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When the doors open on the suite level, she steps out beside me like she belongs here, because she does .
The owners’ box door is already open.
Cammy spots Aria first and lets out a gasp loud enough to qualify as a public event.
"There she is."
Aria laughs before we even make it fully inside.
Penelope rises from the leather chair near the glass with more composure, but I can see the warmth in her face. She’s in dark trousers and a Hawkeyes quarter-zip. She was at the wedding. She knows how this story pivoted. So does Cammy. None of this is news to them but it still feels like we’re introducing ourselves to everyone in a new way now.
Cammy gets to her first.
"Let me see it again," she says, already grabbing Aria’s left hand. "I know I saw it at the wedding, but everything was happening so fast."
Penelope steps closer, her eyes dropping to the ring with open appreciation. "It is somehow even more obscene in daylight."
"That’s exactly what I said," Cammy replies.
Aria glances back at me over her shoulder, as if checking to make sure I’m not far away. As if knowing where I am in case she needs reinforcements.
Penelope gives Aria a small smile. "How was France?"
The girls dive into Cannes, Paris, the museum… everything that took up the two weeks. I back away, giving them space… giving Aria the freedom to tell them anything she wants to.
I watch as Christian moves towards me, his gaze flicks to Aria, and his face softens just a fraction and then he turns towards me.
"Everett. A second?"
I know that tone.
Not urgent enough to alarm anyone else, yet not casual enough to ignore.
I step out with him into the corridor just beyond the suite. The game has started but it’s only the first period.
The door closes behind us, muting the arena noise to a low insulated roar.
"What is it?" I ask.
Christian checks that we’re alone before answering.
"The trust board has been quiet."
I stare at him. "That’s your update?"
"Yes."
"That doesn’t sound like an update."
"It is when they usually prefer pressure."
He slips his phone into his pocket. "No calls. No requests. No reach-outs through counsel. Nothing."
"That should sound like a relief. Maybe they bought the story."
He thinks for a moment looking past me at the Hawkeyes banner behind me. "Maybe…" his lips purse while deep in thought.
I look back through the glass inset in the door. Inside, Aria is laughing at something Cammy just said, head tilted, ring catching the light.