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"Valentine!" A deep, masculine voice barks from the crowd. The team's coach, John McCall, joins the pandemonium. "What the fuck were you thinking? Training camp starts in three days. If you break your hand or Wilder's face, I will fucking murder you!"
Luke huffs, shaking out his hand, clearly still angry. I lightly tap Chase's face, and he opens his eyes. Well, he opens one eye; the one Luke punched is starting to swell. The server comes back with the ice, and Luke moves to grab it for his hand.
"It's not for you, jackass," I clip at my brother, taking the ice and gently pressing it to Chase's eye.
He's dazed. I know because he smiles goofily at me and says, "Lil' Lily, you have the softest lips I've ever kissed." Luke growls, and I shoot him my best death glare.
"Hey, no fair, Valentine," Ollie jokes, joining the fray. "You said your sister was off limits."
"Don't even fucking start with me," Luke snaps.
"Are you okay?" I ask softly, pressing the ice to Chase’s eye.
"Excellent." He grins, head lolling. "My dad's fists are ten times harder than Luke's."
His words shock me, and even Luke loses some of his steam. My mind races to all the times I saw bruises on Chase growing up, and my heart lurches in my chest."I'm too fucked up for you.”Chase's words come back to me, and I wonder how much of the wounded boy from our childhood Chase has hidden away inside.
"Alright, shows over." Dad strolls over and pulls Chase up to stand. "Time for bed, big guy."
"Is Lily coming?" Chase grins. How hard did Luke hit him?
"No, son, Lily's sleeping in her own bed tonight." My dad chuckles. He looks at me, and I can't stop the blush from racing across my cheeks.
"Wait," Chase says, stopping. "What about him?" Chase points an accusing finger at Sam.
"He's sleeping in his own bed too," my dad reassures him, shooting me another poignant look.
"Good," Chase preens, puffing out his chest. The whole effect is ridiculous because he's walking sloppily and has a napkin of ice pressed to one eye.
Mom, Dad, and Chase disappear into the hotel, and I wonder if I should follow them and ask the concierge to have someone wake Chase up every four hours. No doubt, he has a minor concussion.
Music starts again, and everyone goes back to socializing and dancing, except for Holly and Luke, who are arguing in the corner. She slaps Luke's shoulder and then jabs a finger into his chest. I can't help but smile. Holly will serve him some justice.
"Well, that was interesting," a voice interrupts my thoughts. Sam sits down next to me. I smile at him, but he can tell it's forced. His eyes are kind and open, even though I just kissed another man right in front of him.What a mess.
"I'm sorry," I sigh, and I am. I know Sam has feelings for me, and maybe I have low-grade, mild feelings for him too. But my heart yearns for Chase.
"Don't be sorry.” He grins, taking my hand. Sam has lovely hands, well-shaped and warm. "Don't count me out just yet."
And with that, Sam excuses himself and exits the reception, leaving my heart and my head thoroughly confused.
6
The Buzz
Chase
My head feels like it's going to cave in, and there's something wet on my face. I try to open my eyes, but only one manages to work properly. The other one, the one Luke punched into the back of my skull, is swollen shut with a warm, wet cloth covering it. I assume it used to be filled with ice that's long past melted onto my face and pillow.
I groan loudly, knowing no one can hear me. I've been alone most of the night except for Angie coming to check on me every four hours to ensure I hadn't slipped into a coma. It's not the first time the Valentines have nursed one of my head injuries. Between hard hockey hits and the ones I took from my father, Angie and Matthew Valentine are used to seeing me banged up.
I trudge to the bathroom and brush my teeth. My eye is purple, and the brow has swelled over the lid. It looks like someone hit me with a brick, not a fist. Luke packs a mean punch, but it was worth it. Kissing Lily was as perfect as I remember it, which is a feat in itself. I've been living off the memory of our first kiss for months, and was sure nothing could ever live up to it.
But I guess the cat's out of the bag. Everyone at the wedding knows I've got the hots for Luke's sister. If I'm honest with myself, Lily and I have always been in the same orbit. As a child, I was drawn to her inexhaustible happiness and energy. No matter how miserable I was, Lily was always a ray of sunshine. And as we grew up, I tried… I tried so damned hard to ignore the beautiful woman she'd become. But, like always, she never gave up on me.
She's always been there cheering me on. It drove Luke crazy when Lily would come to Northmen games in a Gators' jersey with my name on the back. She'd send me texts after a big win or a crushing loss, and I lived off those little bits of Lily, whether I wanted to admit it or not. I craved those texts, memes, and images of her every damned day. I never thought they'd stop coming.
Until this weekend.
