Page 12 of Slap Shots & Sweethearts

"Oh shoot, I left my keys in my office." He backs away. "Here's an idea, have a secret admirer activity with the team. The fans would love it."

He walks away without providing any further help, and now I have to come up with a PR campaign inspired by my fake flowers. Great.

New York has Hell's Kitchen, Glacier Bay has Maple Street. Just off of Main, it starts with the twenty-four-hour flapjack house that serves breakfast at all hours of the day. Next door sits the respectable sandwich shop with gourmet soups. The Thai place though, I can eat that every day and not get sick of it.

The Pizza Pub is hopping by the time I arrive. I grab the last parking spot much to the frustration of a blue SUV that will now have to search for somewhere else to park on Valentine's Day in the eatery. From the looks of all the cars the restaurants are filled to capacity for the holiday reservations.

My nerves are high as I reach for the door handle. Why had I thought speed dating was the answer to my singleness? Or let Maria talk me into this?

Inside the pub, I see two lines for the hostess stand, one for the men and one for the women. There isn't a lot of space and both lines are crowded. I can barely breathe as I stand in line waiting to write my name on a sticky name tag. There's not a lot of space between me and the wall and the longer I stand here without moving the more it feels like it's closing in on me. They made the lines wide enough for normal people. Not people with curves that would do better on a pro hockey player. Something I know too much about.

While Lou considers his wide shoulders and hips a blessing from the hockey gods, I find mine to be more of a curse. The mean girls I'd gone to high school with had told me plenty of times that they couldn't tell me and my brother apart.

Laughter pulls me out of those depressing thoughts.

Two guys standing in the line next to me are cracking jokes back and forth. I can't see the face of the guy with his back to me, but the other one is nice-looking enough as he makes a joke about a cow with no legs levitating. It's the kind of joke my dad would tell at Thanksgiving to the grandkids. The guy, not my dad, is dressed in a gray suit, white button-up, and a skinny red tie. The two of them continue trading bad jokes and I listen to them so I don't let the negative thoughts get to me again.

My line moves forward and finally, I get to hand over my name and email to the speed dating lady and put my name on a sticker. With a black marker I scrawl Hannah onto a name tag.

"Here's your list," The line lady tells me as she hands me a pencil and a piece of paper. "Put the name of your speed date down and then check yes or no to if you want their information sent to you."

"Won't we exchange numbers at the table?" I ask confused.

I've never done this speed dating thing before, but it just makes sense to me to trade numbers at the table.

She shakes her head. "This way makes it so people don't get their feelings hurt."

"Right because learning afterward a whole list of people said no isn't going to hurt."

She continues on "You can get a drink at the bar, they aren't serving alcohol for the event, but will after. If you need something in your stomach put a food order in with a server after you pick any booth or table to sit at."

With a muttered thanks, I take my paper and try to navigate to an open booth. The sooner I can get a drink and find a spot to sit the better. Tables big enough for two are crammed onto the tiny bar floor, in addition to the booths set in a circle around the outside. All the booths are angled to have a great view of the square bar in the center of the room. TVs are on each side with highlight reels from last week's hockey games. Of course this was a sports bar, I really hope that Lou won't show up.

People with name tag stickers like mine are flirting around the bar in two groups. I squeeze between them, or try to but I bump into a man with a blue button-up shirt and dark hair. After apologizing to him, and waiting for the busy bartender's attention, I put in an order for a drink.

"Hannah!" Maria hugs me as soon as she gets close enough to, and the bartender quickly gets her drink order.

The man that I'd bumped into earlier, smiles at her, and offers to buy her a drink. After a brief flirty exchange, and a promise to keep a spot on her card for him, he happily moves aside so she can stand next to me.

With my glorious glass of caffeinated sugar, and a lime wedge on the rim of my glass of Diet Coke, Maria and I move away from the bar as soon as she gets her sparkling cranberry drink. I set my purse down in a booth and we both sit to chat in the little time we have left before things get started.

Maria takes a calm sip of her drink. I try to do the same, but my hand is shaking from the nerves.

"How are you so calm?" I ask her.

She shrugs. "Love will be or it won't. Fate can be a fickle thing."

"Please, you're going to have all of them checking yes by your name."

"I only need the one to check yes and he might not even be here tonight."

She stares into her drink as if it contains all the answers to her love life. Her demeanor is a bit more subdued and I want to cheer her up.

"Is it someone I know?" I ask looking around the room.

She laughs. "If I'd met the one, I think I'd know."

I'm just about to respond when a commotion at the door draws our attention.

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