Dante leans in, lowering his voice to that conspiratorial growl he saves for “family business.”
“Remember what I told you before about Luca Bianchi, cupcake. Let’s just say I took him to a nice farm upstate. Plenty of room to run… and nobody ever hears from him again.”
I stare into his eyes until we both blink. “Thank you… I think?”
“Do you think Cannoli and Calamari would like matching jerseys?” Dante announces. “I can totally make that happen.”
Julie gives me one last smile before following him off to the living room.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. When I glance down, I see “Dubois Family” flash across the screen with a cluster of Canadian flag emojis.
“Min! Put us on speaker!” Tristan’s mom calls the second I answer. His sisters crowd into the frame, already teary-eyed.
“Show us the house! Show us our girl!” Maria demands.
Tristan takes the phone and angles the camera toward me. “She’s right here,Maman.”
His mother clasps her hand to her heart. “You look happy, Minerva.”
And I am. God, I am.
Ellie waves wildly. “We heard you’re working with the WHL! You’re famous!”
“Totally,” Jules adds.
Tristan grins, tugging me against him. “Told you she was a genius.”
My heart squeezes. I belong to someone’s family. Not by blood. By choice. By love.
We chat for a while, then I let Tristan say goodbye. I refill my glass and meander back into the kitchen with Tristan trailing after me. Knova, Viktor, Dot, Camden, and Coach Abbott are there.
“What did we miss?” I ask.
Viktor holds out his phone with the screen pointed toward me. “We’re getting a dog!”
“Oh.” I blink at him. “But didn’t Knova say…?”
Knova lifts her wine glass in a toast to me. “Good to know that someone listens.”
“Our realtor just called. Our offer was accepted. We’re getting a house!”
Knova, midway through a sip of her sauvignon blanc, chokes and sputters. “Which offer?”
“The one we made in our parents’ old neighborhood. Isn’t that great?” He thumps Camden’s back a few times. “We’re gonna be neighbors. And we’re getting our own pool!”
“That’s great, sweetie.” Viktor’s mom, Molly, clasps her hands under her chin.
Knova blots her spilled wine. “Seriously? I only agreed to the offer because I never thought it would be accepted.”
Viktor pouts. “I thought you’d love it!”
“I will love it. You’re going to hate it.”
Viktor turns his entreaty toward his parents. “What’s to hate? We grew up in that neighborhood. We love it there.”
Knova immediately starts ticking things off on his fingers. “My dad will become obsessed with our lawn, too. You’ll need to learn how to maintain a pool. And there will be no sex outside. Not with our parents three doors down.”
Molly cackles at the last point, but Noah holds up his hands and backs away. “I’m out.” He turns and almost walks smack into Dante, who has brought Briggs to the kitchen with him.
