Page 125 of Here We Go Again

Theo is playing tonight. His first time back on the ice since his injury.

He’s ready. I know he’s ready. But that doesn’t make this any less stressful.

I reach over and loop my arm through Sarah’s. “He’s going to be okay, right?”

“He’s going to be great,” she says. “He’s got this.”

“Miles told me he’s playing better than ever,” Anna says from Sarah’s other side. Her eyes scan the players as they warm up on the ice below, and I notice the moment she spots her husband. Much to everyone’s surprise, Miles recovered from his shoulder surgery much quicker than expected, and he’s on the ice tonight too.

Theo and Carter are standing by the bench, helmets off, talking about something that must be entertaining because they’re both grinning. Carter shakes his head, like he can’t quite believe what his brother is saying, then Theo laughs. I should tip the camera crew because suddenly, the giant jumbotron screen is filled with their smiling faces, matching As on their sleeves marking them both as alternate captains.

“Gosh, they look alike when they smile,” Sarah says, and I chuckle.

“Yeah, they really do.”

Ten minutes later, the puck drops and the game starts. I have to remind myself to breathe every time Theo is on the ice. I forgot how incredible it is to watch him play; the last time I did, he was still skating in juniors, so the sight of him all grown up, playing at this elite level, is captivating … and incredibly sexy.

“He’s so good,” I say to Sarah. “I didn’t realize he was so good.”

She laughs just as Theo slaps the puck over the opposing goalie’s shoulder and into the net to score his first goal of the season.

He scores again in the second period. And then, because the man can’t do anything halfway, he scores a third time in the final period. The first hat trick of his NHL career. They’re rare for defensemen, but he’s clearly on fire tonight, so I can’t be surprised.

Theo glances into the stands while hats rain onto the ice, tossed from the fans to celebrate his accomplishment. He grins up at me, and I press a hand to my heart, hoping he knows how proud I am.

Once the game ends, Sarah and I leave the stands and make our way down to the family room. “That couldn’t have gone better,” I say. I pull out my phone, seeing a string of congratulatory texts from my sisters and both my mom and Theo’s mom. They were all watching the game together back in Texas, which is no surprise. Our mothers really are best friends.

A photo pops up from my mom of her and Kim wearing matching Jaguars jerseys, wide, happy smiles on their faces.

I show the picture to Sarah. “Can you get over these two?” I ask, and Sarah smiles.

“I love that they love each other so much,” she says. There’s a tiny hint of wistfulness in Sarah’s voice that makes my heart squeeze. She and her brother are close, and she has Anna, of course. But that’s it. They’re her only family.

“Hey, did you know our kids will technically be half siblings?” Sarah says as we step out of the concourse into a stairwell that’s only accessible to family and Jaguars staff.

“Really?” I don’t even flinch when Sarah says things like this. I am as certain about my future with Theo as I am about anything else in my life. The color of the sky. The superiority of sweet potato fries over regular fries. How good Theo smells just after a shower.

“That’s how it works with identical twins,” she says. “Our future children’s fathers will have the same DNA.”

“Right. That makes sense,” I say. “I think that will make my parents your kids’ grandparents, and my sisters their aunts. If they’re half-siblings with my kids, that’s how it works, right?”

She looks over, gratitude clear in her eyes. “I would love that.” She pulls me into a quick hug. “Gosh, what would we have done if we didn’t like each other?”

I laugh. “For real. What a horrible thought.”

We turn and head down a long hallway. Anna appears at the door to the family room—she left the stands earlier than we did so she could call the sitter to check on her girls—but then Mia and Indigo appear. They weren’t at the game, so I have no idea where they came from.

“What are they doing here?” I ask Sarah, and she shrugs her shoulders. “Let’s go find out.”

I give them both hugs. “Um, hi,” I say as I give Mia a hug.

“Don’t ask questions,” she whispers into my ear. “I promise it’ll be easier.”

We make eye contact, and she wills me with her gaze to go along with it—whatever it is—and I give her a tiny nod of understanding. I have no idea what we’re talking about, but I trust Mia, and I’m guessing everything will make sense any moment now.

“Hi,” Indigo says, hugging me next. “We’re here to kidnap you.”

I look over at Sarah. “Kidnap me?”