Page 91 of Possessive Ink

“Oh, my friend Verity is a huge hockey fan. If you have any home games in the playoffs, I might see if she and her husband, Warrick, want to come watch with Nero and me. He’s still never seen you play,” Tori suggests.

“Hell yes. You guys can party with us and the rest of the team afterward. They’re mostly a great group of guys,” Jude says.

“Mostly?” Lemon asks quietly.

“The Marauders are an expansion team, so most of the players were picked from other NHL teams. We never really have a choice about being traded, but the expansion draft that took place was completely out of even the other clubs in the league’s control too. For people like Jude and me, it worked out perfectly. We wanted to come to Montana, so we had our agent negotiate a trade for us outside of the draft. But others on the team were just given a few days to pack up and move out here. One of our players was in the middle of a nasty divorce when he got the news that he’d been selected. His ex has used the fact that he’s now on the other side of the country to file for sole custody of their kids,” August explains.

“That’s awful. And there’s nothing he can do?” she asks.

“Not unless he quits or becomes a free agent. But that’s a huge risk and could be a career ender. Plus, the team he left in Chicago will have replaced him already,” Jude says.

“Hopefully he has a good lawyer,” I say.

“And a good prenup,” Tori interjects.

“Come on then, bro. Let’s get back to the condo of misery,” Jude says on a sigh.

“The condo of misery?” Felix asks, speaking for the first time in a while.

“The team condos are the most depressing things in the world. They’re all identical corporate rentals, which I get because the team had to house us all pretty quickly. But they’re beige and boring, and I can’t fucking wait until we have time to start looking for a place in Rockhead Point with you guys,” August says on a sigh.

“Are you thinking of buying or renting?” Tori asks. “You can always move into the apartment above the shop until you find somewhere.”

“Thanks, Little Bit, but we’ve already got a realtor looking for houses for us. Our agent negotiated us both four-year contracts with no trade clauses because we wanted to come to the Marauders. Now that we know where we’re going to be for the next few years, we’re going to put down some roots with you guys. It’ll be good to be surrounded by family again,” Jude says.

“All of us together in the same town. I can’t believe it,” Tori gushes excitedly.

“Lemon, I hope you’re ready for more family than you could ever want or need,” August says in a teasing tone.

“I’ve been a little short on family for a while, so being surrounded by it sounds pretty good to me,” she says sweetly.

Pulling her into my side, I press a kiss to the side of her head.

Both Jude and August’s expressions soften, and before I even realize what’s happening, they’ve pulled Felix and Tori toward us, squishing the girls into the middle of a ridiculous family group huddle.

I never for a moment considered that my siblings wouldn’t accept Lemon after I told them how I felt about her, but seeing them treat her like one of us so quickly makes the niggling shard of doubt in my chest that I’d been ignoring fade away. Lemon’s eyes are glassy by the time we all pull apart, and I drag her into me and hold her face against my chest while she wraps her arms around me.

Despite the group hug, August and Jude still pull first Tori and then Felix into them again, hugging them tightly. When they step up to Lemon and me, both of the twins are smiling mischievously.

“Welcome to the family, little sis,” Jude says, tugging Lemon away from me to hug her while August wraps his thickly muscled arms around me.

“Love you, big bro,” he says against my ear. “You did well. She’s a keeper.”

“I know she is. Love you too,” I tell him, slapping his back as he squeezes me tightly and attempts to crush me.

Laughing, I playfully push him off and grab Jude. “She fits, doesn’t she?” I ask him.

“Like she was made just for you,” he tells me.

I didn’t need their reassurance, but now that I have it, I’m glad that I do. After we wave goodbye, I open Lemon’s door for her and wait while she fastens her seat belt, only closing her inside the car once I’m sure she’s safe. The ride home is comfortably quiet, my hand resting on Lemon’s thigh, her hand covering mine.

“You okay, bro?” I ask Felix as I park my car in the courtyard outside the warehouse.

He nods. “I like us all being together again,” he says simply.

“Me too,” I agree.

“I’m going to sleep now,” Felix says. “Marcus got me the sheets that are like Lemon’s pajamas to try.”