Page 56 of Love at Teamsgiving
Thankful for the distraction, I say, “Never mind that, I still need a name. Nothing feels right.” I tell them the ones I’ve crossed off the list.
Leah suggests, “Posh and Glam.”
“Small Town Trims?” Gracie says.
“Snip, Clip, Drip Hair Designs,” Alleyah, our server, suggests. She’s also part of the ladies of hockey crew.
Kian’s suggestion for “Hockey Hair” springs to mind and I cut it off at the root. Or try to.
“We’re still waiting on the building permit, but, um, Mr. Cruz, my contractor, said the county assured him it would be ready by the end of the week.”
“Isn’t the Knights’ new starter a Cruz? Don’t tell me he moonlights as a building contractor?” Leah says.
“I’d like to say ‘No relation,’ but yeah, it’s his dad.”
Gracie clears her throat. “Margo said you two used to be together.”
I wave my hand dismissively. “Ancient history.”
“But you’re also planning a wedding together,” Leah adds and she blushes. “I mean, that’s what I heard, anyway. Shane Finch’s mom is friends with Mrs. Gormely.”
Gracie lifts her hands, palms facing the ceiling, and shrugs. “Small towns, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” I mutter, wondering what else they’ve heard.
The scent of floral perfume reaches us before Margo as she hustles across the dining room toward our table with two other women in tow—one has curly blonde hair and the other wears a T-shirt with a glass of milk that has a mustache.
A couple of the guys from the nearby table scramble to get to their feet as if they didn’t get the notice royalty was arriving at their local lunch spot.
The two women stop in the middle of the room as if not sure which party to go to first. Before I can stop what’s happening, tables are being pushed together and half the hockey team and we ladies are sitting together.
Miguel winks at me.
Lips in a flat line, I shake my head slowly in response.
“Not to pick on the new girl, but your jersey is all wrong,” says James Reddford, the Knights’ right winger and helper that first day at the salon.
Hayden Savage cups his hands around the sides of his mouth and makes a long, “Boo.”
“Hey, she can like what she likes,” Margo says in my defense.
“Not in Hockey Town,” Pierre Arsenault says.
“Variety is the spice of life,” Gracie counters.
“Not when the team stinks.” Grady Federer pinches his nose.
A player I don’t recognize waggles his eyebrows. “I think she looks good in it.”
My knee-jerk reaction is to glance at Miguel to see how he responds.
Jaw tight.
Nostrils flared.
A fist formed under the table, no doubt.
Liam Ellis glances at Miguel. “As a gallant Knight and team captain, milady, we recognize that you’re acquainted with the WAGs. As such, we kindly request that you support our team this evening.”
