Page 159 of A Major Puck Up

“Fuck yes,” he mutters. “Fuck me, Peaches. Use me.”

I shake my head. “No. I won’t use you. But I will make love to you.”

And that’s what I do. We go slow. Making love. Making up for all of our lost time. Just as we’re on the precipice, I tug his hands over his head and take in the matching bracelets that circle our wrists.

This is my forever. I have no doubt. Despite every obstacle we’ve had to overcome, we’re exactly where we should be.

“Oh my gosh, bestie. Aren’t they the cutest?” I screech as we watch the little birds that look like mini penguins with large orange beaks.

Vivi points her chubby finger at a bird waddling in our direction. “Duck! Duck! Duck!”

“She’s so damn smart,” Gavin mumbles.

“It’s actually not a duck,” Aiden says.

Brooks chuckles, and Sara hits Aiden in the chest.

“Vivi is the smartest,” she says. “Don’t even start.”

Heart full, I lean back against Gavin. He presses his chin to my shoulder. “You feeling okay?”

The plan was to spend the day just the three of us, but when his brothers and Sara showed up with breakfast and flowers this morning, I invited them along to the zoo. I figured they’d say no, but Aiden practically squealed in excitement.

Then Beckett called and said he’d meet us here with his three oldest kids. When they arrived, though, Finn demanded they visit the snakes, so Beckett grumbled that he’d see us back at his house for pizza.

Despite the insanity of it all, I love every minute of my time with this family.

“I feel fine.”

“Hi, guys,” a pretty blonde says as she approaches. She’s wearing a zoo shirt with a little puffin in the corner.

“Hey, Avery.” Brooks dips low and presses a friendly kiss to her cheek. And soon, everyone in our group is doing the same.

“Avery is Coach Wilson’s daughter,” Gavin tells me.

“Coach Wilson?” I frown, trying to place him, but I don’t remember a Coach Wilson on the Bolts’ staff.

“He coaches the Boston Rev’s,” Avery explains.

“And Avery’s dating the pitcher,” Aiden says. “I love love,” he adds with a dopey smile. “You think Beckett and Gavin were grumpy? You shoulda met Damiano before he finally won over Avery.”

The blonde rolls her eyes good-naturedly. “He’s a total softie. You guys want to meet his best friend?” She leans over the exhibit. “Hey, Puff, come say hi to some new friends.” She twirls her finger, and the puffin in the back does a little flip.

“Oh my gosh, he does tricks, Viv!” I say as I bounce our girl.

“Oh no. Now my girls are going to want pets,” Gavin grumbles, though his tone is light.

“His name is Puff?”

Avery giggles. “Chris—my boyfriend—calls him Puff Daddy, but I feel weird saying that.”

I laugh. “Hear that, Hockey Daddy? I think we need a Puff Daddy too.”

Gavin shakes his head. “All right, enough. Let’s go look at the monkeys.”

When the rest of the gang ditches us to get ice cream, Gavin and I take our time strolling through the zoo with Vivi. “Thank you for today,” I tell him. “I really needed this.”

“Not that I’m glad you were hurt, but the timing couldn’t have been better. Having these few days off is perfect. With the playoffs…” He trails off, probably worrying about all the travel we’ll be doing over the next two months. Playoffs are brutal, but this ain’t my first rodeo. I know how the sport goes. I know he’ll be busy.

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