Page 34 of Two Minutes for Holding

“It is.”

“Oh, did you hear if Clay was coming? He seems like such a nice young man,” Mom asked.

My head perked up when I heard Clay’s name. I wasn’t expecting to see him this visit.

“No, Clay hasn’t accepted either,” Lorelai answered. “Although, I don’t know if Knox even asked him when I told him to. He was supposed to invite him when I first brought it up, which was when they were out in Vermont, but the man apparently had other things on his mind. Something about winning some hockey game.” Lorelai giggled.

“That sounds like my son.”

“I don’t know how you dealt with him, Reese. I really don’t.” Lorelai giggled.

“Has he asked him yet?” I questioned, swallowing hard. I could hear the anticipation in my voice.

“He’s apparently doing so today. We shall see,” Lorelai said, still crumbling the cheese and not paying any attention to the sound of my voice, thankfully.

I glanced over to see my mother staring at me. Her face held another questioning look, but all she did was give me a small smile.

“Peyton, honey, those noodles are probably done,” she said.

I shut the stove off and drained the pot of noodles into the strainer, then placed the strainer inside the pot and filled it with cold water to stop the noodles from cooking, just like my mother had taught me.

“So, I know Dylan and Aurora, but Lucas and Ella?” I questioned.

“Yeah, Lucas Clark and Ella Larson, although now it’s Clark. Ella works in the PR department, but they aren’t coming. They already had plans to have dinner with her father. He owns the Dominators,” Lorelai said.

“Oh, he’s dating the owner’s daughter?”

“More like married the owner’s daughter. In Vegas, she thought the entire thing was fake. It was crazy.”

“Fake?” I questioned.

“Yep, she thought those little chapels all over Vegas were all fake. I guess she’d read somewhere that some of them were fake and figured they all were, so when his mother put forth the idea of marriage, she accepted.”

“Oh wow, I’d love to hear their entire story. Too bad they won’t be here.”

“Don’t you worry. When you move here, you’ll be on the inside. I’ll drag you to every game and we’ll have girls’ nights when the guys are on the road. You’re going to love it. Maybe we can even find you an eligible bachelor on the team,” Lorelai said, shoving the bowl of ricotta into the centre of the large kitchen island.

“Clay would be a good option; don’t you think Lorelai? Do you know if he is involved with anyone?”

“Don’t believe so, at least I never hear him speak of anyone.”

I could feel my face heat at her suggestion. I looked over at my mother and noticed she was watching me, a curious look on her face. I had to do something besides just stand here with flushed cheeks, so I let out a laugh and held up my hands.

“No, no hockey guys for me. I lived with my brother, remember? I know what sort of trouble they can be. Plus, I’ve had my fair share of trouble with the guys I have dated, so I think, to be fair to myself and give myself a chance to heal, I might just stay single for a while,” I said.

“You say that now but just wait. Wait until one of them sinks their teeth into you. They are persistent when they set their eyes on something. Just as persistent as they are about the game. Trust me.”

“Did Aurora feel that way, too?” I asked.

“Oh goodness, yes. Her situation was different, though, but Dylan wouldn’t give up either once he found her again. Another thing about these men, they can also be hard to say no to.”

“Reminds me of Knox’s father. He was like that as well, persistent and impossible to turn away,” Mom said.

“That must be where he gets it from.” Lorelai giggled.

“Be thankful that is the only quality he got from that man,” Mom said, building the layers of the lasagna.

“So, Peyton, when are you thinking of moving out here?” Lorelai questioned.

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