Page 24 of Absolutely Not in Love
“Okay. And we’re scared to see him again because…why?”
I huff out a frustrated breath. “Because…I don’t want things to be awkward.”
She levels me with a stern look. “Gracie. You’re going to see him eventually anyway. Besides, he told you he wouldn’t pressure you. It’s only going to be awkward if you make it that way.”
She moves like she’s going to stand up, and I tug her back down. She lands with an oof, dropping to her butt beside me.
“It’s not just the dating thing,” I say. “Felix is Maddox’s favorite player. And I’d rather Joshnotknow that all this time, I’ve been living next door to an Appie, especially Maddox’sfavoriteAppie, without telling him.”
“Will you notevertell him?” Summer asks, eyeing me skeptically.
“Eventually? Probably?” I say. “But is it so bad that I want to keep Josh and all his hockey enthusiasm out of my personal life? If he knew Felix was my neighbor, he would literally be at my house every day.”
“A valid concern,” Summer says. She lets out a little snort. “Can you imagine what your family would think if you actuallydiddate Felix? Oh, man. They would be so thrilled.”
Annoyingly thrilled,I think. I won’t lie and say it doesn’t play some role in my resistance to Felix’s charms. Showing up at a family dinner with Felix as my date? My parents would treat me like the prodigal daughter who finally found her way back to the hockey-enthused fold. I’m willing to own that my pride on this point might be slightly childish. But after so many years, I can’t stand the thought of giving my parents that kind of satisfaction.
I shift onto my knees and lift up just enough to see over the top of the hay bale.
Maddox is at the front of the line now, smiling wide as Felix signs a poster of the team, then passes it over to Eli for him to do the same thing.
Felix laughs at something Maddox says, his expression warm and genuine, then he holds up his hand, offering him a fist bump before shaking Josh’s hand. The interaction only lasts a couple of seconds, but Maddox is completely glowing as he takes the poster from Eli.
I bite my lip, my eyes shifting back to Felix as he greets the next person in line. He smiles again, the late morning sunshine glinting off his dark brown hair, and my gut tightens.
Honestly, does hehaveto be so handsome? My resistance would be so much easier if he wasn’t.
“Aunt Gracie?” I turn to see Maddox standing directly beside me. On my knees, we’re basically eye-to-eye.
“Maddox!” I say. “What are you doing here?”
“Better question,” Josh says. “Why are you hiding behind a hay bale?”
I scramble to my feet. “Who’s hiding? I’m not hiding!” I dust the hay and dirt off my knees, making sure my back is to Felix. “I was just, uh, tying my shoe.”
Maddox’s eyes drop to my feet. “You’re wearing boots,” he says. “They don’t have any ties.”
I hold up my feet as Summer starts to chuckle beside me. “Oh hey. Look at that I guess I am.” I gesture to Summer. “You remember Summer, right? My college roommate?”
Josh nods, his expression clearly saying he knows I was up to something even if I won’t admit it. “Yeah. Good to see you, Summer.”
“And this is my favorite nephew ever, Maddox,” I say.
Maddox rolls his eyes. “I’m youronlynephew.”
I gesture to the poster in Maddox’s hands, trusting that if anything will distract away from my weird behavior, it’s hockey. “Is that the hockey team?”
Maddox holds up the poster, his smile wide. “Yeah. And a few of the players signed it for me.” He points at Eli’s signature, which looks like little more than a scribble. “This is Eli Hopkins. He’s a right wing.” His finger slides over to Felix’s name, which is written in cursive neat enough to be its own font.
Felix’s handwriting isn’t at all what I would expect from a typical athlete, and yet, it somehow seems exactly on point for Felix.
“And this is Felix Jamison,” Maddox says. “He’s the goaltender, and he’s my favorite. At the end of last season, he had the highest save percentage in the whole Atlantic Division.”
“I think he’ll be the best in the AHL this year,” Josh adds. “Which, short term, that would be great for the Appies, but long term, it’ll only increase the odds of us losing him to the NHL.”
“Nah, I bet he’ll be an Appie forever,” Maddox says. “He said in an interview last week that Harvest Hollow is his favorite place to live.”
“Amazing statsanda love for your hometown?” Summer says under her breath. “Impressive.”
