“Did you remember I have a game today at two o’clock?” he asked.
He said this just as Cullen was coming into the living room to greet them and thank Sydney for taking the kids for the night.
Lily blinked.
Oh, boy. With everything that had been going on—baking for the holiday market, Bridget getting sick (but recovering completely in just a couple of days), preparing for the Jingle Bell Ball and figuring out her new relationship with Cullen, she had forgotten. She had even written it on the calendar, but—
“That’s right,” said Lily. “We’re all going to be there to cheer you on.”
The girls groaned about having to go.
“Basketball is boring,” Megan proclaimed. “Can’t we stay home?”
“It’s pretty important that we all go to support George. We could be a big cheering section.”
“Is Uncle Cullen going?” Bridget asked.
Lily’s gaze snagged Cullen’s. She gave him a look that asked, Are you?
“Actually I have to run by the hospital to check on a few things this morning.” He hesitated. “But I’ll be there as soon as I can. Would that work?”
He’d posed the question to Lily, but the girls cheered, “Yes!” in unison.
George rolled his eyes.
“What’s wrong, George?” Lily asked.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to come if you’re not.”
“Hey, cut me some slack,” said Cullen. He walked over and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I know I goofed last week, but don’t I get a second chance? This is the new-and-improved Uncle Cullen, and I want to show you what I can do. I might be a little late, but I will be there. Trust me?”
“How about if he takes you out for ice cream afterward?” Lily said. “Just the two of you.”
The girls protested that they wanted to go, too.
“It’s not fair that he gets ice cream and we don’t,” Megan proclaimed.
Her declaration was supported by a pair of “Yeah”s from her little sisters.
“How about if we let the guys have some bonding time? The girls can go do something fun, too, and then we can all meet back here for dinner. Sound good?”
The question was really directed at Cullen. Looking resigned, he nodded his consent. Lily wondered if he realized that she had just shown him it was possible to be a family man.
* * *
No way in hell was Cullen going to miss this game. He set three reminders on his phone and carried around a sticky note with the word GAME written in big bold letters to keep him from inadvertently zoning out and being a no-show. He even excused himself from an impromptu meeting because it was edging into game time.
He arrived about fifteen minutes late, but that was okay because he’d told the boy he would be late. And when George saw him his face visibly brightened and he started moving the ball with more hustle.
He was actually a pretty good player, Cullen thought. Who knew? Maybe he and the boy could set up a backboard out back—but then he remembered that the kids would be leaving shortly after Christmas.
But they probably would come to visit. So maybe a hoop wasn’t completely out of the question.
Cullen found Lily and the girls and sat with them, and they all cheered for George and his team. The last fifteen minutes of the game, the score was neck and neck. It was a one-point game, so every basket mattered. George’s team would score and the other team would take the ball right back down the court and answer it with another basket. So much for defense, Cullen thought, but maybe he’d work with the boy on that. Maybe George would end up playing ball in high school. For a couple of minutes Cullen imagined him and Lily going to watch all the home games and introducing them to his friends as his aunt Lily and uncle Cullen.
He glanced at Lily, trying on the fantasy.
While he looked away, something happened on the court. George and the kid from the other team were tussling over the ball. Each boy had a grip on it in a last-minute showdown. They were yanking on it so hard that the two boys were nearly standing in a circle trying to gain possession.
George’s team led by one point. The small crowd got to its feet.
Cullen, Lily and the girls cheered, “Go, George, go! Get the ball.”