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“A noble profession. Nurses make all the difference.” He’d had his fair share of surgeries and procedures, and the medical staff always took such good care of him. Not to mention the staff at the care facility who’d looked after his mom.

“Yeah, I kinda want to help people now.” She tapped her finger on the side of the plastic cup. “Hockey, huh? How many fake teeth do you have?”

“Three.”

“How many fights have you been in?”

“Too many to count.”

“Concussions?”

He had to think about that one. “Four.”

“How much do you like my uncle?”

Bennett started to answer, A whole fucking lot—but caught himself. Was she trying to trick him? “Sofia.”

“Come on! I want to know. He’s so secretive.”

“For a reason. We both are. How did you find me anyway?”

“Your Instagram. You share one of these coffee pics at least once a month.”

Lifestyle content, his management team called it. They were always pressuring him to show more of his “real” life. Coffee pics had seemed like an innocuous way to do it. Instead, he’d instructed people on how to find him. Learning how to use his fancy espresso machine at home just jumped to the top of his priority list.

“And,” she continued, “I know you took him for a bocce date because I followed him. I saw him get out to meet you.”

“It wasn’t a date,” Bennett murmured before taking a large swallow of coffee. “And he would not be happy if he knew you did that.”

“Which is why he’s never going to find out,” Sofia said, like this was the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re not going to tell him I was here, are you?”

The right thing to do would be to tell Nico right away, but Bennett knew he wouldn’t. He didn’t want to get her in trouble and she’d had a rough enough month as it was. “I’m no rat.”

“Look at you!” She tapped her plastic cup to his. “Learning the lingo. See? You really are perfect for Uncle Nico.”

He rolled his eyes, but he was grinning, the compliment making him feel hot all over. “I can see why he’s so fond of you.”

“Oh, my god.” She leaned in eagerly. “He told you about me? What did he say?”

Instantly, Bennett realized his mistake, leaving out a breadcrumb like that. He grimaced sheepishly. “I’m not sure he’d want me to repeat it.”

“What did he say? Did he complain about Love Island? Because if he did, he’s lying. He’s so invested in that show, like, glued to the screen.” She opened her eyes comically wide as if to demonstrate.

Nico had complained about the shows, but Bennett didn’t think that was relevant. He decided to share Nico’s words with her. If Nico got pissed about it, too bad. “He said you were a joy to have around. A bright spot, I think, was the term he used.”

Her eyes went glassy and bright, and she covered her mouth with her hands. “That is so sweet,” she choked out. “I can’t believe he said that.”

Tears. Oh, god. A profound wave of panic went through Bennett as this was an occurrence he was wholly unprepared for. He’d only seen his mother cry twice, and Lauren once when her dad passed away. “Please, Sofia. Don’t cry. If he ever learns that I made you cry . . . ”

She blew out a long breath and waved her fingers in front of her eyes. “You’re safe. I can’t cry because it’ll ruin my mascara.” After a moment, she was composed again. “He must really trust you to talk to you about the family. It’s not something he does, ever.”

“I suppose. I hope so, anyway.”

“Did you two meet because of me? You know, because of what happened.”

“Yes.” He didn’t want to lie, and she probably wouldn’t believe it if he tried. How else would a closeted mob boss meet a closeted pro hockey player? “I’ve been looking into what happened to you on my end. I will find him, Sofia. I swear it.”

“Nico will find him,” she said with absolute certainty. “No offense, but he’s probably a thousand times better at finding assholes than you are.”