As I sit there absorbing the excitement of the fans and taking in this amazing group of women who support and love these men, I realize that I’ve missed out on a lot over the last few years. “I should’ve come to a game sooner.”

Lainey squeezes my hand. “It’s okay that you weren’t ready until now. Sometimes we need to take baby steps. I only started sitting behind the bench at the end of last season, so the fact that you’re jumping right in with both feet is a good thing. And we can pretend for RJ’s sake that he’s the reason you’re really here.” She gives me a wink.

The volume of the crowd rises to a frenzied pitch when Seattle takes the ice. I sit up straighter, clapping and whistling along with everyone else. Bishop skates across the rink, expression serious, which is pretty typical, until RJ elbows him in the side and nods in our direction.

Bishop’s gaze follows his, and he scans the arena, and that serious expression turns into a huge grin when he finds me. I can feel my cheeks heat when he winks in my direction, but he doesn’t do anything to overtly draw attention my way.

“Oh my God, look at how smitten that boy is. I am so glad I put bets on tonight’s game as your coming out,” Violet says to me, grinning widely.

“Is that what the hair and nails and stuff was about?” I ask.

“Just trying to be helpful. You know, I called it at the preseason party. I knew Winslow would have a girlfriend in our ranks before long, and here you are.” She seems all proud of herself, like she’s the reason we’re together.

Lainey leans forward so she can address Violet. “Didn’t you want me to introduce Stevie to Kingston?”

“Oh my God, seriously?” I snort-laugh. “As if.” Kingston is a really nice guy, but I’ve never met anyone so straightlaced in my entire life. He looks like he should go door to door and canvass people to join his new religion. “Besides, King’s had a girlfriend forever.”

“That’s beside the point. I was trying to get a rise out of Bishop, and it worked: he and RJ got all snippy with each other, and I knew something was going on there.” Violet rubs her baby belly and smiles. “And I was right. Maybe I’m part psychic.”

“Or maybe you already knew that Stevie and Bishop were neighbors, since you’re married to the team coach,” Lainey offers.

“It’s more fun to pretend I have psychic powers.”

Violet’s attention shifts to the right, and she waves enthusiastically, blowing a kiss in the direction of the bench.

The team coach, her husband, sends a wink her way as the rest of the team shuffles down the bench. Once Bishop is seated, he turns and makes the “I heart you” gesture, which gets him a ribbing from the teammate next to him and an eye roll from my brother.

My heart is all light and fluttery in my chest, at least until the game starts. I’d forgotten how exciting it can be to watch live hockey. It makes me miss my dad, and I have a moment of sadness over the fact that I’ve lost out on so many opportunities to see my brother play, mostly because of my own fears, which I’m beginning to see weren’t all that logical.

The game is amazing, especially when Bishop scores a goal in the second period, giving them the lead, and RJ scores in the third. Seattle ends up winning the game 4–2. We wait for the crowds to clear before we leave the arena and head to the restaurant to celebrate with the team.

Highlights from the game and interviews play out on TVs above the bar, but the sound is off. Bishop appears on the screen, his serious expression shifting to a smile when he answers one of their questions and winks at the screen. I’ll have to watch that later, when we’re home.

We’re there for a good half hour before the team shows up, and despite the fact that the back room of the restaurant is reserved for them, there are a huge number of fans clamoring for their attention.

Bishop doesn’t blatantly ignore the fans, but he’s obviously distracted as he scans the crowds, failing to smile for the pictures people keep snapping. He only grins when he spots me from across the room. Someone is in the middle of saying something to him, and he walks away.

I shake my head, laughing as he bulldozes through people to get to me. When he reaches me, he wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me until my feet no longer touch the ground. “Did you hear me dedicate my first goal of the season to you, bae?” he mumbles in my ear, lips moving to my neck.

“What?”

He sets me back on my feet and runs his fingers through my hair. “When they were interviewing me, I told them my first goal belonged to you.”

“You did not.”

“I did.” His smile falters. “Is that okay?”

I place a reassuring palm on his cheek and smile up at him. “Of course it’s okay, but I had nothing to do with that goal. It was all you.”

“You being here helped. I want you at all my home games from now on. That’s totally reasonable, right?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” I tug on his tie. “Come here.”

When our lips are an inch apart, he tugs my hood up.

“You don’t need to do that. I don’t mind if people know I’m yours and you’re mine.”

He grins. “Good to know, but I’m not planning to keep it PG, so I thought we could use a little cover.”

He holds the edges of my hoodie and kisses me. I don’t care that people are watching or that they’re probably taking pictures. We only come up for air because of the catcalls and the shouts to get a room.

“Stop manhandling my sister, Winslow!” RJ claps him on the shoulder.

Bishop tucks me protectively against him. “I was saying hi to my girlfriend.”

I push against his chest, and he releases me, his expression reflecting his worry. I put it there, along with my brother’s uncertainty, so I do the one thing I can think of to help ease their fear that this is all too much for me. “Lainey, can you take a picture of us?”

“Of course.”

I pass her my phone, and my brother shifts away, but I grab him by the sleeve. “I want one with both of my favorite hockey players.”

He seems surprised at first, but then his face lights up, and I know that this has been a long time coming and that it’s exactly what we need to help bring us closer together, like we used to be.

I push my hood back and run my fingers through my hair to smooth it out, then smile while Lainey snaps pictures of me first with RJ, then sandwiched between them, and finally just me and Bishop. And then I spend the rest of the evening enjoying time with the people I love the most, wondering why the heck it took me so long to realize that who I am doesn’t change at all, regardless of who I’m dating or who my brother is.

EPILOGUE

BAE, FOREVER

Stevie

Eight months later

“Bishop? Are you almost ready to go?” I call out as I load food and some random gifts for Kody into a tote bin. His birthday was over two months ago, but I have a hard time not buying something cute if I see it. It’s my job as his aunt to spoil the hell out of him. Besides, Bishop was with me when we went party shopping, and the second I see something I like, he always tosses it in the cart. If I try to return it to the shelf, he threatens to make a scene.