Breakfast at Marina Bay was wonderful. It was a small cafe that served the best sorts of food right on the beach. Boats slowly sailed up and down the marina. Tom even saw a rowing team pass here. There was a playground adjacent to a field nearby the restaurant, where toddler-aged children were running around with their mothers in yoga pants or fathers in board shorts. Because it was summer, it was busier than usual. A dance class just concluded in a building and girls around three to four years old came out in pink and black leotards with matching tutus and ballet flats. One girl tugged at her mother's shirt, asking to go down the slide.

Tom found himself smiling at the sight. This was where he belonged. Here. Newport Beach. Orange County. Among these people who had the ocean to go to when life became too overwhelming and they needed a moment of peace. He would never find this in Philly. He wouldn't find this anywhere else.

The waitress was dressed in black, a young woman probably just out of college. Tom noticed she kept smiling at him and staring at him longer than she probably should have if she was hoping to keep her attraction at bay. She didn't seem to care, though, which Tom liked.

"Are you guys the Twins?" she finally asked after she set down their food. "I'm sorry to ask, but my brother is a huge Stars fan and when you play us, you completely make our team look like a bunch of children."

"That is so sweet," Tom said, giving her what he hoped was his own version of a charming smile.

Michael nodded his head, forcing a smile. "We are the Twins," he said. "Not really, though."

The waitress laughed, a forced sound. From the corner of his eye, he saw Aurora make a face, which he pointedly ignored. One good thing about Aurora was the fact that she kept her opinion to herself when it came to the women that frequented Tom's life. Michael rarely dated anyone, or even looked at them. Tom, on the other hand, loved women. Really, he loved people, but women held a special place in his heart. He loved how soft they were. He loved to make them smile. And he loved when they completely took him by surprise.

When the waitress—Heidi, he thought her name was—gave them the check, she cleared her throat. "Look, if you guys want a place to party tonight, my brother has a friend in Dover having a house party. It would be really cool if you guys came," she said. "Here's the address. Thanks again for stopping by."

She wrote the address at the bottom of the receipt. Tom pulled out his phone and quickly snapped a picture of it.

"You aren't really considering going, are you?" Aurora asked.

"So what if I am?" Tom said, putting the phone back in his pocket as Michael grabbed the check. "A lovely lady invited us—"

"You two," Aurora put in.

"That's who I meant," he clarified dryly. "She invited us to a party. It would be rude if I said no."

Aurora rolled her eyes but Tom pointedly ignored her. Aurora always had an opinion about everything and he was not going to sit around and ask for it. For one, if she really wanted to, she would give him her opinion without being asked. And, on top of that, he wasn't in the mood to get lectured about partying at twenty-nine years old with a stranger he barely met who probably just wanted to say she hooked up with a hockey player. He saw no issue with any of these points.

After breakfast, Michael drove them to the small hotel they were staying at. It was definitely a small business rather than an international chain. In fact, Tom had never heard of the Beach Side Hotel & Suites before. There were only four floors, but it was right next to the Ice Palace and parking lot was full. It must be popular, especially now during the summer when tourists paid exorbitant amounts of money in order to visit here.

Tom felt his heart speed up with excitement. Just another reason why this place felt like home already.

"I think this place has a relationship with the Gulls," Aurora said, leaning forward so she could get a better view of the hotel. "At least, from what I know. They never book to capacity on the off-chance that the Gulls sign someone. I think some of the younger guys live here too."

"The ones who haven't finalized their contracts yet?" Michael asked. He put his blinker on, backing up the SUV in order to give someone room so they could back out.

Aurora nodded her head. "Yup," she said.

Once they were inside, Aurora went ahead to check them in while Tom and Michael grabbed their bags. Tom couldn't believe he had been on a plane heading into John Wayne Airport only a few hours ago. This would be his home for the next week until they had to leave for Arizona. He wanted to cancel Arizona already but part of him knew Michael wouldn't do something so spontaneous. Michael was the sort of person who had to be sure. Tom thought no one could be sure about anything except for taxes and death, and as such, decisions were allowed to be made with instinct and gut reactions rather than just knowledge.

There was part of him that wanted nothing more than to tell Seraphina he was in, he was ready to sign, regardless of what his brother was going to do. However, he couldn't be sure if she would even want him without Michael.

"Looks like we all have our own rooms side by side," Aurora announced, heading back to the car to grab her luggage.

"You've already checked in?" Michael asked, handing Aurora her bag. "That was fast."

"I know, I really like it," Aurora said. "They offer freshly baked cookies too, with cucumber water."

