Page 9 of Hockey Boy

Finn sticks his bottom lip out and looks from Beckett to me and back again, like he’s formulating an objection.

“What did I tell you about that face?” Beckett says, as if he’s talking to a forty-year-old rather than a seven-year-old.

With a stomp of his foot, Finn huffs. “That big boys don’t pout.”

“And what are you?” Beckett asks, brows lifted expectantly.

Finn rolls his eyes. “A big boy.”

Laughing, I clap Finn on the shoulder. “I’ll play with ya after I talk to the guys, okay?”

A small smile lifts his lips as he looks around. “What guys?”

Daniel leans over the bar. “Me for one, big man. How ya doing?”

War appears then, with my brother Gavin behind him. Gavin took over as coach for our team this past year, and in that time, his role as fun older brother has shifted into something more. He’s always been a friend—I’m friends with all my brothers—but I’ve come torespect him more than I thought possible over the last several months. He navigated a difficult situation with an impressive amount of grace when he replaced our head coach. But I’m most proud of how he stepped up when a little girl was left at his doorstep. He became her father, knowing full well that she wasn’t his biological child.

“No Vivi?” I ask, peering around War for Gavin’s little girl.

He shakes his head. “She’s with Millie and the girls for their weekly brunch date.”

I nod. Lennox is probably with them. That would explain why Brooks knew I had seen her for the wedding planning appointment.

As if my thoughts conjured him, Brooks saunters in, his face buried in his phone.

“Let me guess,” War says, reaching for Brooks’s phone. “Texting Sara about how much you miss her face?”

Brooks’s goalie reflexes kick in, and he pulls the phone to his chest before War can snatch it from him. “At least I have someone to miss,” he chirps.

War rolls his eyes, but as he takes a seat at the bar and turns to me, his expression is sincere. Daniel is already in full-on bartender mode, taking orders and pouring drinks.

I sigh, doing my best to ease the tightness in my chest. Any minute, the guys will settle, and I’ll have to speak.

Gavin drops down and fist bumps Finn, who’s now focused on a game on Beckett’s phone. “You brought the kids?” he says to Beckett as he straightens.

Beckett shrugs. “I thought this was a team meeting.”

Smirking, Gavin shoves his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. “Oh, team meeting, eh?”

Brooks rubs his hands together, his green eyes lighting up. “I love team meetings. Especially when they aren’t about me.”

From behind the bar, Daniel surveys the group with a wary frown. “What is happening?”

I snort. “You tell me. You called them.”

He points to Brooks. “No, I called him.Hesummonedthem.”

With a nod, Brooks settles back in a booth, his legs splayed out in front of him.

Hit with a wave of unease, I shift on my stool.

“Figured after that wedding planning appointment, it was time to launch into Operation Dump Jill and Win Over Lennox.” He runs a hand over his face. “And as much as it pains me to say this?—”

“Beckett is the matchmaker,” Gavin finishes for him as he slips onto the stool beside me.

My oldest brother is wearing the cockiest grin as he stands with his arms crossed in the center of the room. “Finally,” he booms, “you’ve all come to your ducking senses. Can I just say that I appreciate the support and acknowledgment? It hasn’t been an easy couple of years?—”

Gavin slaps a hand over his face and sighs. “We didn’t give you a ducking Oscar, Beckett. There’s no need for an acceptance speech.”

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