Next to the Ice Palace, Aurora and Tom walked to a Starbucks.

"Xander Vane apparently gets his coffee from here all the time," Tom said.

"Are you a fanboy for Xander Vane?" Aurora asked as Tom reached out and pressed the pedestrian button attached to the light pole. They waited and watched as minimal traffic passed by.

"I wouldn't say fanboy," Tom said, though Aurora did notice his lips curving up. "The man is a legend, though. One of the best enforcers nowadays in the NHL. I fought him once. He knocked me out with one punch. Woke up a couple seconds later though. Had to get checked for a concussion but it was all good."

Aurora chuckled despite herself, shaking her head. The light flashed green—signaling them to walk—and they stepped off the curb and headed across the street.

"What?" Tom asked.

"I just…" She shrugged. "I feel like you're one of the few people on the planet who would look at being punched in the face by a particular person as some kind of honor."

He grinned. "Well, it is," he said.

When they reached the other side of the street, they both turned into the shopping center. The Starbucks was already packed with people. Aurora expected Tom to mutter under his breath and then pull out his phone to look for another one, but Tom seemed unperturbed. He opened the door for them and stepped into line.

"What?" he asked, giving her a strange look. "You're staring. And while I would assume that it has to do with my rugged good looks, I think I have more sense than to associate you with being attracted to me."

This time, Aurora laughed out loud. A couple of newcomers who were behind them gave her odd looks but she ignored them.

He was wrong, of course. Aurora recognized her attraction to Tom but could also admit that the guy was a major douchebag.

"I just," she said, moving forward with the line. "I just find it refreshing that you could wait in line and not complain about it. So many people I know would rather waste time and gas so they wouldn't have to wait in line but you don't seem to mind it at all."

Tom shrugged. "It's not like I have anything else I'm doing," he said. "And this is the Starbucks Xander Vane recommended. If he can go out of his way to give me the scoop on the best place to drink coffee, I'm not going to be rude and not try it. Plus, if I can't even wait in this line, how the hell am I going to survive Disneyland?"

Aurora tried to suppress a smile but couldn't. "You're going to Disneyland?" she asked.

"Well, I want to," he said. "Are you giving me shit for it? I've only been once in my life and I barely remember it. I was five, Michael was seven. I just know we went on that Toy Story ride, the one where it's like you're in a carnival game with the blasters—and we challenged each other and I won. It was the only time I actually beat him at anything. I still hold that over his head, to this day."

Aurora laughed. "I'm so jealous," she admitted. "I've never been to Disneyland. I've always wanted to go."

"Why am I not surprised?" They stepped forward as a barista offered to help the next guest.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you read pink books with topless men," he pointed out. "It doesn't surprise me that you would want to visit a place filled with magic and other things that aren't real."

Aurora laughed. She could feel a couple of people staring at her but she didn't particularly care. "Love is very real," she said.

"Your books tell you that?" Tom asked. "Is that why you believe it?"

"Unlike you, I have actually experienced love before, Tom." She shook her head and glanced at the menu. She should probably figure out what she wanted. She already had a cup of coffee in the morning. Aurora wasn't exactly sure she wanted to push it to two. "It just didn't work out. That doesn't mean the right person isn't out there. It just means I haven't found him yet." She furrowed her brow. "I'm surprised you think like that, what with your parents being together for, like, forty-seven years."

"How do you even know stuff like that about me?"

"It's not really you, per se," Aurora said as they moved to the front of the line. "Your brother asks me to keep track of things, so I do. I only know this stuff through him because they apply to you as well. Don't think I have some kind of thing for you. I don't date children."

"One night with me and it will show you just what a man I can be, princess," he said as a barista waved them up to the counter.

"Says the guy who got robbed at a party last night and was too drunk to drive home," Aurora pointed out. When she got to the counter, she quickly ordered a tall decaffeinated coffee with heavy cream, hoping the sweetness would soften the taste of it. Tom ordered a black coffee—something she wasn't surprised by because he was like a child with three favorite meals and three favorite drinks—and Tom quickly paid for it before they stepped aside.

"I'm sorry," Tom said, once they found a table in the back. "Would you rather have me drive?"

"I would rather you not put yourself in that position in the first place," she said, placing her purse by her feet. "You're a grown man, Tom. This isn't your first party. You should know yourself well enough to know how to prepare. For example, you know that when you're around people who drink, you drink more. It's like you're afraid to be yourself, like you think people won't value you for who you are."

"That's such bullshit," he said with a smile. "I couldn't prepare for being robbed. I expected to have fun with the girl, sleep away a hangover, and be at the ice. I didn't have fun. I didn't sleep much. But I still got to the ice, just with a bad hangover. Sometimes, life doesn't turn out the way you planned."