Tom didn't pay much attention to the hotel as he stepped inside. All he cared about was getting to his room, unpacking, hopping in the shower, and getting ready for the night. Aurora hung down in the lobby to grab cookies but Michael went up with him.

"We're here for a week," Michael said. "Let's make sure we make the most of our time here."

Tom nodded once. "I agree," he said. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face if he tried. Orange County. They were actually in Orange County, in talks to sign with the Gulls.

The elevator pinged and came to a stop. The steel doors slid open smoothly and Tom and Michael walked out and made a right, heading down a long, quiet hallway. Tom practically skipped. It was his first night here, and he already had a party to go to. A beautiful woman wanted to spend time with him. More than that, he had morning skate tomorrow where he would get to meet some of his heroes like Zachary Ryan, Xander Vane, and Brandon Thorpe.

Granted, they were still his opposition. Technically, as a free agent, he had no team. He still remembered getting into a fight with Xander Vane. He remembered getting checked into the boards hard by Zachary Ryan. And he remembered that Brandon Thorpe had no issue using his stick to shove Tom from the crease all of last season. When he played against the Gulls, he absolutely hated them. But off the ice, he had tremendous respect for them. He knew he would learn a lot if he was lucky enough to sign with the team. Hell, he was expecting to learn a lot from them this week.

"Let's focus then, okay?" Michael asked as he continued his slow, casual pace.

Tom wanted to scream. He wanted to run to his room and shower. He wanted to hurry up. Michael, on the other hand, didn't seem to have a problem taking his time. Which he understood, because Michael hadn't gotten invited to the party.

"No girls, no parties," he continued. "Just hockey."

Tom opened his mouth, ready to argue, before he shut it. They had reached their rooms. Tom didn't want to say anything that might allude to getting mixed up in behavior Michael didn't approve of only because Michael could very well turn down the team if he thought Tom wasn't taking his position on it as seriously as he should have been. And, since Tom wasn't sure if the Gulls were looking at them as a package deal or if they were okay with just Tom or just Michael, Tom didn't want to give his brother any reason to pull from this opportunity.

"Right," he said, sliding in his keycard. "Focus."

The minute Tom stepped inside the room and was finally alone, he gave himself a moment to drop his bag and roll his eyes. He hated that Michael could be more of a parent than a brother sometimes. He wished they were closer, more equal.

"Now isn't the time to worry about that," Tom muttered to himself as he headed into the bathroom. "You have a party to go to."

Tom hopped in the shower and made sure to wash himself thoroughly. He was making his first impression to the West Coast and he wanted to make sure it was a good one. When he finished, he stepped out and dried off before pulling on a dark pair of pre-ironed jeans and a nice collared shirt. He styled his hair, put on some aftershave, and brushed his teeth. He glanced at his watch and frowned. It was still too early to leave so he killed time by going online and looking up fun things to do around here.

Disneyland was listed as number one, and he grinned. He and Michael had always wanted to go to Disneyland. Maybe they would have time to actually go while they were out here.

After another hour passed, Tom scheduled an Uber and grabbed something from the tiny refrigerator that would fill his stomach for the time being. He wanted to make sure he wasn't a pathetic drunk and could actually hold his own, but the truth of the matter was, he didn't remember the last time he had eaten. This was a little precaution to ensure everything was in place so he didn't act like an asshole.

The Uber alerted Tom when they were waiting outside and he all but skipped down the stairwell and outside. It was finally dark, despite being nine o'clock at night, and he glanced across the street to see the last bit of sun finally disappear past the horizon. His lips curled up.

He loved California already and he had yet to actually skate here.

The Uber was quiet. The driver—an older woman who Tom assumed was trying to earn extra cash on the side in order to help her kids through college—was tired. He made sure to give her a nice tip considering the minivan smelled good, was clean, and she was prompt.

The neighborhood the party was located on was a residential street deep in the heart of the Dover Shores-Westcliffe neighborhood. There seemed to be lots of families and retired people who lived around here rather than singles and college kids.

Tom left the Uber. He could hear music from where he stood but he didn't hear the van drive off. No matter. He was too focused on what was in front of him compared to what was behind him. Tonight was going to be epic. Tonight, he was going to make friends, have fun, and make sure Orange County knew who he was, what he was about, and that he intended to stay.

Tom walked up the slight slope on the cement, taking care not to step on the lawn, even though red plastic cups already littered the driveway. The familiar smell of smoke and cheap alcohol filled his nostrils. He breathed it in.

Home.

He pushed open the door, only to find the familiar face of the waitress, like she was waiting for him. She grinned.

"Tom Tucker," she said. "You made it."

"I did."

"You ready to have some fun?"