Page 47 of A Major Puck Up

“Daniel has half the team in on a game of flip cup right now, Brooks,” Ford says, holding out his hand to shake my brother’s.

“Congrats.” Brooks slips his hands into his pockets. “I’ll go grab a drink and find the man of the hour.”

As my brother disappears, Ford tilts his head toward the bar. “Whiskey?”

“Place looks gorgeous,” I tell him as I follow him toward the bar. “I’m guessing Lake is due all the credit.”

Ford laughs and eyes me over his shoulder. “She and Kyla actually planned it together.”

I suck in a breath. Of course Daniel’s mom is here today. It’s a big day. But I never would have expected Ford’s ex-wife to get so chummy with his current one.

“Glad everyone is getting along.” Though I wonder what Millie must think of it all. According to her, Kyla is always grumbling about Lake and Ford. And she’s far from the most supportive mother, which is unsurprising. Ford has never had the best things to say about her.

“Thank god for that. Even if Kyla wasn’t on her best behavior, she couldn’t put me in a mood today. My youngest son finally graduated, my oldest son finally got a job, and my baby girl is home.”

My heart stops at his words, and as if on cue, Millie steps out of the house, a platter of food in her hands and a sundress hugging her frame.

When her golden eyes meet mine and light up as bright as this beautiful June day, I know that everything is so not fucking fine.

SIXTEEN

MILLIE

I can’t stop the smile that tugs at my lips when I see Gavin. It’s only been a week. A week of phone calls, of texts, of staying up too late so I can talk to him before bed. A week since he held me while I slept and told me we were everything. Told me he wanted this. Me.

If I could just get my shit together and talk to my dad.

A much easier decision than I thought it would be. I miss my dad. Stupid pride, too much distance, and an embarrassing amount of time clouded my ability to see what was right in front of me. My father with a proud smile on his face every time he looks at me. He’s not upset about how I handled his wedding, and he’s not angry at me for leaving. No, he’s nothing but thrilled that I’m here.

I called him the second I said goodbye to Gavin at the airport, and he jumped into a full conversation without hesitation. And when I asked if I could stay at the house for Daniel’s graduation weekend, his response couldn’t have been more perfect. “This is your home, Millie. Wherever I am is your home. You’re always welcome.”

Sure, it was awkward seeing Lake when I walked into the house—her home now—but I replayed Dad’s words, reminding myself that her presence doesn’t diminish the love my dad has for me.

The reunion with my mother wasn’t quite so smooth. She showed up here pretending to want to help. All day, she’s plastered on smiles, pretending to be thrilled for my father and Lake, but when she gets me alone, her underhanded comments are back.

My so-called friends are here too, and they’ve paid me zero attention. They made no secret of their priority today: meeting my brother’s NHL friends. Whatever. I couldn’t care less about my brother’s friends. It’s my dad’s best friend that I’m salivating over right now.

“You remember my daughter, Millie,” my father says as the two of them approach me.

My smile only grows as the grown man whose dirty words ripped an orgasm from me during our video call just a few nights ago squirms.

In a pair of navy shorts and a light blue polo shirt, the man is beautiful. It doesn’t hurt that his toned arms are on full display and that, with every inhale, his shirt strains against his chest. Or that he’s so hung that even when he’s not hard, I can still see the shape of him beneath his shorts. I probably shouldn’t be staring at my father’s best friend’s dick while I stand next to my father, but seriously, he’s sex on a stick. I have to lick my lips to hold back the drool.

“Uh yeah. Sure, of course. Hi, Millie. Right, you look. You’re—” he stutters, his eyes wild with panic.

My father frowns and gapes at him.

“Relax,” I mouth while Dad is distracted by Gavin’s insanity.

Gavin clears his throat and ducks his head. When he looks up again, he’s schooled his expression. “You look lovely.”

“Thank you, Mr. Langfield,” I say in a voice sweet enough to make his teeth ache.

My father laughs and rocks back on his heels. “Oh god, has anyone ever called you that?”

Gavin huffs. “I run a fucking hockey team. Of course people have called me that.”

His brother appears—the married one—with a kid clinging to one leg as he walks. “Called you what?”

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