Chapter 20 #3
Beck's staring at his brother, eyes suspiciously bright, and I can see it landing on him in real time. The realization that the lie was never about managing him. It was a twelve-year-old kid deciding his baby brother deserved to keep believing in something good, and then never knowing how to stop.
Beck stands and crosses the room. The whole team parts like the world's sweatiest Red Sea.
For a second, the brothers just look at each other.
"...You're still an idiot," Beck says finally, voice rough.
Declan nods. "I know."
"And I'm gonna be mad about it for a while. Like, a while. There will be passive aggression back at the mansion. Possibly even a diss track."
"That's fair."
"And you're buying my drinks until the playoffs. All of them. Even the embarrassing ones with umbrellas."
"You think we'll make the playoffs?" Declan asks, rising from his stall to stand chest to chest to his brother.
"If you play the way you did in that third period…" Beck twists his neck, shrugging.
Declan smirks and slaps Beck's shoulder with an open palm. "And just like that, you're not mad at me anymore."
He winks as Beck drags a hand down his face, and when it comes away, there's the old grin underneath. It's still cracked and a little watery, but it's there.
"Okay. Okay. Can we please just go to Breakers now? I need about nine beers and I need at least four of them inside me before I process any of this."
The room breaks into laughter and relief, all of it crashing over everyone at once.
Finn commences screaming something in Irish, Corbin is actually crying and pretending it's sweat, and I grab Declan by the face and kiss him, right there, in front of the entire roster and a floor covered in Gatorade.
The catcalls have never sounded better.
"TO NO MORE SECRETS!" Finn howls.
"So many fewer secrets," I agree against Declan's mouth.
For the next ten minutes, the Bears locker room is the single best place on planet Earth.
Mason has Zoey on FaceTime, propped against a water bottle, and she's crying and laughing at the same time while Beck leans into frame yelling "YOUR brOTHERS ARE EMOTIONALLY FUNCTIONAL NOW, ZO! MOSTLY! IT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS!"
Coach Pearson claps Declan on the shoulder and says, gruffly, "Good shift, son," which in Pearson means I'm proud of you and I love you, and Declan's throat bobs like he knows it.
Somebody's ordered forty tacos, and Rico has somehow gotten them inside the building and is hugging anyone in sight. Colin appears in the doorway mid-sentence about how this was all part of his vision and gets a Gatorade shower for his trouble.
Declan pulls me into his chest, chin on my head, both of us watching the beautiful chaos, and I feel the exhale I've been craving for eight years.
The franchise is breathing.
Declan's family is honest again.
And my biggest secret is out, and the whole world is apparently cheering for it.
"So," Declan murmurs into my hair. "I'm officially your boyfriend. Is it on the record?"
"Mmm… maybe. I might need it in writing. For HR."
"You said you were HR."
"Then I approve. Effective immediately." I lean on my toes and kiss him. "Although… there is a rigorous physical you haven't passed yet."
"I'm free tonight?"
"I'll be there."
His hand slides down my dress, that warm palm flattening against my ass with a possessive squeeze that says mine for anyone still looking.
Across the room, Beck slings his arm around Mason's shoulders, keys in hand, already herding people toward the door. "brEAKERS! Everyone! First round's on Declan for the rest of the season!"
As they reach the door, it bursts open and Darcy walks in.
She's still in her navy blazer and is clutching her tablet at her side. I know that face by now. I've had brunch with that face.
And something about it makes the champagne in my stomach go flat.
"Um, before all disappear, I have an announcement.
" She stops in front of us, and she does something Darcy Madden never does: she hesitates.
"Firstly… Josie. The rivalry campaign. The social media pivot tonight.
The way you turned that story around in real time…
it was the single most impressive thing I've seen since I got here.
You gave this franchise hope tonight, so well done. Genuinely."
"Okay," I say slowly. "That's the good news voice. Darcy. Why are you using the good news voice?"
"There's just one problem."
Darcy's voice cuts the room clean in half. The music dies. Beck stops with his hand on the door.
"As you all know, my job is to run the numbers. I've been doing it all season, and after tonight, management is in agreement." She looks at the players gathered in front of her. "The mid-season trade period is coming up, and we need to make some changes if we want to follow this trajectory."
"What are you saying?" Declan grunts beside me. "You're going to tear this team apart just as we find our groove?"
"What I'm saying…" Darcy sighs and takes a deep breath. Her eyes flick toward the door. Toward Beck. "Is that, to keep this team alive... we need to trade Beck Morrison."
Beck turns around slowly, the grin dying on his face.
Declan's arm goes rigid around me.
And I stand there, caught between the man I love and the brother he just got back, thinking—
We saved everything tonight.
Well. Nearly everything.