Tom furrowed his brow. He opened his mouth, ready to respond, when the barista called him over because the drinks were ready. He jumped up before Aurora could and went to retrieve them. Aurora cleared her throat and looked down at the table. She wasn't sure if she said the right thing or if she was giving him a hard time when she probably shouldn't. If she was being honest, she thought it was important that he hear this from her because he wouldn't listen to Michael and no one else would have the courage to tell him anything.

When Tom came back, he handed her the drink and took his seat across from her. "Okay," he said. "Maybe you're right."

Aurora nearly choked on her drink. "I'm sorry?" she said after she managed to control herself.

Tom's lips curled up. He had yet to actually drink from the cup and, instead, began to play with the sleeve.

"You're right," he said, fake annoyance coating his tone. "Dammit, woman, how many times do you want me to tell you that you're right?"

"At least once more," Aurora said, leaning back in her chair and biting her bottom lip. "I'm just… I really want to remember this. I don't think this has ever happened in the three years that we've known each other. I'm just glad you have finally decided to see reason and admit that I am right when I'm right, and I'm always right."

"Live it up, why don't you?" Tom said, sliding the sleeve back into its proper position.

"Oh, I intend to," Aurora said. She took another sip of her drink before placing the cup back on the surface of the table. "I'm being serious, though, Tom. Do you think I want to be right about something like this?" Tom snapped his eyes into hers and Aurora immediately recognized that look. She held up her hand. "Before you answer that, let me clarify before you jump in and insist I want to be right no matter what. I don't want to see some stupid waitress—not that waitresses are stupid, just that this particular one was—swindle you because you're an easy target."

"I am not an easy target." Tom finally took a drink of his coffee, glaring playfully at Aurora as he did so.

"You are," Aurora insisted, "and, honestly, it's kind of pathetic. You're in SoCal with stars in your eyes. I swear, you're drinking the salt water because that waitress wasn't even that good-looking. I just think you assume that since she's living in Southern California, there's something special about her, so you see her as better-looking than she really is."

"That is not true," Tom said.

"It is," she said. "I've seen you with plenty of women before her, all better-looking. You could have done way better but you let feelings get in the way."

Tom scoffed. "I am the last person to get emotional over women," he said.

"I don't mean emotional feelings," she said. "I mean urges."

"Oh, well that makes more sense," Tom agreed. He laced his fingers together and leaned forward, catching Aurora's eyes with his own. "So, can I ask you something? You saw Michael on the ice this morning. How did he seem? Did he seem like this was the place for the Tucker brothers or is he still not convinced?"

Aurora picked her head up and shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea, Tom," she said. "You know how quiet Michael can be about stuff like that. But I wouldn't stress about it."

"Why not? Did he say something?"

Aurora was ready to lean across the table and strangle him. "Tom," she snapped before lowering her voice once again. "Who cares about what your brother thinks? If you like it, you should tell Seraphina Hanson. Let her know you want to sign."

"But what about Michel?" Tom asked.

"What about him?" She took a long drink of her hot chocolate before setting the cup down. "As far as I know, the Gulls wanted to look at both of you as individuals rather than as brothers."

"Right, but if Michael says no—"

"Then Michael says no."

"I don't think you understand."

"I don't think you understand." She shoved her hands between her thighs and squeezed them tightly together to remind herself to try and be patient. "You are your own player, Tom. You know that, right? The Gulls wouldn't have looked at both of you if they didn't want both of you."

"I'm not saying they don't want us both," Tom said, taking great care to keep his voice down. "What I'm saying is that they want me under the contingency that Michael signs with them as well, because I know my brother and I can make my brother better. We have chemistry since we've been playing together our whole lives."

Aurora shook her head. "And I'm telling you that they don't care if one of you doesn't want to be with them," Aurora said. "Well, I'm sure they care. I'm sure, all things being equal, they'd want both of you, but if Michael doesn't want to sign, I'm sure the Gulls would be ecstatic to have you."

Tom began to tap on the side of the cup, his mouth contorted into a pensive scowl. "You really think so?" he asked. "You're not just being nice to me?"

Aurora furrowed her brow. "Me? Going out of my way to be nice to you?" She moved her hands from her lap to her sides now that she felt more comfortable around Tom. Now that she didn't feel quite as tense. "Does that sound like something I would do?"

"No, no it does not." Tom grinned despite himself and it made Aurora's stomach do a little flip. "You're right."

"I'm sorry, what was that? Did Tom Tucker just say I was right about something? Stop the press. I have the headline for the day."

Tom rolled his eyes but he was still smiling. "Okay, okay," he said. "I deserved that. Now can we keep talking about how great I am? You're really good at stroking my ego."

"Ugh." She stuck out her tongue. "Please. Me stroking any part of you, even your ego, is not something I can stomach."

"I had a feeling it would be too big for you to handle."

Aurora didn't stop herself from throwing her empty cup at him. But she laughed the whole time.