Page 81 of Last Boy

I side-eye her jersey as she proudly wears his last name on the back of her Brooks attire. And I frown when I see Sutton heading down the stairs, wearing hers with Thompson on the back, undoubtedly. I wouldn’t mind wearing Walker’s. Actually, I’d love it. But, dang, those jerseys are pricey. And I’m, well, broke.

Holding out a plastic bag, Sutton smiles down at me. “Special delivery. A certain someone with the initials W.J. gave this to Hunter for me to deliver to you.” Her grin grows. “I could clearly tell it’s a jersey in there. So, I know it obviously has James on the back. Which, by the way, Ryann and I talked, and Walker James is hands down the hottest hockey player’s name ever to exist.”

“Hands down. Like, all of the team has hot names, but Walker freaking James just sounds soooo hot and kind of dirty.”

Sutton plops down next to Ryann. “Here, put it on over your shirt!”

As if on cue, I look down onto the ice to find that Walker hasn’t only stopped warming up, but he’s also staring up at me. I hold up the bag toward him, and he gives me a smirk as his eyes grow darker. Not really the response I figured I’d get. And when I take it out, a small note falls out, and I hold it so the girls can’t see.

P,

Can’t wait to see you in this later with nothing on underneath.

—W

P.S. You know what this means, right? If my name is on your back, you’re mine. No going back now.

Slowly, I stand and pull the oversize jersey over my head before doing a little spin for him. He stares in complete awe before he slowly skates backward and turns away.

“Okay, so that was cute.” Ryann beams next to me before placing her hand on my arm. “Poppy has officially become thawed. She’s no longer a frosty bitch.”

“Let’s not go that far,” Sutton jokes but widens her eyes and laughs.

“Yeah, I mean, a leopard can’t really change its spots.” I shrug.

Ryann rests her head against me. “I gotta say, I like seeing you happy. I really, really do.”

My eyes stay fixed on the ice, and I smile.

Because I really, really like being this happy too.

23

Poppy

The cold air hits my face, and I blow out a breath, watching it turn to smoke above my head before it disappears. It’s freezing here in Maine. I’ve always heard it was, but I’ve never been here. A few people have warned me that the spring is gross and wet and that the summer is so short that if you blink, it’s over. But they promised that the beauty in the fall and the calmness in the winter make the unpredictable climate much more tolerable. Though I only heard one word in that sentence.

Calmness. That sounds nice.

Turning around, I head back into the stadium, where Walker has spent the past few hours meeting his potential new team. He wouldn’t give the New England Bay Sharks an answer over the phone. He felt the need to come to check out the facility, formally meet the coaches and the entire team, and talk over the logistics and what a Bay Shark would mean. And since tomorrow is Christmas Eve and he’ll have a few days free of hockey, he insisted I come with him. Of course, it didn’t take much convincing, seeing that Jake was ditching me anyway to spend the holidays with his girlfriend and I didn’t really want to hang out alone.

We flew here after his early morning practice today and plan to fly back to Georgia on the twenty-sixth. Oh, on a five a.m. flight. Ew.

But I guess it’s good that we’ll be back at Brooks early because Jake and his girlfriend are coming over to celebrate a late Christmas dinner with us that night. It’s a little weird this year that, for the first time in my entire life, I won’t be spending the actual holiday with him. But I’m sure he’ll have more fun with Bonnie anyway.

I’ve checked in a few times just to see how he’s doing because I always get a little nervous about leaving him, but I need to give him more credit than I do. I can’t baby him when he wants to live his life, especially when he is more than able.

As I walk farther into the arena, I gaze at how gorgeous this place is, just as Walker heads toward me. Next to him is a guy with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, who grins at whatever Walker is saying. He looks familiar, but I can’t put my finger on why that would be because I know I’ve never seen him before.

When he spots me, Walker’s face lights up. “What did you think?” he says with a smile, but I can hear the nervousness in his voice.

He’s worried that I’ll tell him I don’t like it here. But let me be honest; even if I didn’t, I’d lie and tell him it was great just because it means so much to him, and he deserves this. But truthfully, I like it here—a lot.

“Hate it? Love it?” Before I can answer, he cringes. “Too cold, right? You’d never want to move here. Or even visit.” He sighs. “You’re right. We were raised in the South. It’s like the Arctic here. It would get old fast.”

Grabbing his hand, I giggle. “Walker, stop. I actually really love it,” I answer honestly. “I walked around downtown, and…yeah, it’s cold. But it’s beautiful. And kind of cozy.”

All of the nerves melt away as he sighs dramatically. But before he answers, the guy walking with him does first.

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