Page 100 of A Major Puck Up

I ignore the way that lights a fire in my belly and how my heart races at just the thought of him allowing me to truly be part of their lives.

“How do you know him so well?”I ask as I push the stroller inside.

She points to the corner where there’s a table lined with cozy benches. The sun filters in, softly highlighting the quaint space in a heavenly glow. “Go sit with Vivi. I’ll grab food and drinks. What do you want?”

Once she’s got my order and has popped into line, I park the stroller beside the table. As expected, Vivi fell asleep in her seat. It takes everything in me not to pull her out and hold her against my chest. Never wake a sleeping baby, they say, but they, whoever they are, have never spent time with this beautiful girl.

Snuggling with her was irresistible before. Now that I know that her mother just left her outside Gavin’s door? Yeah, I get why Gavin doesn’t put her down.

Last night, while I couldn’t sleep, I finally googled his name. The images that populated included dozens of him skating around at practice and before games with her in a sling on his chest.

If I ever see that in person, my ovaries might just jump out of my body and latch themselves on to him, begging him to impregnate me.

It’s wild. Only a few months ago, the idea freaked me out. But now…God, Gavin as a father? It’s otherworldly and so damn hot.

Lennox plops onto the bench across from me. “I used to date his brother.”

I tear my attention away from Vivi. “Huh?”

“You asked how I knew Gavin so well. His brother was my high school sweetheart.”

Jeez, this girl’s ability to pop from one topic to another makes it hard to keep up.

“Brooks?”

She laughs. “That’d be awkward, right?” Her lashes dip down. “No. Aiden.” If I’m not mistaken, his name comes out softer.

“Ah, the funny one. I can see that.”

She smiles.

“Is he still dating that vapid woman all the guys hate?”

Lennox lifts her shoulder in a shrug. “No idea. I don’t really ask about him, and we don’t talk.”

Oh, hmm. Lennox doesn’t seem like the type to leave a relationship on bad terms. She just seems…I don’t know, direct, maybe?

“Was he a jerk in high school?”

Her blue eyes widen, and she laughs. “God no. I don’t think that boy has a mean bone in his body.”

“So what’s the story, then?”

She pulls her shoulders back and smirks. “It’s ancient history, that’s what it is. Yours, on the other hand”—she looks pointedly at Vivi, then me—“is very much in play. So tell me, how do we fix things with Hockey Daddy and get you the happy you so obviously want?”

THIRTY-FOUR

GAVIN

“War, you’re favoring your left side again. New York knows it. Aiden, stop with the fancy shit. Hall, what the fuck?” My blood is pumping, and the cool air burns my lungs. This is exactly what I needed after this weekend.

“They’re looking good.” Beckett skates toward me with the twins strapped to his body.

“Are you nuts?” I growl, grasping his shoulder and pulling him toward the bench so that my nieces are out of the way of the guys who are in the middle of a fucking practice match.

He breaks out into a practiced smile and waves at someone behind me.

I follow his gaze to the edge of the rink and find Sara pointing a camera in our direction. “What are you doing?”

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