his brother snorted and slapped him on the back. “Welcome to being in a relationship, dude.”
“Who said anything about a relationship?” Thad protested.
“Oh.” Gavin looked surprised before thanked Liam in thanks for the whiskey. “Did I read you wrong? You seemed happier lately, so I assumed you’d gotten together with him.”
“We’re still figuring things out,” Thad said vaguely. “You know how it is.”
Gavin laughed and took a sip of his whiskey. “Yeah, Dakota and I had an interesting start, that’s for sure. It took us a while to get our shit together too.”
He glanced across the room, his expression softening when he looked at Dakota sitting at a table with Leah and Danny and laughing about something.
“He really makes you happy, doesn’t he?” Thad observed.
“Yeah.” Gavin’s smile was even softer now, but it twisted wryly at one corner as he glanced over at Thad. “Better for me than Rory ever was, huh?”
“Mmm,” Thad said, because that was a sensitive subject he didn’t want to touch with a ten-foot pole.
But, to his surprise, Gavin went there. “The night we all had dinner. You—you weren’t seriously flirting with him, were you?”
“No,” Thad admitted, deciding he might as well be honest too. “I thought he was a money-grubbing gold digger, and I had some half-cocked idea that if I showed you who he really was, you’d dump his ass.”
“Instead, I stuck up for him and blamed you.” Gavin rubbed a hand along his short beard. “Fuck. I’m sorry.”
“Water under the bridge,” Thad said with a wave of his hand.
“Is it though?” His brother’s look was searching. “Can we put it behind us?”
Thad shrugged, holding his gaze. “I thought we already had, so I guess that’s up to you.”
“You forgive me then?”
“Yes. Now stop moping about it.” He nudged Gavin with his elbow. “I can’t believe you’re still this emo. It’s embarrassing at this age, honestly.”
“Hey! Fuck you!” Gavin protested but he was laughing, his shoulder jostling Thad’s because they were both too broad-shouldered to sit side-by-side on bar stools like this.
And Thad had to swallow down the sudden lump in his throat as he got all emotional about a better relationship between him and Gav.
Talk about embarrassing.
He was a little surprised when Gavin took a sip of whiskey and changed the subject. “Want to do lunch sometime this week?”
“Uhh, sure, I guess. What were you thinking?”
“I could pick up takeout, and we could eat in my office. Nothing major.”
“You mean Amelia could pick up takeout,” he said with a laugh, referring to Gavin’s executive assistant. “And do the ordering.”
Gavin gave him a rueful smile. “Yes.”
“Why?”
Now Gavin looked confused. “Why what? Why is my assistant a saint who isn’t paid enough for everything she does to keep the organization together despite having to deal with my dumb ass?”
“That’s a mystery we’ll probably never be able to explain,” Thad joked. “But I meant why do you want to do lunch?”
“Oh. I just wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Aren’t we talking now?”
Gavin rolled his eyes. “Privately.”
“Okay,” Thad agreed, half-afraid he was going to get fired or something.
Although, he didn’t really report to his brother anymore.
He reported to Finn O’Shea. Though that wasn’t really any less complicated. Because Finn would probably go along with whatever Gavin wanted when it came to Thad’s employment with the franchise.
It’s a damn good thing I’ve been picking up extra photography gigs, Thad thought with a sigh as he drained the rest of his beer. And maybe he should pick up some more.
Just to be on the safe side.
Especially if his brother ever found out he was fucking—dating—he corrected, one of his players.
Gavin had warned Thad off from the beginning and he’d gotten called out about his flirting with people in the organization twice last season.
He’d sworn to Gavin he’d keep away from anyone who worked for the Harriers.
Sure, things were better between him and Gavin now.
But he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that if he found out about Thad and Graham, the progress would quickly get wiped away.
And he might be out on his ass again.
Graham tried not to stare openly at Thad as he sat at the bar with Gavin, but he couldn’t stop darting glances their way every so often.
He hadn’t really thought much about them hanging out at first, just thought they were shooting the shit about the game or something. Thad had looked loose and relaxed but then he’d suddenly gotten awkward and tense and …
Graham was starting to feel a little worried Gavin had found out about them or something.
He forced his gaze away from Thad and turned back to the guys at the table with him.