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“You were great with Sutton today,” he tells me, changing the subject slightly.

A smile twitches at my lips.

“She’s a great kid.”

“She is. Sharp as a tack too.”

“I’ve…uh…I’ve got little brothers,” I confess.

As much as I try to keep anything to do with my family out of the spotlight, it’s hard to hide two more Nash boys. I’m half expecting him to already know. But if he does, he keeps it well hidden.

“Oh, cool. How old?”

“Eight and nine. They’re…amazing. I just wish I wasn’t so far away from them all the time.”

“They play hockey?”

“Yeah. Damn good at it, too. I’m pretty sure Huxley will be a future NHL star. Possibly Ryker as well. He’s quieter, though, more reserved. I’m not sure he’ll want this kind of life for himself.”

“Your dad must be so proud of you all.”

I try to contain my reaction to those words, but I’m pretty sure I grimace.

“He’s…” My heart slams against my ribs as I think about all the things our father is—none of which I want to tell Garrett about. “Overbearing.”

“I guess he wants the same success for you all that he had.”

“No,” I say. “He wants more for us.”

“It’s nice that he’s supportive.”

Nice. Yeah. It’s real fucking nice having him telling us exactly what we did wrong every single fucking day.

My stomach knots. I might not feature so much in my father’s day-to-day life anymore—our communication is mostly via message because I refuse to answer the phone to him more than once a month—but my brothers still get the brunt of it, and I hate that they don’t have any relief.

I tried to convince Dad to let them come and stay with me in Vancouver for a couple of weeks last summer, but he’d booked them in hockey camps the entire fucking break. They barely had a day to rest before being thrown back into school and their usual teams.

“What about your parents?” I ask, turning the tables on him.

He gets this soft, faraway look in his eyes.

“They’re incredible.”

A mixture of relief and jealousy floods through me.

I had that once. When I had Mom. She was supportive no matter what. And I’m pretty sure that if I ever confessed to her that I was bi, she would have pulled me in for a hug and told me she loves me no matter what and the only thing she wants for me is to be happy.

I never got the chance, though. So now I’m left guessing.

I’m pretty sure she would have liked Garrett.

He’s fun, and despite what he’s been through in New York, he’s still optimistic. He’s…pretty much the opposite of me in every way, but right now, I kinda think that’s working for us.

“They support both of us in anything we choose. They’re our little cheerleaders, and I couldn’t ask for anything more from them.”

“That’s awesome. My mom, she…” I blow out a breath. I hate talking about this, and honestly, I have no idea why I am. “She died at the beginning of my freshman year. It fucked me up.”

“Shit. I’m sorry. That sucks.”