Page 38 of Winter Love

Lorenzo snatches three of the bags and runs away from Sebastiano.

“Little brothers suck,” Sebastiano yells as he chases him.

Salvatore comes over laughing and takes the other bags, putting them into one of the cars.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

Salvatore smiles. “It’s a surprise.”

I chuckle as Emma and I get into the car. No one will tell us where we’re going. But the signs say ‘Chicago’ and I can see that we’re making our way into the city.

“I haven’t been to Chicago since we lost Mom and Dad. We came here the month before and saw a Hawks game. That’s the last time I was here.”

“I hope we can help you make more memories here,” Enea says.

“You already are.”

I start to get excited when I see the United Center coming into view.

“Are we—” I start to say.

“Domenico made arrangements so that you can go to the locker room and meet the team. Plus, we have a suite to watch the game and seats on the glass. So you can decide where you want to sit.”

I look at Enea and struggle to contain my excitement.

“Thank you. So much.”

We all get out and head into the center. There’s people lined up outside, waiting to get in. But the gates won’t open for another hour. I can hear some of the fans making comments about Sebastiano and it makes me chuckle.

“We hear it all the time.” Schuyler laughs. “Lots of fans will come up to Sebastiano and ask for his autograph. When he tells them he’s not Domenico, they say they don’t care.”

“That’s too funny. I mean, they are identical, though,” Emma laughs.

“They are, and the fans are awesome. They’re usually really nice because they know that they’re twins. And they still fawn all over Sebastiano. You should see when they’re together.”

“We should go to the mall with them.” Emma chuckles.

“Oh that’s an adventure all on it’s own.” Schuyler laughs.

The suite is unbelievable, I’ve never seen anything like it. They have my popcorn out for us to snack on, and other finger foods too. I love seeing something I created out for people to try.

“Who made the popcorns? It’s fucking delicious,” someone says.

Sebastiano introduces me to Mark, the father of another player.

“This is the best popcorn I’ve ever had. I own a movie theater here in Chicago. We’re like those old-time theaters. Would you be interested in selling some to us? I’d love to sit down and talk with you.”

I’m pretty sure the grin on my face is huge.

“I would love to. I’ll be here visiting for a week.”

“That’s great. Here’s my card. You call me and we’ll set up a time to talk.”

I shake his hand and go to find my girl.

“Did you see that? Holy crap. My popcorn at a movie theater? That’s crazy,” I say to Emma.

“I knew you’d be famous for it. I told you everyone’s going to love it.” She smiles and kisses me.

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