Page 149 of Power Play

“Okay, hotshot with the great hockey season,” Alana teases. She elbows his stomach before pulling away and putting distance between them so Liam can’t retaliate. Her attention moves from her brother to me, and her grin grows. “You must be the mystery woman he’s told me nothing about. Jokes on him. I know exactly who you are.”

“Hi.” I smile and stick out my hand, surprised when she crushes me with a hug. “Oof. I’m Piper.”

“That interview you did with Maverick Miller was fantastic.”

“Thank you so much. And thank you for letting me be here to celebrate your special day.”

We pull away from our hug and she looks me up and down. “I’m happy you’re here and so glad my lug of a brother settled down. For a while there, he wouldn’t stop talking about?—”

“Where are Mom and Dad?” Liam asks, cutting her off. “We’ve had a long day. It would be nice to get to our room, shower, and sleep until morning so we’re functioning for all your festivities. I feel like a zombie right now.”

“Fine.” Alana rolls her eyes, but she smiles. “But I’m going to steal Piper away from you at some point. I want to make sure you’re treating her right.”

“He’s actually the worst,”I sign, and her mouth pops open. “But he doesn’t know I’m saying that.”

“You can sign? Oh, I can’t wait to talk shit about him. When did you learn?”

“My cousin is Deaf.I’ve been signing for years.What about you?”

“I majored in ASL and communications.I’ve done some interpreting at large events.”

“I’m used to her speaking and signing at the same time. This is new.” Liam’s head bounces between us. “You’re both so fast.”

“Welcome to how I feel when you start rambling about things in Spanish.” Alana flips him off, then turns her attention back to me. “We’ll talk more tomorrow?”

“Yes, please.I want you to tell me all about Liam as a grumpy kid.I bet he was insufferable.”

She laughs and smiles at her brother. “I like her, Li.”

He drapes an arm around my shoulder and looks down at me. “So do I. Promise we’ll catch up more tomorrow, Lani.”

We make our way through the lobby, and I smile. “I adore your sister.”

“Doesn’t surprise me. Most people do. She’s got that air about her, you know?” He points to a couple at the bar. “Those are my parents. We’ll say hi then sneak upstairs. How are you feeling?”

“Not bad. The jet lag is starting to hit after that drive from the airport, but I’m doing okay.”

We head to the dimly lit space off the lobby. Liam waves, and the man and woman watching us stand with smiles on their faces.

I can see bits and pieces of Liam in them, and my heart warms at the thought of him in thirty or forty years down the road. What he might look like with graying hair and weathered hands. He’ll have lived a full life then, and I hope he’ll still be finding ways to be happy.

“There you are.” His mom jumps to her feet and hugs him tight. “We were wondering when you’d get here. How was your flight?”

“Longer than expected because of weather the pilots were working around, but not bad.” Liam kisses her cheek then shakes his dad’s hand. “This is my girlfriend, Piper. Piper, these are my parents, Cliff and Linda.”

“Oh, aren’t you beautiful?” Linda hugs me like Alana did. “It’s so wonderful to meet you, Piper.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Linda. Thank you for letting me join your family these next few days.”

“We’re so honored to have you. Liam hasn’t told us much, only that you work for the Stars, and I can’t wait to get to know you.”

“I’m an open book. I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” I say.

“So different from Li.” Linda shakes her head, but she follows it up with a smile. “Always so secretive.”

“We’d invite you to join us for a drink, but we know you’ve had a long day. There’s a family breakfast downstairs tomorrow morning at eight thirty. We can catch up then,” Cliff says.

“Sounds good.” Liam holds my hand again and offers his parents a wave. “We’ll see you bright and early.”

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