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“If he can’t see that you’ve changed, and you’re his sister,” Cece said, “how will he ever allow himself to believe Carson has?”

She made a good point, depressing as it was. Even so, I felt the need to defend my brother. “It was deeply traumatizing for him.”

“I get that,” Cece said. “And I’m not saying what Carson did was okay. But it happened when they were teens. Carson has put in the work since then, and it feels like—” She winced. “And don’t hate me for saying this, but it feels like Levi needs to put in some work of his own instead of blaming everyone else.”

I blew out a breath. I wanted to argue, but deep down, part of me knew she was right. Was I blameless? No. Over the past year, I’d lied to my brother. But he’d also hidden things from me. It made me wonder if maybe our relationship had never been as solid as I’d once believed. It wasn’t the type of relationship I wanted to have going forward.

Conversation turned to other matters, and by the time Carson and I headed home, I felt lighter somehow. More content. I had a lot to be grateful for this year.

Although I missed my old teammates, especially Steph and Annika, we stayed in touch. And I had some freaking great chem with some of the Bobcats. Our season was off to a fantastic start, and the fans here were next level.

Life with Carson was everything I’d never dared hope for. Even now that both our seasons were in full swing, we still made time for each other. We were focused on our careers, and our relationship didn’t take away from that. If anything, it brought us together and made the wins better and the losses more palatable. Coming home to him after a game was one of the best feelings ever.

As I stepped into our apartment, a sense of rightness washed over me just as it did every time I walked through that door. I was grateful I could be at peace with my decision to move to LA, to move in with Carson. I loved him, and I couldn’t believe I’d almost missed out on this because of my fears.

I switched on the TV, and Carson emerged from the kitchen, a familiar box in hand. I smiled, loving this man, and the life we were building together. “My favorite pie.”

“For my favorite person.” He set it on the coffee table along with some plates and forks. “I thought maybe it could be our tradition, one we start—together.”

“Mm. I like that.” I leaned forward, grabbing his shirt before pulling him to me for a kiss. “And I.” I kissed him again. “Like.” Another kiss. “You.”

He grinned, crawling on the couch so I was lying on my back. “I love you.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I love you too.”

No matter what happened, I could never regret loving him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“Cece.” Dad gave her a hug, and Mom was wide-eyed as she glanced around the luxury suite at the Atlas Center. “Thanks for inviting us.”

“Of course.” Cece hugged Mom. “I’m glad you could both come.”

It was two days until Christmas, and Mom and Dad had flown in earlier in the week so they could watch my game then Carson’s, before the league took a break for Christmas. I was looking forward to celebrating with them. And I was trying not to dwell on the fact that this was the first Christmas we wouldn’t be spending all together, just as it had been our first Thanksgiving apart. But after the past few months, there were a lot of things I was having to get used to doing without my brother, like the podcast.

People continued to speculate on the reasons for the change in our format, but we’d both remained silent. It wasn’t anyone’s business, and I was grateful we were at least united on that. Fortunately, some of the newer episodes had been our most popular to date. So it wasn’t all bad.

“Love this jacket,” Mom said to Cece, admiring her custom Hawks jacket featuring Gabe’s name and number. “That’s gorgeous.”

“It was made by a local designer,” I explained as Dad wandered over to the food table.

Since the game wouldn’t start for another hour, the caterers were still setting up, and most of my friends had yet to arrive. Cece had reserved the suite for the entire season, packing it with our friends for every home game. When Gabe’s mom or sister was in town, they’d join us. Cece was still struggling to make inroads with her mother-in-law, but Gabe’s sister, Camilla, was a sweetheart. She was still in college, but she fit right in with our group despite the fact that she was at a different point in her life.

I loved that I could give my parents this experience. And with Cece, it was definitely an experience. There were no ice sculptures, thank god. But you could always count on good food, good drinks, and great company.

“Oh, this is so amazing.” Mom held her hands to her cheeks, eyes sparkling with amazement as she stared at the rafters, where the Stanley Cup banner was proudly displayed alongside the one honoring Derek. “I can’t believe I’m actually here, and my team won the Stanley Cup.”

I laughed. “Don’t let Levi hear you say that.”

“Don’t let me hear her say what?” asked a familiar voice, and I jolted.

Surely it wasn’t…

I turned to find my brother entering the suite, Alan’s hand intertwined with his.

“Lee?” I whispered, convinced I must be dreaming.

He released Alan’s hand and approached me. “Hey, Lo.”