“Poor Tuck, getting shit from everyone,” Lucas says.
“Language,” I warn, and he grins.
“Aunt Kate, why does Nicklas keep looking at you?”
“Oh God,” she groans. “Tuck is going to lose his mind.”
Lucas snorts. “I think he’s got the hots for you.”
“Lucas,” I warn, and he laughs.
“Sorry. Oh, hey Aunt Kate, can you come to my game Friday night? Tuck is coming.”
“I…sure. It sounds fun. I plan to visit my friend that day, but I’ll get her to drop me off at the game.”
“I’m going to ask Uncle Nicklas to come too,” Josh says.
“Josh,” I warn, knowing he’s matchmaking.
He grins at me and I laugh, but then it fades when Kate turns to me, concern on her face. “Should they be calling me Aunt Kate?”
Oh boy.
I try to brush it off. “It’s what the kids do,” I say with a small shrug. “They call all the players their uncles. It doesn’t mean anything.”
But even as I say it, something twists in my chest. Because it does mean something. Maybe not to everyone else. But my kids calling her aunt, does mean something…does sort of imply more.
Kate’s brow furrows, her gaze drifting past my shoulder like she’s not really seeing the game anymore. “No?” she asks quietly.
There’s something in that one word—something careful. Like she’s not asking about the name. Like she’s asking if it represents more, and I’m not sure what to tell her.
“It’s all good,” Gina jumps in easily, her gaze flickering to me. “It’s just what the kids do. We’re all one big family. You’ll get used to it.”
Kate nods slowly, but the tension doesn’t fully leave her. Her attention shifts back to the ice just as Nicklas weaves through Chicago’s defense and takes a fast shot on net. The buzzer sounds. The arena explodes.
“Impressive,” Kate says with a grin and I don’t miss the way she’s admiring Nicklas.
We’re all on our feet in an instant, clapping, cheering, the noise crashing around us in waves of excitement. The boys are yelling, jumping, grabbing onto each other like the win belongs to them too and I guess it sort of does.
I glance down at the ice and my heart leaps when I find Tuck already looking up at me. A grin spreads across his face, and something inside me lifts so fast it almost steals my breath.
Girl, you are in so deep.
I smile back, lifting my hand in a small wave. That’s when I feel it again. I turn to find Kate watching me. Concern etched clearly across her face. Maybe I don’t blame her. I did practically move my family into his house. But there’s no commitment. No promises. No clear lines drawn about what we are or where this is going.
Honestly, Kate has every reason to be worried. About what I want. About what I might take. About what could happen to her brother if this all falls apart.
My chest tightens.
Because the truth is?—
I do want more.
And the last thing I would ever do is hurt him.
But wanting more and saying it out loud are two very different things. Fear of rejection, of thinking this is more than it is, has a way of keeping me quiet.
But maybe I don’t want to be quiet anymore, which begs the question, what do I do? What do I say to show him that I don’t want to be just passing through? That I want to do more than play house with him. That I’m all in?
