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His hand came up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Better than okay.”

I went up on my toes and kissed him. It started out slow and leisurely, but then his hand slid to the back of my neck and we both moaned as he deepened the kiss. I would never tire of his kisses.

“I heard that. Get a room!” Liam hollered from the living room.

I smiled against Harry’s lips, but he didn’t pull away.

“You need to put the lasagna in the oven or else they’ll all get hangry,” I whispered.

“They can eat snacks.”

I huffed a laugh, but he kissed me once more and let me go, turning back to the counter. I stole a piece of mozzarella from the cutting board and went back to the living room with a warmth in my chest that had nothing to do with the cocktails I’d been drinking.

I curled up in the recliner chair and instead of watching the movie, I watched the people who’d all shown up for me. One thing finally became clear to me; family didn’t have to be blood. Family was the people who showed up, who supported you and loved you—even when it was ugly.

They were the ones there for you no matter what.

TWENTY-NINE

I’d never loved or appreciated my friends more than I did when I’d gotten home from the store to see them all here. I’d expected Foster, Abby, and Mason to come over, but even I’d been surprised to see Drew and Liam show up, especially since their families lived nearby. I was even more grateful that I wasn’t spending this holiday back East with my parents now that I got to spend it with all of these guys. This was what true family loyalty and love that Pop always talked about looked like—the kind he felt like he’d failed to create with his own kids because money had poisoned it. While I didn’t believe that money was all bad—it had its place in the world—this definitely carried more value to me.

We’d all just sat down to eat the meal of lasagna, garlic bread, and salad that I’d thrown together when there was a knock on the door. I instantly stilled, immediately remembering a similar situation only a couple of weeks ago when the person on the other side of that knock had been Sam’s brother. I really wasn’t in the mood to see any of her family so soon after what had happened in Seattle.

“Seriously, who knocks?” Liam said, looking at Sam. “Is this your brother again?”

I hated how her face paled slightly like the idea bothered her as much as it bothered me.

There was another knock, more impatient this time. Liam huffed as he scooted out of his chair and went to the door. A moment later, he came back with a cheeky grin on his face.

“Gordy, your sister is here.”

Everyone froze as the woman behind him came into view. She was a female version of me—black hair and similar gray eyes, although hers were lighter than mine. Her hair was long and straight, but there was no doubt we were related, except maybe that she didn’t carry the same brooding energy I’d been told I had.

Vivienne was a force when she wanted to be and had a lot more fire than I’d ever had, but she carried herself like she was prim and proper. She was also way more type A than I was and had a need for control that had frustrated my parents on more than one occasion because she wasn’t always good about just doing what she was told. I actually admired that about her, and it was probably why we’d always gotten along well, even when my parents had tried to pit us against each other.

My chest tightened at the sight of her, and I suddenly felt bad that I hadn’t called her. The fact that she was standing in the hockey house right now, suitcase probably still in a rental car outside, told me more about whatever she was about to say than the words themselves would. Whatever this was, it was big.

“Viv? What are you doing here?” I asked.

She put her hands on her hips. “Well, since you refused to answer my calls or come home for Christmas, I decided to come to you. I really could have used your support, you know.”

I stared at her like she’d grown another head. “Support for what?”

She lifted her chin. “I’m starting my own NFL franchise. Here in Montana.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You’re what?”

“You heard me.”

“I—” I didn’t know what to even say to that.

“Hold on,” Drew interrupted. “You can just start an NFL franchise? Aren’t there like a whole bunch of rules and approval that needs to happen?”

The arched eyebrow she aimed at me said everything. “They don’t know?”

“They do not,” I conceded. They knew the Gordon name carried money, but I’d never told them just how much. I didn’t particularly revel in the idea of them knowing now, but there was no way it could be avoided with the direction this conversation was going.