Shock still paints his face, his eyebrows raised and his pupils wide.
“Your sister and I are together.” Connor’s jaw drops for a brief moment as he takes in the news. I take advantage of his stunned silence and continue. “We actually have been sharing a hotel room. And before you get pissed, we never technically lied to you about that. You just assumed she had her own room. Which doesn’t matter.”
Good grief, now I’m rambling.
Charlie squeezes my hand and I look over at her. She’s smiling, not at all affected by this news getting out earlier than we intended.
“I got it from here, Luke.”
She turns her attention back to Connor. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner. We just couldn’t figure out how to do it. You mean so much to both of us and we don’t really talk about things like this. I was afraid you’d hate me for trying to take your best friend away.”
Connor takes a step closer to us. His eyes soften as he looks at his sister, no longer holding shock and confusion.
He takes his sister’s other hand, cradling it between his own.
“I could never hate you, Charlotte. I know I may not have said it much in the past, but I love you. I’m sorry you thought you couldn’t talk to me about this.”
Charlie releases a sound that is half sob, half laugh, causing both me and her brother to laugh with her.
“Now, Luke, on the other hand.”
Oh, fuck.
He releases Charlie’s hand and holds one of his out for me to take.
I grip his hand with mine and he looks me dead in the eye.
“I love you brother, but if you do anything to hurt my sister, Iwillfucking kill you.”
Laughing, he pulls me into a hug. Before he lets go, he whispers in my ear, “There’s not a better man I’d want for my sister.”
My nose tingles with impending tears but that feeling is gone quickly due to Charlie breaking up our bromance.
“Don’t worry brother, if he hurts me, I have no problem taking care of him myself.”
Liv chooses this moment to interrupt this family moment with her own threat. “And I know the perfect place to hide a body.”
My gold medal bounces with every step I take inside the Curling Center. I know it technically weighs over a pound but it doesn’t feel heavy at all hanging around my neck.
I’m not sure there will ever come a day that I will want to take it off. It’s been eight years since Team USA last won gold in women’s hockey, so I think wearing it for eight years straight is totally appropriate.
“Excuse me, sorry,” I repeat over and over as I inch my way in front of everyone, attempting to get to my seat.
Finally, I find my spot next to my brother, who’s been here for hours at this point. He insisted on being here when Luke and his team arrived. “Moral support” he called it. It’s kind of cute how nervous he is for Luke.
“Your boyfriend looks pissed.”
I roll my eyes at the term of endearment my brother has conveniently been using in lieu of his best friend’s actual name ever since we told him about our relationship.
“You know he has a name, right? You can still call him Luke.”
My eyes finally find the man we’re talking about and Ilaugh because he really does look pissed. I know better, though. He’s just completely locked in and ready for their gold medal match against, you guessed it, Canada.
We’re all hoping for the same result as my last game against our rivals, but Canada’s curling team is freakinggoodthis year. They’re undefeated so far at these Olympic Games. Luke’s team only lost one match and it was by one point. It’s going to be an epic battle for gold, I can feel it in my bones.
“But it’s so fun getting under your skin. It’s even more fun when I refer to you as my ‘baby sister’ with Luke.”
I wind up and smack Connor in the chest with the back of my hand.
