Page 65 of Lucky Mother Pucker

After my mom died and I became homeless, I lost touch with all of my friends from high school.

“Now that you’re living with the guys, we hope you’re cool with us trying to get you to hang out with us,” Poppy says.

I nod excitedly. “I’d love that. Seriously.” I suddenly feel self-conscious. “I know I’m kind of an outsider since I’m not a student at Hollis, but if you guys ever want to hang out and don’t mind me tagging along, that would be awesome.”

Anna waves a hand. “Oh, we don’t care that you’re not a college student.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t matter to us,” Poppy says.

Briar grabs my hand. “You’re officially adopted into the girl gang.”

I smile so hard, my cheeks ache. We spend the next few minutes chatting and visiting. After a while, Wally gets a little restless, so I get up to take him for a walk, but they ask to come too.

When we get back to the house, Leo is home. He walks up to me, grinning.

“I’ve got awesome news,” he says. “I got you a job interview as an assistant to the physios for the men’s hockey team.”

My jaw drops. “What? Wait, are you kidding?”

He shakes his head. “I’m serious. They need someone to help out part-time, so I told one of my coaches about you. I told him you were interested in massage therapy and that you have a great work ethic. They want to interview you.”

I drop Wally’s leash and squeal. I jump into Leo’s arms and hug him tight. He spins me around.

“Oh my god! Leo!”

He spins me around again. When he sets me down, I’m giggling. Wally lets out a happy bark.

I can’t believe this. I never thought I’d be able to have an opportunity like this. Not without a college degree. But Leo made it happen.

That giddy, tingly feeling is back in full force as I look at him.

That’s when I notice Briar, Poppy, and Anna standing off to the side, staring at us with amused smiles on their faces.

“Oh. Hey, guys,” Leo says, his cheeks turning pink. He clears his throat, then turns back to me. “I’ll give you the contact info to set up an interview.”

Excitement rockets through me. But then, a second later, my nerves kick in. I’ve never had a proper job interview like this. What should I wear? I should probably put together a resume too.

And since this job entails working with physiotherapists, I should probably do some research on physical therapy and physiology. And hockey. I don’t know anything about the sport, but I need to learn if I’m going to be working with a hockey team.

“Shoot, there’s so much I need to prepare for,” I say.

Leo just smiles at me. “It’s okay. I’ll help you.”

“I can help you too,” Poppy says. “I’m actually posting a new video on my channel tomorrow about anatomy and physiology. That might be helpful to watch.”

“I’m premed, and I know that’s not the same as physiology, but we learned about sports medicine in one of my units,” Anna says. “I can send you all my notes.”

I stare at them, stunned at how helpful they’re being. “That would be amazing.”

“You’re gonna kick ass in this interview, Luce,” Leo says.

Even though I’m still nervous, Leo’s confidence in me means everything.

He gives me the contact info. After Poppy, Anna, and Briar leave, I grab my phone and call the number.

Chapter 25

Lucy