My heart soars at her immediate approval. I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m glad disappointment didn’t flutter through her gaze.
“Thank you.”
The door swings open, and Jensen crutches through, his eyes bouncing between us awkwardly.
“Oh, sorry. I feel like I interrupted something.”
He tries turning around on his crutches, but I stop him. “Wait, it’s okay. I think we’re done?” I look over at Caitlin, and she smiles with a soft nod. “Need anything else?”
“I think we’ve got it from here. Thank you for helping us out tonight.”
“Anytime. We’ll be up in the box. If you need anything, just text me!” I offer, and she shoos us out the door, telling us to enjoy the game.
Jensen and I are meeting up with my parents. We’re going to be watching the game from one of the club boxes.
I pull my phone out as Jensen and I walk into the hallway, checking for messages from my parents.
Mom: Hi, honey! We’re in the box! There is so much food up here! Are you going to be here soon?! So excited to see you!
I laugh to myself, seeing her excitement clearly from the amount of exclamation points she’s using. But I can’t blame her because I’m feeling the same way, but probably a bit more nervous, given the secret we’re about to share with them.
I shoot her a quick text as we step into the elevator and head up to the club level.
On our way up now!
The short ride upstairs does little to ease my nerves, but the moment we step into the box and I meet my mom’s eyes, my heart relaxes.
No one else has arrived yet, thankfully, so we have the place to ourselves. The box is shared by the Nighthawks players’ families.
“Sweetie!” she cries out and rushes toward me, throwing her arms around me.
The air whooshes out between us, and I inhale deeply, trying to drown myself in the comforting scent of my mom. She tightens around me and rocks me back and forth, my mind and soul melting into her embrace.
“I missed you.” My words are muffled against her sweater.
She kisses my head. “I missed you too, baby.”
We pull away, and she wipes the wetness away under her eyes with a smile on her face.
Jensen and my dad talking pulls my attention, and I turn, seeing them shortly embrace with matching grins. They pull away, and I switch with Jensen, throwing my arms around my dad, feeling his happy chuckle vibrate through me.
“Hey, Lainey.” His warm, deep voice floods my emotions, taking me by surprise. “I missed you, peanut.”
“I missed you too, Dad.” I fight the burning sensation forming in the back of my eyes.
Rapidly blinking it away, I step back with a smile.
Jensen notices immediately, smiling sweetly. He crutches over to me and slides his arm around the small of my back, pulling me into his side and kissing the top of my head.
My gaze bounces between my parents, who don’t look surprised in the slightest. It takes me less than a second to realize why that is … my big-mouthed brother.
I sigh. “Luca already told you.”
Mom nervously bites her top lip. “He did! But we are still so excited!”
Dad clasps his hands together before hugging Jensen again. “Welcome to the family.”
My heart clenches, as I know how much this means to Jensen—to be loved and supported by them. Looking up at Jensen, I try to communicate my thoughts with a long stare. He nods, hopefully reading my mind correctly because if not, this is about to be awkward.
