He hums, nodding. “Yes. I should have.”
I make the first move, wrapping my arms around him tightly, and a moment later, he embraces me back with a strength that surprises me. My heart aches at his familiar scent.
“Your mother would be so proud of you,” he tells me.
“She would be proud of you, too,” I admit. “And of us.”
I can feel his smile against the top of my head. “Yes. She would.”
Tate, Bea, my friends, my team, my father. I’m loved. I’m so loved.
We pull apart, both slightly embarrassed by the vulnerability, darting glances at each other.
“Hi, Ross, Jordan,” Darcy says at our side, and my dad and I relax at the interruption. She gestures at a woman in her early twenties with dark hair that ends just above her shoulders. “This is my co-op student from Queen’s.” A university in Ontario. “Briar Young. Her term starts in September, but I wanted her to meet everyone first.”
“Nice to meet you, Briar.” My father shakes her hand. “Welcome to the Vancouver Storm.”
“We’re so happy to have you,” I tell her with a welcoming smile. “Maybe I can take you for lunch during your first week. I can help introduce you around.”
Briar gives me a shy but pleased look. “I’d love that. Thank you.”
“What are you in school for?—”
“Hey.” Luca’s suddenly in front of her with a puzzled expression before his mouth starts to curve. “You. I know you.”
Briar’s eyes go wide and she takes a step back. “What? No.”
Right. Luca went to Queen’s, too. He played hockey there.
“Yeah, I do.” He takes a step forward, full attention on her. He looks at Briar like he found something he lost. Like he’s spellbound. “I remember you. I looked for you.”
Briar, however, looks like she wants to disappear into the floor, eyes darting around all of us. Anywhere but Luca. “You’re thinking of someone else. Sorry, I have to go.” She glances between me and my dad. “Nice meeting you.”
She disappears into the crowd, and Luca watches her walk away with a lovestruck expression.
“Rookie,” I warn.
He stares in the direction Briar disappeared. “I’m going to marry her.”
Darcy and I exchange a bemused look and Luca’s gaze swings to Darcy, determined and focused. “What’s her name?”
Darcy narrows her eyes. “Briar.”
“Briar,” he repeats, looking back over the packed bar, searching for her. “Pretty name.”
“Do not make this weird,” I tell him, and like he’s clearing his head from a dream, he blinks back to the present, looking down at me.
“What?” He blanches. “Why would I make things weird?”
Darcy and I stare at him.
“I won’t make things weird,” he promises us.
“And you won’t make her uncomfortable,” Darcy tells him in a firm tone.
“I won’t make her uncomfortable.” He takes a deep breath like he’s nervous. “But I am going to marry her.”
I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling. A slow song starts playing in the bar, and Tate catches my eye.
