And standing near the windows, already dressed in his game-day suit, was Rook.
He turned when we walked in, and his whole face did that thing where it went from captain-mode professional to soft in about half a second. He crossed the room and pulled me into a hug that lasted just long enough to make my siblings start making noises.
“Hey,” he said against my hair.
“Hey yourself.” I pulled back enough to look at him. “You look good. Very captain-y.”
“It's the suit.”
“It's definitely the suit.”
He grinned and turned to my siblings, greeting each of them with genuine warmth. Then he looked at all of us and said, “You want to meet the team before the game?”
Poppy's eyes went so wide I thought they might fall out of her head. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Come on.”
He led us through another hallway and into what I assumed was the players' area. The energy shifted immediately — louder, more chaotic, the smell of tape and coffee and the particular brand of nervous energy that came with playoff hockey.
The locker room door was open, and I could see players moving around inside, some already in gear and some still in various states of undress. Rook stuck his head in and said, “Got some people I want you to meet.”
The noise dropped immediately, and about fifteen pairs of eyes turned toward the door.
“This is Soren,” Rook said, and his hand found mine without him looking down. “And his siblings — Talia, Micah, and Poppy.”
“The siblings!” someone yelled, and suddenly the entire team was moving toward us.
Jace appeared first, already grinning like he'd won something. “Finally. We've been waiting to meet you guys.”
“You're the ones staying with the Kincaids, right?” Cole asked, and when Talia nodded he whistled. “Lucky. Martha makes the best cookies on the planet.”
“She really does,” Poppy said solemnly.
The introductions happened in a blur of names and handshakes and players who were way too enthusiastic about meeting a drummer and his family. Dmitri was quiet but warm, Finn immediately started asking Poppy about school, and Tate launched into a story about the time he'd tried to learn drums and nearly destroyed his apartment.
Then Rook cleared his throat, and the room settled.
“Also,” he said, and I heard the shift in his voice that meant he was about to say something that mattered. “Soren's my boyfriend.”
The silence lasted exactly two seconds.
“Finally!” Finn threw his hands in the air. “Cole, you owe me twenty bucks!”
“I said before the end of the series?—”
“He's standing here holding his hand, Cole?—”
I glanced sideways at my siblings. Poppy had her hand pressed over her mouth, shoulders shaking. Micah was grinning at the floor. Talia had the expression of someone watching a nature documentary and finding it deeply satisfying.
None of them surprised. All of them delighted.
Rook was grinning so hard I thought his face might split, and before I could say anything else he pulled me close and kissedme. Right there in front of his entire team and my siblings and probably half the arena staff.
It wasn't a huge dramatic kiss. Just sure and real and completely impossible to misread. When he pulled back, I was pretty sure my face was on fire.
“What was that for?” I managed.
“Felt like it,” he said, and kissed me again.
