“I’m making up for lost time.”
“In front of your entire team?”
“Especially in front of my entire team.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “They need to know.”
“Know what?”
“That you’re mine. That I’m done hiding. That anyone who has a question about us can come directly to me, and I’ll answer without hesitation.”
Her expression softens. “Bennett...”
“I know. I’m being dramatic.”
“You’re being honest.” She touches my face. “I like honest.”
“GROSS,” Shep yells from across the room. “Get a room! Or at least wait until the rest of us leave!”
I flip him off without looking away from Gisele. She laughs—bright and surprised—and the sound hits me somewhere deep.
This is real. This is happening. And I’m not scared anymore.
The next twenty minutes are chaos.
The guys file past with comments ranging from genuine congratulations to absolutely filthy suggestions. Shep demands a detailed timeline of our relationship and looks personally offended when I tell him to mind his own business. Boone pulls Gisele into a hug and says something that makes her laugh.
Through all of it, I stay close to her. Telling anyone who’s watching that this is where I belong without having to say a word. Not possessively—just present. Aware. Making sure everyone can see that this isn’t a passing thing. This is permanent.
“You know,” Gisele says during a brief moment of relative quiet, “when I started Operation Soft Boy, I didn’t exactly picture it ending with you making out with me in a hockey locker room.”
“Disappointed?”
“The opposite.” She smiles. “But if you’d told me a month ago that Bennett Foster would voluntarily display emotion in front of witnesses, I would have demanded proof.”
“Consider this proof.”
“Oh, I am.” She glances around at the thinning crowd. “I am absolutely considering this proof.”
Shep appears at my elbow, because of course he does. “So. Sunday dinner at Beth’s. Are we all invited, or is this a family-only situation?”
“Family only.”
“But I’m family.” He puts his hand over his heart. “Spiritually. Emotionally. I’ve been rooting for you two since the beginning.”
“You’ve been running a betting pool since the beginning,” I say. “Different thing.”
“Can’t two things be true at the same time?”
He’s not wrong. Somehow that’s the most Shep thing he’s ever said.
“You’ve been making inappropriate comments since the beginning,” I correct.
“Same thing.” He looks at Gisele. “Back me up here.”
“You did start the betting pool,” she says thoughtfully.
“See? I’m invested in this relationship. I deserve to witness the formal family acknowledgment.”
“No.”
