1. Lola

Lola

When I step in, Levi's apartment smells overwhelmingly of cologne, so I pull my shirt over my nose to filter out the smell. I shoot him a look as he slides into the living room in his socks, singing along to a pop song he's blasting from his speaker.

"Oh, you are so dramatic," Levi says, tugging my shirt off my nose. I make a show of gagging and collapsing, sliding down the wall, the first ever recorded death from Versace Eros overdose.

"Well?" Levi asks, nudging my shopping bag with his toe. I scowl at his lack of appreciation for my commitment to the bit. My back aches from where I collided with the wall, but he clearly doesn't care. "Did you find a Halloween costume?"

I open my eyes and stare up at him, which is kind of like staring at myself. He's like a duplicate version of me with the same dark hair and green eyes, just with a stronger jaw and fewer skirts.

"I figured I would just go as a failure this year, save money on a costume," I mutter, knowing my collapsed position on the floor adds a certain flavor to this particular genre of despair.

"What did I say about drama?" Levi says, rolling his eyes, then turning and shuffling into the kitchen. He's had enough of my self-pitying, but I haven't. There's no amount of wallowing in the world that will make me feel better.

"Says the performer," I mutter, getting to my feet and grabbing my shopping bag, which actually does have a flimsy, last-minute Halloween costume in it. "I guess I still have tomorrow," I say, tossing the frilly pink dress and scimitar onto the coffee table. I can't tell if I love it or hate it—I was going for a pirate look, but pink. "What do you think about—" I start, turning back toward Levi, but I stop when I see what he's wearing.

"What is that?" I wrinkle my brow at his get-up, which is entirely too straight to be his own doing.

"What do you mean?" he asks, feigning ignorance. Then he stops, looking down at the white monstrosity he's wearing. "Oh, this? This is my hockey jersey."

"You don't like hockey," I point out, giving him an appraising look and taking a step back. "You don't like any sports. It runs in the family."

"Well…" he drawls, and at that moment, there's a knock at the door. My eyes jump from the door, then to Levi, then to the second jersey he's holding in his hand.

"No," I exclaim, backpedaling and holding my hands up. "No, no, no. I am not going with you to a sports game, Levi. I don't even like hockey!"

"But Alec likes hockey, and he got us tickets!" Levi whispers, pushing the jersey into my hands and glancing furtively at the door. At full volume, he calls out, "Coming!"

"Us?" I whisper back, taking the jersey he thrusts at me and looking at it like he's handed me a live snake.

"Just put it on," he stage-whispers over his shoulder just before opening the door to a man who must be Alec. He's tall, with a broad smile, and he looks at my brother like he hung the moon. I roll my eyes—this is what Levi does. He gets people to fall in love with him, then eventually gets bored. I don't want to be a part of this eventual car crash.

But Levi is my brother. And I know he would do the same for me. With a sigh, I pull the jersey on just in time, right as Alec glances past Levi and sees me standing in the center of the living room, my Halloween costume discarded beside me.

"Rock on!" he cheers. "Knights fans! We gotta hustle; I'm parked illegally."

I barely have time to grab my purse before Levi throws me out the door and locks it behind him. We trail Alec to his massive blue Jeep, and just before Levi climbs in the passenger seat, I grab his sleeve, yanking him back so I can mouth, "You owe me."

***

The Vegas Golden Knights hockey team wears soft golden jerseys as they skate around and warm up on the ice. I lean over to Levi.

"Why are they wearing jerseys different from ours?" Ours are white, and many audience members are wearing gold.

"I don't know," he says, throwing popcorn in his mouth. "Maybe they changed them?"

"They wear different jerseys," Alec laughs, leaning over Levi's lap to project his voice to me. "Gold is their home color. They wear white when they play away games."

I stare at him for a moment, then glance down at my jersey. "So you got me the wrong one," I say to Levi, who is also looking down at his jersey. "We were supposed to wear gold if gold is for home, right?"

"No, no," Alec says, slightly falling into Levi's lap with how hard he's laughing at the two of us. We stare back at him blankly. "You can wear whatever. Honestly, you don't even have to wear Knights stuff, so it's cool that you guys did."

"I don't believe you," I say, glancing from my jersey and back to the players on the ice. "I feel like you're just being nice, so we're not embarrassed."

"I swear I'm not—but you can always go to The Armory and get a gold jersey if you really want one."

Levi snaps his widening eyes to Alec's. "Why would there be an armory? We're in a stadium!"

"Oh, my god," Alec says, laughing into his elbow. His face is red, and he's wheezing. Apparently, our ignorance is entertaining. "That's the name of the store—it sells Knights stuff," he says, leaning back and wiping at his eyes. I catch him placing his hand on Levi's thigh, and I take that as my cue to leave.

"I'm going," I say to them. "If I'm coming to a sports event, I'm going to blend in."

"Whatever you say," Alec laughs, but Levi mouths for me to get him a golden jersey, too. I fight my way through the crowds and find the store on the first level—The Armory. I suppose it makes sense if they're The Knights.

Ten minutes later, I'm exiting the shop with two gold jerseys. When I woke up this morning, I didn't own a single sports jersey, and now I own two for the same team. In Las Vegas—where I don't even live. As I ride back up the escalators, I hear a countdown and watch the screen, where a man is shouting.

"Live from Las Vegas," he shouts, pointing at the screen, "it's Knight Time!"

I hurry back to my seat. Sure, I'm about to miss the start of the game, but then I realize it's just the players coming out of the tunnel to loud music. I plop back down next to Levi, who gratefully accepts his gold jersey and swaps it with the white one. Alec shakes his head but holds the white one for him while he swaps.

The music in the stadium is absolutely blasting, making it nearly impossible for us to talk to one another. The camera roams around the stadium, spotlighting famous people who've come to the game. There was a time when I thought I might end up famous enough to earn a shot on one of those, but that dream is long gone.

As the lights flash and the players skate around, I pull my phone out, tapping immediately into the reviews for my last book.

Like those that came before it, the finale of this series was a major let-down. I was holding out hope, but…

It's official! Lola Burke has lost her touch. Reading this book was like eating a brick. I did not…

I loved the True Heart trilogy. Not sure what happened here. Maybe she has a ghostwriter?

A hand eclipses my phone, and I glance up to see Levi shaking his head at me, saying something I can't hear.

"What?" I shout back, gesturing to my ear.

He leans over, whispering, "Not tonight, Lola. Just try to enjoy the game. Go back to wallowing in the morning."

When he pulls back, he gives me a pitying look, and I sigh, tucking my phone away. On the ice in front of us, two players—one in gold and one in silver—are crouching across from each other.

"What's going on?" I shout, aiming my question at Alec because I'm sure Levi doesn't know any more than I do.

"It's the face-off," Alec explains. "It's how they start the game. Like the tip-off in basketball."

I stare at him blankly, and he lets out a laugh. Before he can say anything else, a whistle blows over the ice loudly, and the players take off across the ice.

"What happened?" I shout to Levi, who just shrugs at me and tries to cheer when Alec cheers. I slump down into my seat. It's going to be a long game.