Page 101 of The Puck Bunny

SARA

In walks my mother, Bobby, and Billie Mae. My mouth opens all by itself. I feel dizzy.

When Mom scans the crowd with a faint smile, my knees give out. But Quinn catches me.

“What’s wrong?” he whispers.

When Mom’s eyes lock on mine, I freeze. Guilt darkens the edges of my mind, but it shouldn’t because I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m attending a friend’s wedding.

“Sara?” She finally gets past the disorientation of seeing me here dressed in a racy pink hockey jersey with a group of similarly dressed ladies and two hockey players. I smile. It could be hysteria setting in. I straighten my spine to ward it off.

“What the hell are you doing here?” She sweeps her gaze up and down. “In that getup?” Her eyes dart to Quinn’s and widen so far that I worry she’s going to lose them.

Bobby grabs Mom’s elbow as she moves toward me.

Billie Mae rushes to my side.

“Did you just get married?” Mom asks in a high-pitched voice, looking at the flowers in my hand.

“No.” Mindy steps from behind me. “I just got married,” she says, grinning and hanging onto Jonas, who’s smirking from ear-to-ear like he doesn’t mind so much after all.

“What are you doing here?” I ask Billie Mae, as it finally dawns on me that she’s here with Mom and Bobby and that’s very strange.

Pink floods her face and I can hardly believe my eyes because in the history of our entire friendship, Billie Mae has never, , ever blushed. I’d always assumed she was genetically incapable.

Then my brain kicks in. Crap.

“You—you’re not—”

She nods. “I am. We’re here to get a marriage license.”

I let out a breath, but Mom is still glancing uneasily between me and Quinn and the arm he has around me. I try for a little space between us, but he pulls me closer. Crap.

“Wait here while we take care of business,” Mom says and waves Bobby and Billie Mae to follow her inside the clerk’s office.

“I’m sorry. I need to wait and talk to Mom,” I say to Quinn. “I don’t want to make you late. Your family dinner is important—”

“I can wait,” he says. “You’re not getting out of it that easy.”

“We have to go,” Jonas says, holding onto Mindy tightly.

Another round of well-wishes ensues. Once Mindy and Jonas are gone, I promise the puck bunnies I’ll see them soon.

Sheila is about to walk out the door when she, “You don’t have to pretend. You’re not one of us. It doesn’t matter if your name is Lola, or what you’re wearing, you’re not a fun-and games-kind of girl.” She rushes to catch up with her friends.

“Wait! That’s not it!” I start after her, but Quinn, the only one left in the lobby with me, holds onto my arm.

“She’s right,” he says.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.” I don’t want to lose them.

“You can talk to her later,” he says, caressing my back. “We need to deal with your family first.”

“Right.” I settle down for a millisecond before my heart seizes up again when Mom, Bobby, and Billie Mae emerge from the clerk’s office.

“I wanted to tell you,” Billie Mae says, rushing to my side and ripping me from Quinn’s hold.

“Why didn’t you? You can tell me anything.”