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“Good.” The single word felt inadequate. “That’s... really good.”

“In fact...” He reached across the table again. This time he didn’t brush my fingers, he took my hand. “I’m already glad we did this.”

Our food arrived, forcing us to release each other. My veal was incredible, tender with sauce. The sound I made earned a look from Kevin.

“That good?” His voice dropped, rougher.

“So good.” I speared another piece and savored it. After a sip of wine, I pointed at his plate with my fork. “Can I steal a taste of yours to see what all the fuss is about?”

He grinned, twirling thick noodles coated in sauce around his fork. He held it out across the table. It was a simple gesture that felt huge. Couple-y.

I leaned in, catching the fork between my lips. Creamy, peppery, salty pancetta. Holy shit.

Eyes closed for a second. “Okay.” I swallowed. Pure bliss. “You weren’t kidding. It is life-changing.”

He looked ridiculously pleased.

“So I had brunch with Shane today,” I said, since it seemed like a good time to share. Kevin needed to know what I’d revealed. “I hope it’s okay… I should’ve asked you first… I told him about us.”

Kevin chuckled, which wasn’t what I’d expected. “It’s fine. I told my sister yesterday. She’s the one who encouraged me to ask you on an official date.”

I raised my glass. “Heres to our siblings. Shane helped me figure out what to wear.”

“Meg did the same for me.” We clicked our glasses together. “I texted her way too many options.”

“Turns out I wasn’t the only one with relationship news either. My friend Damien was there too. Shane and him are officially a couple.”

“Damien Roth? The tech billionaire?”

“One and the same.” I watched his reaction, the slight widening of his eyes. “I got to hear about their Paris trip. Shane took my place at the auction and Damien dropped twenty grand on him, then flew him off on a private jet.”

Kevin let out a low whistle. “Seriously? That’s… wow.”

“Right? Shane was happier than I’ve seen him in ages. It’s about damned time, too. I’ve tried to set those two up for years.”

Kevin’s leg rested against mine under the table. “So your brother falls for your best friend, you fall for your teammate.” He paused. “All roads lead back to that snowstorm.”

“Pretty much. If I hadn’t been grounded, I’d have been at the auction. Shane wouldn’t have filled in. Damien wouldn’t have bid.”

“And we wouldn’t have shared that hotel room.” His voice was soft. “Fate?”

“Maybe.” A smile played on my lips.

He chuckled. “What did Shane say? About us?”

“He’s thrilled. Said it was about time I found someone.”

“Shane and Meg can never meet. They’ll talk about us way too much. Meg essentially said the same thing to me.”

We shared bites, and talked about a lot of things. Books. Dream vacation destinations. Awful road trip hotels. There was a lot of laughter, too. It was surreal how quickly a comfort settled between us. Like we’d been doing this for years, not days.

“Off-season?” I swirled the last of the Sangiovese in my glass. “Back to Minnesota?”

“Yeah, for a couple of weeks at the beginning.” He nodded. “My parents expect a sighting. Meg guilt trips me if I’m not there to check out her latest project.” He hesitated. “No firm plans after that, though.”

My turn to hesitate. “Maybe... we could do something? Together? If you wanted.”

His eyes lit up. “Yeah? Like what?”