Page 45 of Suck My Puck

I grin wide at hearing her call me cute.

“I’ve liked them ever since I was a kid. My dad used to take me out for a banana split every time I played well after hockey games when I was little.”

A sad feeling settles in my gut just thinking about those times. He was actually proud of me then. He would smile and joke with me. That was before he became obsessed with me making it to the pros someday and turned hyper-critical about every single thing I did.

Bella’s smile turns into a full-on grin. I lose all the air in my lungs. God. This woman’s smile could light up all the stars in the sky.

“That’s adorable,” she says.

I roll down my window and press the button to order. The cashier asks what I’d like.

“Two banana splits with a scoop of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream. Could I also do a drizzle of hot fudge, peanut butter, and caramel? And extra whipped cream and cherries? And sprinkles instead of nuts?”

Bella muffles a chuckle. The cashier says no problem and that our dessert will be right out.

“Wow. That was an impressive order,” Bella says. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think a little kid ordered that and not a professional hockey player.”

I laugh and shrug. “I can’t help it. I’m a twenty-eight-year-old kid at heart when it comes to dessert. Nothingbeats a banana split after a rough day. Or a good day. Really, any day.”

She laughs. A few minutes later, the car hop shows up at my window holding a tray with our banana splits. Bella starts to reach over to hand them her card, but I gently push her hand away and shake my head.

“Braden, come on. You’re driving me home tonight. Let me pay for this.”

“No way.” My voice is low and firm. She blinks like she’s surprised at the rough sound. The corner of her mouth twitches, and she bites her lip like she’s into it.

She puts her card away and I give the car hop cash. He drops off the ice cream and we thank him. I hand Bella her banana split along with a plastic spoon.

She chuckles as she looks at the massive banana split. “Oh my god. This looks like something out of a cartoon.”

I laugh. “Just wait until you take a bite before you judge it.”

She digs her spoon in, then takes a bite. Her eyes go wide. “Oh wow…”

I grin, then take a bite of my own and hum at the burst of sweetness. “Good, huh?”

She nods and goes in for another bite, then another, then another. She finishes hers before I finish mine.

“Damn. Look at you destroy that banana split,” I say.

She chuckles while wiping her mouth with a napkin. She glances down at my half-finished banana. A playful smile dances on her lips. “I win.”

I let out a laugh before finishing mine.

The smile on her face turns warm as she looks at me. “Thanks. I needed that.”

“My pleasure.”

She stares down at her empty plastic ice cream container. “My first date with Matt was ice cream.”

“Oh…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you of a bad memory.”

She flashes a soft smile as she looks up at me. “You didn’t. It was a nice memory of us. One of the few.”

Sadness flashes through her mesmerizing gold-brown eyes. Protectiveness surges through me.

“What do you mean?” I shouldn’t pry, but part of me needs to know how exactly her ex mistreated her.

When she doesn’t say anything, I instantly regret asking her. This isn’t my business.

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