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“I did, thank you for the great seats⁠—”

He pulls back, gives Micky a kiss that has me turning away, and then tucks her into his side. My brother’s gaze shifts to Casper—with his height he’s pretty hard to ignore. He’s several inches taller than Rhys.

“Casper,” Rhys says.

“Rhys,” Casper replies, like he’s done it a thousand times before. He reaches for the handshake first and Rhys obliges, his mouth twitching.

“So . . . you two, huh?”

“Yes,” I answer, before Casper says something insane.

“You’re not who I would have expected her to choose.”

“Thank you,” Casper replies.

“You consider that a compliment?” Rhys questions.

“I mean, have you seen her pizza toppings? It could be worse.”

Rhys makes a face, curling his lip and shifting his attention to me. “You’re still doing that⁠—”

“Okay, fuck both of you.”

“God, I was really hoping she would have grown out of that by now,” Rhys apologizes to Casper.

“It’s fine. I’ve got it on my to-do list,” Casper says.

“Hilarious,” I deadpan. “This is so much fun.”

Micky laughs, unwilling to come to my defense.

“Is he taking care of you?” Rhys asks.

I scrub a hand down my face. “Oh, please tell me we aren’t doing this.”

“Is she sassy like this with you too?” Rhys asks him, as if I’m not standing right fucking here.

“Constantly.”

I elbow Casper and give Rhys a sardonic smile.

“See?” Casper points at me. “Do you see how she beats me? She’s got a mean streak.”

My brother seems to approve of that. “Good, it’ll keep you humble.”

Casper scoffs. “I’m not humble.”

“Clearly.” Rhys rolls his eyes. “And now I’ve got my cocky tattoo artist dating my sister and showing up to my games.”

Casper rolls his shoulders in a feigned stretch. “Yeah. Big week for me.”

Rhys shakes his head, but there’s a reluctant smirk on his face. He shifts his focus to me and his gaze softens. “You look happy.”

It catches me off guard, forming a knot in my throat. “I am. Thank you.”

Casper moves his hand from the small of my back to my side, curling his fingers at my waist, holding me steady and warm.

Rhys notices, because of course he does.