“I don’t know what that first thing is, and definitely no on the second.”
“I might have them at home. I’ll go check, and if not, I’ll make thumbprint cookies. Or maybe chocolate chip. Everyone likes chocolate chip.”
“Can I give you your Christmas present first?”
Eli looked around the kitchen like Sandro could’ve been talking to anybody else. But considering Sandro was looking right at him . . .
Eli pressed a thumb into his own chest. “Me?”
“It’s certainly not Bennett,” Sandro said with a grin. “I gave him his present this morning.”
“Nope.”
“It was just a little?—”
“Nope. Nuh-uh.” Eli backed away. “I don’t want to know what my elders were doing in the bedroom.”
Sandro’s grin quickly flipped into a frown. “Elders?”
“You are ancient.”
“Oh, for the love of . . . You know what? Fuck it. No Christmas present for you.”
“Aw.” Twining his fingers together under his chin, Eli batted his eyelashes. “Pretty please.”
Sandro huffed a laugh. “Get your coat on.”
“Why? Is my present outside?”
“Yup.”
“What is it? A Christmas decoration?”
“Just get outside.”
Bennett followed them out into the cold for no other reason than he wanted to see Eli’s reaction when Sandro gave him his gift. He stayed on the porch, giving the teammates their space, and zipped up his coat to preserve heat.
“This is my new car,” Sandro said, pointing at the white mid-size luxury SUV in his driveway.
“Okay,” Eli said uncertainly.
“And this,” Sandro continued, stopping at his old SUV, which was parked at the curb with its brand-new engine, “is your new car.”
“I . . .” Brow scrunched, Eli looked from Sandro to the car and back. “What?”
“We need to sort out paperwork and whatnot. I’m not actually sure how to transfer car ownership into someone else’s name, but I’ll figure it out.” Sandro kicked one of the tires lightly. “She’s fully functional except for the heated seats—those haven’t worked in a few years—and she’s got her winter tires on already. She’s got a shit-ton of mileage, but I just had the engine replaced, and my mechanic says she should run for another five to ten—oof.”
Eli had launched himself at him. “Oh my god. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. I can retire the pee-mobile?”
Bennett hid a laugh in his fist.
“Please retire the pee-mobile,” Sandro said.
The way Eli readily accepted the gift made something clench in Bennett’s chest. Eli didn’t protest, didn’t try to say he couldn’t accept it or that it was too much. He accepted it with grace and excitement in a way that Bennett never could.
He tried to imagine himself as he’d been in his rookie season, struggling under the pressure coming from every direction—including his own. If someone had offered him a car, he never would’ve accepted it. Hell, if someone had offered him any sort of resource to help make his life easier, he would’ve rejected it without a second thought.
He’d been fine.
