Page 36 of Check the Halls
It’s a great day with friends old and new. But my favourite part is watching Maddy orchestrate the entire event. She’s everywhere all at once, keeping everything running smoothly. Her smile outshines everyone else's around her. I see not only how hard she works but how much she enjoys her job. I’m so proud of her and I feel so lucky to be able to help in her success in any way I can.
Still, it’s bittersweet.
As I watch her laughing with Will and Austin, something tugs at me—a mix of nostalgia and something I can’t quite name. She fits in so effortlessly, like she’s always belonged here. It’s a strange contrast to the past, to the years when my world of hockey and my life with Maddy barely overlapped.
Back in juniors, my teammates were more interested in chasing girls and closing down bars. I kept those parts of my life separate, maybe out of habit, maybe out of convenience. She never really got to know any of them.
But here she is now, nestled into the circle of guys who have become more family than friends, chatting like she’sknown them forever. And she fits. So seamlessly that I can picture her here all the time.
But she’s not mine anymore.
CHAPTER 12
MADDY
THEN
“Open it.” Ben pushes the box closer to me.
“Now?”
“Yes, now. Like, right now.” He looks so excited you’d think it was his birthday, not mine. When I don’t tear the cover off the box immediately, he starts to pout. “Oh my God…why aren’t you opening it?”
“Don’t you want to give it to me at dinner?” My parents wanted to take us out to dinner, but I told them I’d rather get takeout from my favourite Chinese restaurant instead. It should be arriving any minute now.
“Absolutely not. Open it now.”
“You’re bossy.”
“You like it.” He winks and I blush.
I do like it.
“Fine.” I take the box from him, surprised that it weighs almost nothing. Setting it on my bed, I gently lift the cover and peek inside.
Sleepy, green eyes I know well blink up at me. I freeze, my heart stuttering in my chest.
“Ben, is that?—”
“Cheshire,” he finishes for me, leaning over the box and scooping the tiny orange ball of fur in his hands. He gives the bridge of his nose a stroke before gently placing the little guy in my arms.
I stare down at him as he purrs and nuzzles into my chest. My throat tightens. He’s doubled in size since I last saw him. Perfect—fluffy, warm, and completely orange except for a little white patch on his nose.
“He’s a ginger, just like his mom,” Ben grins.
“How?” My voice cracks with emotion.
He shrugs, his grin widening. “You kept talking about him so I reached out to the shelter to see if I could call dibs on him once he came up for adoption.”
“You’re not supposed to be able to do that.” The shelter has an application process for all rescues. Cheshire’s purrs vibrate through my fingers.
“How could they say ‘no’ to this face?”
“What about my parents? They’re going to flip when I tell them.”
“I already cleared it with them.”
My mind races. What? While my mom shares my love of cats, Dad has never been sold on getting one. He once warned my mom that a kitten would be a gateway pet—that I wouldn’t be satisfied until I’d filled the house with rescues.
