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They shrieked again, and he froze, unsure of why they kept screaming. When he glanced at Holly, she was trying hard not to laugh.
"Um, Eli, I think maybe they recognize you."
"Oh. Oh!" He'd never even considered that they would know who he was. "You guys watch hockey, then?"
"Do we watch hockey?" the one with the short hair asked. "We're from Toronto. Hockey is life in Canada!"
The long-haired twin offered him a shy smile, then stuck out her hand. "I'm Tabitha. And that's Maddie. Er, Madison."
"He's our brother, Tab. I think it's okay to hug him!" Madison threw her arms around him, and he grinned.
"Yeah, of course it's okay. Come here." He held an arm out for Tabitha, and they gave each other a big group hug.
"Sorry," Tabitha said, stepping back. "It's not every day you find out your long-lost brother is a famous hockey player. And playing for the Cup, no less. This is surreal. It's great to find out we have a brother regardless, but this is like extra cherries on the cake."
Eli laughed as a warm feeling rushed over him. Family. It was something he'd never expected or experienced before now, but fuck, he was more than grateful.
They took their seats around the table.
"This here is my friend, Holly," he told the girls. He paused. "Do you guys go by your full names?"
"You can call us anything," Madison said, brushing a lock of short, dark hair behind her ear. "I go by Madison, Maddie, or Mad. Same goes for Tabitha. Tabby or Tab."
"I hate to admit this, but I don't know your last name," he said, embarrassed. "Troy didn't tell me."
"Oh, it's Bright," Tabitha told him. "That's our dad's last name. Well, step-dad. He raised us though, so we only really know him as Dad."
"I get that. I was raised by someone else, too. I really wish I'd known about you guys sooner."
"You know now, and that's all that matters," Maddie replied. "But come on, the family resemblance is kinda spooky, isn't it? I mean, wow."
"It really is," Holly agreed. "It's obvious you're siblings."
"It's freaky," Eli admitted. "Except for the blue eyes, of course."
"I just can't believe we have a brother," Tabitha said, shaking her head. "Maddie and I have been freaking out for the past few days. My mom said she would have told us, but she didn't know Troy had another kid. Not that they really kept in touch or whatever."
Madison cocked her head. "Do you think there are more of us? Or are we it?"
Eli laughed. "Nah, I'm pretty sure it's just us."
The waitress came in and took their drink orders, then left to let them look over the menus.
"This place is fancy," Tabitha said. "And a VIP room? Wow."
"I'm not normally someone who hides away from crowds, but tonight is different. I'm not sure who might recognize me down here, but I didn't want to have people keep interrupting us tonight."
"Everyone would recognize you. Don't you know how famous you are?" Madison asked, looking genuinely curious. "I mean, you'reyou."
"You're going to give him an even bigger ego than he already has," Holly teased.
He shrugged. "I guess I don't think about it much."
"You're like one of the best defensemen to play in the league!" Tabitha chimed in. "We knew who you were, even though Toronto doesn't play Vegas all that much."
"Enough about me. I want to know all about you guys," he insisted. "Fill me in on the last eighteen years."
They both laughed. "We grew up in Toronto and spend summers here. Mom likes us to visit Troy at least once while we're down here. We don't mind. He's nice enough. Kind of like an uncle or whatever," Madison said. "As for me, I go to school for fashion design."
