Page 35 of Pucking Secret

Walking into the locker room, I’m surprised to find Jayce waiting for me by my locker.

“Hey, man,” I say.

“Hey,” he replies with a grin.“How’s the shoulder?”

“Good.” I move my arm in a wide circle to demonstrate. “I’m cleared for practice.”

“That’s a relief.” He looks around, as if seeing if any of the other guys are listening. “I wanted to ask if you were free tonight? I was going to hit up that club I told you about and wondered if you wanted to join me for a drink?”

“Oh, yeah, for sure,” I reply, a bit caught off guard by the invite. Getting a proper drink sounds really fucking good.

“Cool,” Jayce nods, looking pleased. “I’ll text you the address.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

He turns to go to his locker and I feel a strange sense of calm settle over me. A night out with Jayce might be just what I need to help clear my head and figure out how the hell to convince Stacey to give me another chance.

CHAPTER TWELVE: THE LETTER

STACEY

“Mommy,I don’t want to go to bed! I want to stay up with you guys!”

I sigh and grin, shaking my head as I gaze down at Millie. She’s dressed for bed in herBlueyfootie pajamas, clutching her favorite teddy bear and looking up at me defiantly.

“Millie, I’ve already let you stay up an hour past your bedtime,” I tell her firmly. “You know you’re going to be grumpy in the morning if you stay up any later.”

“I won’t!” she insists. “I promise!”

“Millie, I’m not going to argue with you. It’s time for bed, but if you go up right now, Skyler and Grace will help tuck you in.”

Still looking as though she wants to argue, Millie glances over to Skyler and Grace, who are sitting on the couch watching our exchange with amused expressions.

At length, Millie looks back at me and grumbles, “Okay.”

It’s Friday evening, and Grace and Skyler are over for a girl’s night. After a long, confusing week, I need to unwind and just relax. The first part of our night has been PG-rated for Millie’s sake, with pizza and a Disney movie. Now it’s time for the littleone to go to bed so the big girls can have some adult time… and so I can possibly tell Grace and Skyler about my kiss with Owen.

“Come on, kiddo!” Grace exclaims, hopping to her feet. “I’ll race you upstairs.”

Millie grins and nods, always willing to participate in a race, whether it’s on the ice or not. She and Grace take off to go upstairs and I follow after them with Skyler beside me.

We all crowd into Millie’s room as she climbs into her bed. I pull the blankets up to her chin and kiss her forehead.

“Good night, baby,” I say.

“Night, Mommy.”

Grace tweaks Millie’s nose. “Sleep tight, sweetie.”

Skyler swoops in and blows a raspberry on Millie’s cheek, making her giggle.

“Sweet dreams, Squirt.”

“Good night, Aunt Skyler. Aunt Grace.”

“We love you,” I tell her and she gives me a sleepy grin.

“I love you too, Mommy.”

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