Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 102607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
“I like oversized hoodies,” I say flatly, waiting for Austin to save me. “Sorry I’m not fancy enough for you.”
“Nova…”
“Stop.” I hold up a hand, stomach twisting. “Stop, Gio. I don’t need a lecture.”
“I’m not lecturing!”
“You kind of are,” I singsong, then switch my attention to the real star of the show. Vivi, my sweet baby girl. “Theres’s our sunshine!” I coo. “Sweet baby sugar! Bring her closer so I can get a good look at her.”
My brother grumbles. “You’d get an even better look at her if you came by every once in a while.”
OH MY GOD COULD HE NOT BE SUCH A—
Austin rolls her eyes. “We said we didn’t want any visitors the first few weeks.”
She’s calm about it, but I know what’s underneath. The exhaustion. The sensory overload. The fact that they moved, had a baby, and started renovating their entire house in the same three-month span. To say they were overwhelmed would be the understatement of the year.
Their kitchen still doesn’t have cabinet doors.
I’m not making this shit up.
Gio scoffs. “She doesn’t count.”
“Oh, I don’t?” I snap, narrowing my eyes at him. “So I’m what—family-adjacent? Thanks, that’s great. Makes me feel soo valued.”
I’m deflecting and I know it.
Gaslighting at its finest.
My brother waves a hand into the phone’s camera, exasperated by me. “You know what I mean. You’re not, like, a ‘guest.’”
Vivi chooses that exact moment to let out a shriek. Austin rocks her gently, unbothered, eyes trained on Gio like she’s ready to tag in if necessary.
He opens his mouth again, and I cut him off with a look. “Don’t.”
“I was just gonna say—”
“Nope.”
“—You’re being sensitive.”
“You’re being a dick.”
“Okay but—”
“Nope,” Austin interrupts, adjusting her hold on Vivi. The baby immediately grabs a handful of her denim shirt and starts gnawing. “You don’t get to complain. You brought this on yourself when you decided to renovate the kitchen during my third trimester.”
It was also the start of the hockey season, but now is not the right time to interject with that fact.
“I didn’t know it would take this long!” My brother is whining.
“You hired a guy named Tiny Pete.”
I laugh.
Gio blinks cluelessly. “He’s cheap.”
Austin blinks back. “So is duct tape. That doesn’t mean I want it holding up our oven.”
“He seemed capable,” Gio mutters, the way all men do when they’ve made a mistake and don’t want to admit they fucked up.
“Last week he brought his nephew who was vaping in the driveway,” Austin deadpans. “So professional.”
“Super professional,” I say, sipping from my water bottle and trying not to laugh too hard.
“You don’t even live here,” Gio says, gesturing wildly at me through the screen. “Why are you ganging up on me?”
“Because it’s fun,” Austin replies without hesitation. “And I’m postpartum and exhausted and it’s my way of passively aggressively making digs.”
At least she’s honest about it.
“And it’s easy,” I add sweetly.
“I was only calling to check-in on you,” Gio says at last, shoulders slouching. “I didn’t want this to turn into an argument.”
Guilt slams at me.
All of this is my fault.
If only…
If only I could be honest about where I was last night without him going full protective-big-brother-meets-hockey-enforcer-meets-the-goalie on me.
But I can’t.
Gio does this thing where he gets quiet—where his jaw goes tight and his eyes go cold and the room starts to feel five degrees colder. It’s the same look he gets when one of his teammates get a cheap shot at him during practice. Controlled rage. Slow burn. Zero forgiveness.
And the thing is... I get it.
Luca isn’t just anyone.
He’s Gio’s teammate.
His friend. His line.
And I’m me.
The little sister. The one who’s supposed to stay off-limits, untouched and unbothered, safely tucked in the “do not date” category that teammates instinctively respect.
Except Luca didn’t.
Austin must sense something in my silence because she shifts Vivi to her other hip and clears her throat. “Hey, it’s fine. We’re all tired and crabby and underfed. Let’s just call it a draw and try again later.”
Gio nods, reluctant. “Yeah. I didn’t mean to come at you, Nova. I just worry. That’s all.”
More guilt. “I know.”
“I love you so much. You know that, right?”
Stop being so nice! My brain screams it, but my mouth won’t move. I just stare at his face on the screen—his tired, earnest expression. He looks guilty, too.
Oh my God, I am a horrible person!
I’m lying to him—right now, to his face!
“I love you, too,” I whisper, clearing my throat to fake a smile. “I’ll stop by soon, okay?”
“You better,” Gio says, softening. “You can spend the night and I’ll make pancakes.”
“You say that like I won’t show up for sweet baby kisses.”
I don’t deserve the softness in his voice or the way Austin is giving me a free pass when she’s the one with a baby hanging off her shirt. I don’t deserve pancakes and cookies and sweet baby kisses!