Liam
"Tickets to the Strikers?" Ruthie yells loud enough that the table next to us looks over.
I smile at them and wave my apologies as Levi nods. "Club seats. For every home game between now and the end of the season. And there's three tickets there so you can take a grown upanda friend."
"Or me!" Cooper chimes in.
Alex nudges him as Ruthie rolls her eyes playfully and whips her head toward me. "Dad, did you hear that? Every home game."
I inhale slowly, calculating how we'll somehow fit about a dozen games into our already jam-packed schedule. "I did. That's pretty awesome," I admit. "You better thank your aunt and uncle."
Her head whips back toward them as she hops out of her seat. "Thank you, thank you," she squeals, leaning over each of them still in their chairs and throwing her arms around their necks. Coop hunches in his chair, wincing when Ruthie half-hugs him from the side.
"You really shouldn't have," I say coyly, arching my brow toward my brother.
He reads me like I knew he would. "We'll figure out who can take you for each game. Maybe we'll do some, and Dad can squeeze a couple in. If not, I'm sure Tessa would take you."
Just the sound of her name puts me on edge—almost as if I expect that everyone's next move will be to look in my direction to see how I react.They don't, of course, because I'm the only one besides her who knows that we kissed, but… we did.
We kissed.
And holy shit—did it completely set my world on fire.
"Dad…"
I glance up from the Tessa-sized hole I fell into and find four sets of eyes on me, waiting. "Sorry, what?"
My brother sucks his teeth as Alex chimes in. "I asked if anyone wanted to go for ice cream since the dessert menu here is kind of…"
"Lame," Cooper and Ruthie say simultaneously.
"Lame," Alex echoes with a shrug.
A yawn escapes me in perfect timing. "Guys, I don't mean to be a downer, but I'm beat from the game today. And I have to get ice on this ankle."
"Not feeling any better?" Levi asks, taking a sip from his water.
I look under the table at the joint in question. "I'll be fine—just rolled it. But it'll be sore for game two tomorrow if I don't ice it now. Can we take a raincheck?"
Ruthie's shoulders slump dramatically, and I glance at my brother.
"Itisher birthday dinner," he argues in her defense.
I tilt my chin down. "It's actually her third birthday dinner if I'm counting correctly."
Ruthie holds my gaze, her expression blank like she's waiting for my point.
I chuckle to myself, grateful that even after becoming a preteen—even after the episode last night with Kenzie and her big mouth—that she's still just a kid who wants her sugar. Regardless, the ache in my ankle begs me to decline. "You guys are doing the game tomorrow night. Can't you get snow cones at the rink or something?"
"Well, yeah, duh," she says, looking at Cooper. He lifts one shoulder and nods in agreement. "But Uncle Levi says we can do both."
My brother, who is reading over our bill, pops his head up. "I said what now?"
"How about we take these two noodles for ice cream, and we'll drop Ruthie off after? Then, you can go home and ice up. You play early again tomorrow, right?"
"Noon," I sigh.
Alex reaches for her belt bag and tosses it over her shoulder. "Right, so we'll take them now and bring her home later." She glances over at my brother, who turns his lips down, and slides his chair back. "You need rest, and we need Fudge Brownie Explosions."
