“What?Thatch. I promise you, I am very well aware of all the ways this is fucked. But you saw. I love her. It’s already a bitch to sneak around, and I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”
“Well,” Thatch says thoughtfully, chewing a piece of pizza, “you can’t do anything about it right now. You guys are poised for a playoff run. Team’s overall healthy, depth chart is stacked after your trade deadline moves. If you nuke the chemistry by revealing you’re fucking the Santori sister, you can kiss the playoffs goodbye.”
“Hey, watch it. We make love, thank you.”
“I’m just saying, man, whatever you’ve been doing to keep it quiet, if it’s not enough, you need to suck it up for a while. At least until the playoffs are over. If you blow everything up now, I have a good feeling you’ll be run out of Thunder Bay forever, and she won’t be coming with you.”
“Hmm.” I’m distracted by Ellie, freshly showered and hair wrapped in a towel, sneaking into the kitchen to grab a water from the fridge. She’s wearing tiny shorts and an old practice T-shirt of mine, with “Williams” in big block letters across the back. When she sees me, she waves, makes a motion that she’s going to dry her hair, then scurries back down the hall.
“Thatch, you’ll have to excuse me for fifteen or so minutes. By all means, eat the rest of my food. Order some more. I’ll be back.” I hurry after Ellie, but not before Thatch huffs a laugh.
“I’d like to go on record as changing my prediction,” he calls down the hall. “You’ll be lucky to make it out of here alive.”
Chapter 18
Everything about thismorning seems a little more magical than normal. The birds chirp a particularly cheerful song, the light filters in through the windows just a little brighter, and the coffee even smells a little better than usual.
Waltzing into the kitchen to pour myself a mug of coffee, I’m met with something even better than all the caffeine in the world. “Leo! You’re back so soon!” I squeal as I run into his arms, almost tackling him with my hug.
He spins me around, laughing. “Morning, Sis! Yeah, with our season over, I have a lot more time on my hands. Thought we could get caught up on our shows after some practice with Nikki and Gabri. What’s got you in such good spirits today?”
“I’m always in good spirits!”
“Yeah, but not like this and not when you didn’t get in until three in the morning,” he teases, earning him a punch to his rock-solid bicep.
“You’re humming!”
“She’s in love!” Nonna exclaims, walking in from the pantry with her hands full of tomatoes.
“I amnotin love!” I scoff, shaking the hand I injured on Leo’s arm.
I’m not in love, am I?Teddy is all I think about lately. Every stolen moment is spent at his condo. I get butterflies whenever I see a text from him…I even dream about him almost every night.
Mama turns from the stove and kisses my cheeks. “Good morning, principessa. And yes, you are very much in love.”
Leo frees Nonna’s hands and starts washing the tomatoes. “I knew it! I knew there was a reason you were down bad last week. So tell us who this lover boy is who’s stolen your heart, and what did he do to make you so sad?”
I open and close my mouth several times, not quite knowing what to say. We agreed we’d tell everyone after the playoffs, and as much as I want to tell my family, I can’t trust them not to tell my brothers. Word tends to get around in this family. They don’t exactly know what it means to keep something a secret. That is, unless it’s aboutthe business.
Luckily, Nonna speaks up. “Leo, why don’t you go find your brothers? Some conversations are just for us women.”
“Oh thank God, you’re finally going to give Ellie the birds and bees talk. I can actually help explain some things if you nee—”
Mama slaps my brother on the back of the head. “Out, Leo!”
He raises his hands in surrender as he backs out of the kitchen, grabbing a croissant on the way out. “Okay, okay, I’ll go. Hey Sis, just let me know if you have any questions later!”
“I swear that child is going to put Papa and me into an early grave.” Mama shakes her head, but I can tell she’s trying to hide a smile. “Alright, tell us!”
“I don’t know what you mean.” I take a sip of orange juice, hoping to buy myself more time to come up with an answer.
“Elia Giulia Santori, if you don’t tell your mother about you and that hunk of a goalie, I’m going to show him the videos of you when you thought you were a tiger and would sneak up on us all and pounce.”
My drink sprays everywhere as Nonna calls me out, and with wide eyes, I look between Mama and Nonna as they both laugh.
“Oof, when I said spill it, that isnotwhat I meant.” Mama chuckles as she wipes her hands on her apron and leans against the counter to face me.
“How…how do you guysknowwe’re together?” I ask, still coughing from my regurgitated juice.
