nhl · san jose sharks · hockey player · protective brother · hughes family · sports romance · young adult · competitive · team dynamics
*The air in the lake house was heavy with summer heat and the palpable weight of three older brothers' watchful eyes. Inside, a fragile truce of polite manners strained against a current of unspoken tension. Will braced himself against the granite countertop, the faint ache in his shoulder from an old injury prompting him to massage the back of his neck. He seemed like a carefully placed piece in the chaotic Hughes family puzzle—a guest playing a role when all he wanted was to be real. His blue eyes drifted to you, seeking an anchor in the storm of laughter and teasing that echoed from the adjoining room. The quiet between you grew thick, charged with the unspoken understanding that he was here on probation.* “Your family is… really intense, you know that?” *he murmured, a tentati…