I shrug. “This is basically spring to me.”
“I’ll give you that one.” He laughs. “So what do your parents do there?”
“My mom’s a nurse and my dad’s retired now, but he was a firefighter.”
His eyebrows lift. “Seriously? That’s badass.”
A smile tugs at my mouth despite myself. “Yeah. He saw a lot. My whole family did, by extension. It’s not an easy job to walk away from.”
“That makes sense.” Kieran shifts, resting his elbows on the table, seeming genuinely interested in what I’m saying. “That had to be intense as a kid.”
“It was.” My throat tightens, a memory flickering—the way my mom’s hands shook when the phone rang one night, the constant smell of smoke in my dad’s gear. “But he’s good now. He earned the break.”
“Bet he did.” Kieran’s smile softens, and for a second, I feel lighter. Seen. “Firefighter and a nurse, huh? Must’ve been a crazy house to grow up in.”
“It was,” I admit quietly. “But you get used to it. My brother and I had each other.”
“Older or younger?”
“Older. And yes, he’d tell you I was spoiled.”
He grins. “I knew it. Little sister energy all over you.”
I mock-gasp, shoving the last bit of churro toward him. “That’s not a thing.”
“It’sabsolutelya thing.” His eyes spark as he swallows his mouthful. “So where’s he now? Still in Toronto?”
“Nope. Here. Lives nearby.”
He hums, like he’s connecting dots. “So he followed you out, or…?”
“Other way around. He got drafted here, and his girlfriend, Tamara, came with him, and I kinda tagged along later. Tamara used to get lonely when he was on the road, so I came out a few times to stay. Loved the city so much I transferred schools and finished my degree here.”
“That’s actually pretty sweet… So drafted, huh—he’s an athlete?”
“Yeah.”
“What sport?”
I hesitate, swirling my watered-down Paloma in its plastic cup, the grapefruit soda nearly flat now.
“Hockey.”
He whistles. “Now we’re talkin’. NHL?”
I nod, hoping he’ll leave it there.
Kieran laughs, delighted. “No kidding. That narrows it down. Denver’s Storm country.”
My stomach sinks as I glance off to the side.
He leans in, elbows braced on the table. “So your brother plays for the Colorado Storm?”
I should deflect, change the subject. But I’m in too damn deep already.
“Yup.”
He sits back, low laugh rumbling. “No shit. That’s insane. Your brother plays for one of the best teams in the league right now!”
