“But you’re not even married!”
Ian and Dee exchange a glance, looking sheepish.
“About that…” Ian says, rubbing at the back of his neck.
Dee giggles as she lifts her left hand, revealing a sparkling diamond ring thatdefinitelywasn’t there the last time I saw her.
“Shut the fuck up!” I all but shout.
“Language,” Christine chides, even though her mouth is turned up in a grin.
Abby squeals as she grabs for Dee’s hand. “When did this happen?”
“Last night,” Dee says with a shy smile.
Ian leans over the counter from his side of the ice, smiling like a fool as he meets Dee’s lips for a kiss that is definitely less than proper as far as I’m concerned.
“All right, all right,” I grouse. “Enough canoodling. We get it. You’re inlove.”
“We are,” Ian murmurs, pecking another kiss against Dee’s mouth.
I yank Ian away from my sister, pulling him into a hug, which is a lot harder to do in skates than one might think. “Happy for you, brother.” I snort. “Wow, I can really call you that now, huh? Maybe it’ll feel a little less incestuous.”
“It’s never been incestuous,” Ian says with a snort as he pulls away.
“When you guys do something, you don’t do it halfway,” Abby laughs.
“I know, I know,” Dee says. “It’s just…He’s such a good kid. And he adores Ian so much.”
“And we adore him,” Ian adds.
“Don’t you think it’ll be weird to start out your marriage with a kid?” I ask. “An older one at that.”
“It will be strange,” Dee concedes. She catches Ian’s eye, herexpression softening. “But we’ve talked about it a lot, and it’s something we both want. We’re going to make it work.”
Christine moves to throw an arm around Dee’s shoulder. “I’m happy for the both of you.”
“Thank you,” Dee says, lips split in a wide grin.
It hits me then, that my baby sister is going to be starting her own family, and what it does to me is…strange. I feel this odd sense of…not being needed. Which is silly, because it’s been a long time since Deereallyneeded me. But seeing her now, engaged and apparently with a kid on the way—it’s driving that fact home.
Abby catches my gaze, her brows furrowing, and I know it must show on my face, what I’m feeling. I do my best to wipe it away, forcing a smile instead.
“Wow, I’ve always wanted to be someone’s favorite uncle.”
“You’d be hisonlyuncle,” Ian reminds me. “Kind of makes it not a fair competition.”
“Are you implying that if there was another uncle in the picture, I wouldn’t be the favorite?”
Dee smirks. “I’m sure you’ll be great.”
“Seriously though,” I tell her, leaning over the counter that separates the kitchen from the ice and placing my hand over hers. “I’m happy for you guys.”
My voice sounds thicker, and at any other time I might be embarrassed by that, but these people in this room are my family. I think I’m allowed to be a little emotional.
Dee’s eyes look a little shinier, and she reaches to wipe away an errant tear. “Thank you.” She lets out a watery laugh. “Now get those skates off so you can get over here and hug me.”
My eyes feel a little watery, too, when I rush to the edge of the ice to comply.
