major to community entrepreneurship with a minor in non-profit management. It was a relief knowing he’d be going back to GH in September with a considerably lighter workload.
And without Britton. The man had graduated and moved on—to a hockey league in Europe according to Harkrader. Luckily, Britton had mostly left Ethan alone after their fight, but still. The less Ethan had to see of him, the better.
Unsurprisingly, Harkrader was of the same opinion.
The door to the coffee shop swung open, revealing Casey, whose smile went wider upon spotting Ethan.
Casey had always been free with his smiles, but ever since he’d started grief counseling earlier this year, there’d been something more visibly relaxed about them.
Ethan held out an arm and Casey walked right into him, placing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Hey, you.”
Squeezing his hip, Ethan nuzzled his temple. “How was your day?”
“Good. Professor Wainwright put me in charge of dating a gilded mirror found in the wreckage.”
“Cool,” he said, going right up to the counter when the last person in front of him moved aside.
“What can I get you?” asked the barista.
“One raspberry lemonade and one regular lemonade, please.”
Casey leaned against his right side, hand going to Ethan’s back pocket. “Actually, I think I’ll change my order today.”
Ethan stared at him. In the two months that this had been their routine, he’d always gotten the regular lemonade.
“I’ll have the pineapple mango lemonade, please,” Casey told the barista.
Once Ethan had paid, they moved aside to wait for their drinks.
Casey took his hand, threading their fingers together. “Want to take a walk?”
That was different too. “Sure. Where to?”
“Anywhere,” Casey said with a shrug as he accepted his drink from the trainee behind the counter.
“No map?”
“Nope.”
Over the past several months, Casey had been getting better at giving up control. Ethan was so damn proud of him that he brought their entwined hands up and kissed the back of Casey’s.
“And then after, I was thinking we could grab dinner before we head back to the house. I made a reservation at a restaurant that has a great view of the lake.”
Better, but not perfect.
Throwing his head back, Ethan laughed. Utterly charmed, he placed a chaste kiss on Casey’s mouth. “Sounds great.”
“You guys are cute,” said the trainee as she handed Ethan his drink. “How long have you been together?”
“About eight months,” Casey said.
“Forever,” Ethan replied at the same time.
Their gazes met, held, and they smiled sappily at each other before Casey tugged Ethan out of the coffee shop and out into the summer sun.
Forever and eight months.
Technically, both were true.
Curious about Mitch and Alex? Read their story in On the Ice.
Or how about Roman and Cody? Find their story in Shots on Goal.
Find Jeff Bellmoor’s story—and Sport U Foundation’s—in Gingerbread Mistletoe.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thank you to Ashley, who gave an early draft of Keeping Casey a sensitivity read. Your input was invaluable and I hope I did Ethan justice!
Jamie and Danielle from Rainbow Crate book box, thank you for your enthusiasm for this book and for including it in your February 2021 “Ace-ing It!” box.
To my beta readers, Abigail, Talia, and Jill; my editor, Deb Nemeth; my copyeditor, Posy; and my proofreader, Kiki—this book would not be what it is without your support and feedback. Cate, thank you for this adorable cover.
And a special thank you to all of the reviewers, bloggers, Instagrammers, and other book-loving people who helped get the word out about Keeping Casey. Your support means the world to me!
About the Author
Amy's lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she's read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she's been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn't at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada's largest environmental non-profit.
An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group, Amy Aislin’s Readers, to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter.
Website: http://amyaislin.com
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Also by Amy Aislin
Stick Side series
On the Ice*
The Nature of the Game
Shots on Goal
Risking the Shot
Windsor, Wyoming series
Home for a Cowboy
Lighthouse Bay series
Christmas Lane
Gingerbread Mistletoe
Keeping Him series
Keeping Casey
Lakeshore series
The Heights
Other books
Elias
Ballerina Dad
As Big as the Sky
The Play of His Life
One Winter with You**
*also available in audio
**available free to newsletter subscribers