Page 76 of The Ex Puck Bunny
“Don’t call my fiancé a goon. That’s rude.”
“Says the brat,” my brother mutters.
I elbow him. “He’s never mentioned that role.”
“It’s an unofficial title,” Dad elaborates.
“Their job is to keep the ice clean by stopping dirty play,” Derek says.
“Are we anticipating dirty play?” I ask.
They both reply, “Yup.”
Even though the lively rock song blasting over the arena’s speakers is the same volume as it was a moment ago and the lights are as bright as ever, this game suddenly takes on anominous feel. What do my father and brother know that I don’t?
“Should I be worried?” I ask, very worried.
“Nope,” they both chorus, eyes fixed on the rink.
I follow their gazes as Grady takes the ice, gliding like he was born to skate rather than walk. If he weren’t so massive, the movements would be graceful as he gets into position.
The puck drops and what happens next makes me hold my breath. Micah Lemon, our center, and two of the Pittsburg players go one way with half of the others in pursuit while Grady streaks in the other direction.
“Why is he going the wrong way?” I ask.
“He’s not. He’s preparing to intercept.”
“The puck?”
Dad shakes his head.
Derek smirks like he knows something I don’t. Which is true. I glance at my mother and she focuses dead ahead, watching Grady like a hawk, a mama bear. She’s not a superfan like Dad, but has been by his side over the years and knows the game inside and out. Given my former puck bunny role and present Ice Maiden position—we still need to come up with a better name—I should have a better understanding of what’s going on.
Hands cupped around her mouth, my mother hollers, “You get him good, Grady. That’s right, in the smacker.”
I turn my attention back to the ice and see two players with their gloves abandoned.
“Tell that pest to buzz off,” Mom yells.
She’s a feisty one.
In the end, I guess things with Trey wouldn’t have worked out because my parents would only ever accept Grady as a son-in-law.
Grady is about to tear—I squint—Ketsivalis’s head off.I turn Bunny to face in the other direction where Hayden is close to scoring a goal.
“That guy is such a pest—just like Trey,” I mutter.
Derek says, “They’re literally pests. Their role is to annoy players, knock them off their game, incite them to anger so they’re less focused.”
“Yeah, Trey was good at that.” From what Grady told me, Lucan, too.
“Show him how it’s done,” Mom yells as Grady takes a swing.
I may be a brat, but I’m not entirely sure I’m cut out for this, Granted, I’m no stranger to hockey being a rough sport, but it’s different when it’s your guy out there. Then again, we are talking about the guy who got him suspended.
Did Coach Badaszek know the history between them? Actually, does Trey know that Grady and I are engaged? I inwardly chuckle and wonder if I could somehow hook him and Alivia up. That would be poetic justice. Or maybe they’d actually fall in love.
I do my best to distract myself from the brawl, thinking about how the engagement video reel I pieced together of me finding the Easter egg and Grady proposing went viral. Unbeknownst to me, Cara and Meg were filming from a window above when I found the egg and then Derek got footage when Grady asked me to marry him.
