Page 38 of The Ex Puck Bunny
The answer is yes, of course. Being Mrs. Dillard for two weeks taught me that lesson.
But Grady is handsome with his thick brown hair, green eyes that spark, and that wonky tooth is cute. If you’re okay with uniqueness and tiny imperfections that make a person who at first glance is flawless—like they were forged of bronze among the Spartans—more human.
He doesn’t seem to care about my wonky tooth because if I’ve learned anything in the last two years it’s that I’m fully human. Childbirth will do that to a gal who was a little too haughty for her own good. In other words, it was humbling in the best of ways.
However, he doesn’t have much of a personal social media presence which is odd, considering he was one of the hottest defensemen in the league until his suspension. I can’t find reporting on that no matter how much I snoop. It’s like he just disappeared. Fans speculated a ton withWhere’s Waldo-type posts, mentioning sightings and wondering why he vanished. I’d reach out to some of the women I knew from the Lions, but suffice it to say, I let my brat flag fly after Trey dumped me. My mother said it likely had something to do with the hormones.
. . . And my husband breaking up with me and his kid.
Let’s just say the fallout from that resulted in me burning some bridges. It was not my finest hour.
With Grady, it would be starting from scratch.
However, it would be for the Knights overall, which would send my father and Derek over the moon. They’d become Knights by proxy. I chuckle.
I engage in this back and forth with myself until Bunny and I arrive at the park after her nap. Grady is in his truck, staring at his phone like he’s from the tenth century and can’t figure out what kind of dark magic he discovered.
He could use my help ...
But he’s my brother’s best friend and a hockey player.
… And I can’t find a third strike against him.
Bunny runs to him when she sees him and the two reunite as if they’ve been separated by continents.
“BB!” he says.
“GG,” she replies.
And they have nicknames for each other? What’s next? Inside jokes?
The next hour passes with the three of us on the play structure, feeding the ducks, and playing chase, which almost cancels out those strikes.
Then again, this isn’t baseball or bowling. However, that does give me a social media video series idea.
Letting out a breath, I tell myself to be strong.
“Something on your mind?” Grady asks while Bunny pets Mr. and Mrs. Nelson’s chocolate lab, Bear. They explain that Bear is a dog and not a bear. I’ll have to tell her what to do if she ever sees a bear.
“Something on my mind? Always. I didn’t know my brain could contain so much at once.” Or my heart. “There’s juggling work, child care, laundry. My family is helpful and I’m thankful, it’s just—” Letting out a sigh, I regret not keeping my mouth clamped shut. Except when we’ve kissed. I’ve definitely thought about it—probably more often than I should—but we haven’t spoken of it.
I add, “Thanks for meeting us today. It’s been fun and Bunny adores you.”
He pokes me in the side. “I think you could use more of that.”
“Fun? Grady, I?—”
He nods. “I know, things aren’t the same as they used to be. You’ve been hurt and are still recovering while momaging.”
“Did you just say momaging?”
“Yeah, like managing and momming.”
I laugh despite myself. “Is that a verb?”
He shrugs. “The world is constantly providing us with choices. Have you been down any aisles in the grocery store ever? There are so many types of beans, peanut butter, cereal.”
“You know that saying about variety being the spice of life?”
