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“You’re sure about his meaning? There’s no way you misunderstood him?”

I took out my phone and pressed play. There wasn’t anything on the screen, just a shot of the inside of my bag, but Vincent’s voice was as clear as day. We sat in silence as the recording played all the way through.

“Send it to me. Then go get ready to head out.” His voice was sharp, attention back on his computer, which I took as my sign I was dismissed. “And Contreras,” he said, looking up at me as I stood. “I’d take what he said to you as a threat and watch your back. Take it from personal experience…there’s a punishment coming because of your response.”

I groaned when we had to drive farther and farther down the street to find parking.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said parking was a bitch in San Jose,” Dalton said, sliding the little rental into the first open space he saw, which was nearly five houses down from my parents.

“Yeah, parking does suck. But all these cars belong to my family.”

Dalton’s eyes widened, taking another look at the row of vehicles.

A burst of laughter came from the back seat, and Jimenez’s head popped between our shoulders. “This is going to be fun. How many boyfriends have you brought home?”

“Who even invited you?” I asked,

“So none.”

My cheeks heated because the asshole was correct, and the grin on his face as he sat back said he knew it too.

We’d landed a little over an hour before and headed right over to my parents’ place. I’d specifically told them to keep it small. That we wouldn’t have a lot of time to stay before we had to get to the arena, which was conveniently only a few short minutes away.

But it looked like Dalton was about to meet far more people than he bargained for…

Maybe we should just leave.

My heart dropped at that thought. I’d actually been looking forward to seeing everyone…to introducing them to my boyfriend. My mom had been on cloud nine when I told her I was bringing someone. My father was less than thrilled, but Ricky’d piped up and given his approval, which shocked both me and my dad.

Then, to my surprise, the rest of the week I kept getting calls from my dad asking about what Dalton wanted to eat, when we’d be there, he even asked if I knew how to get them into the game.

“Déjala en paz, Jimenez,” Gracie said , trading places with him and sticking her head up front too. “ I don’t know why you didn’t think my tía was going to invite everyone over. By the way, thanks again for the plane tickets, Dalton.”

His face had a sheepish grin, but he didn’t look at all worried. He’d told me my cousin was coming—he hadn’t told me he was the reason she was able to. He rubbed at the back of his neck, glancing over at me. “Ari deserves to have everyone who loves her at her first NHL game. I didn’t want it to just be me there.” My heart rate kicked up, and I swore I could feel my blood pumping through my veins.

It wasn’t exactly an “I love you,” but fuck did it feel like that’s was what he was trying to say. Between his words and his gesture…

“Well, I’m fucking hungry. So let’s go. You two can make out later,” Gracie called out, already out of the car and halfway to my parents’ backyard.

“I’m with her,” Jimenez called out, practically sprinting after her like he was five.

I was still not fully prepared when we walked around the side of the house to the backyard, following the sounds of laughter and conversation. I smiled at the loud sounds of my family we could hear all the way from the street, but as we rounded the corner, something in my chest burst open. Tears welled up in my eyes.

Navy and orange banners hung from the fruit trees, and Desperados-themed party decorations covered almost every surface.

“What is going on?” The words were a broken whisper, and I pushed away the tears spilling over. Ricky jogged over, a wide smile on his face.

“Look at that. Seems we did good, eh? She’s even crying, which is a rarity for my sister. She tends to hit or yell instead.” He wasn’t talking to me. His eyes were behind me—on Dalton. I spun around, completely confused as to what was happening.

“You did this, too?”

“I called your brother after booking Gracie’s flight out.” He shrugged. “Introduced myself, told him he got a free shot if he wanted it when we met for moving his sister into my house.”

“I don’t need his permission to mo⁠—”

Dalton’s eyes sparkled when he cut in, “Told him that, too.” His eyes flicked over to my brother, who stood there with his arms crossed, a smirk on his face.

“Yeah, este cabrón told me that you didn’t need either of us trying to tell you what to do or where to live. You could handle making those decisions on your own.” He paused, nodding his head. “I tend to agree.”