Page 114 of The Puck Bunny

I grunt again.

She nods. “You really care about her?”

“I love her.” The words fly from my gut and my heart and my head without effort.

“I could see that.” She pauses. “If Dad was here, he’d tell you to go for it.”

My eyes sharpen, my senses and every muscle in my body go into alert like this means something special. Because it does. And I think she and Dad are right.

“Problem is, she wants me to leave her alone. To give her a chance to become an independent adult.”

Mom nods. “She is a young one.”

“So, what do I do?”

“You’ve done things backwards, Quinn. You need to do all the things to make her understand how you feel deep down, all the things that add up to making her know on a visceral level that you love her. And, when she’s ready, she’ll take you back.”

“I’ve done things to let her know,” I say, knowing she’s right.

“I’m sure you’ve done plenty, Quinn. But Sara is the one who gets to decide how much convincing she needs. And you have to accept things at her pace.”

“I get it. I can be patient. I know how to stay with something for the long haul before the payoff.”

Mom rolls her eyes. “Please don’t compare romancing a woman to preparing for a career in hockey. Not in Sara’s hearing.”

I laugh. “Believe me, romancing Sara will be like heaven. There will be no resemblance to the hell of two-a-days.”

She laughs.

“But seriously, when the time is right, I want to do something really special. Something completely unforgettable.”

“Of course you do. You always were a showman.” She softens her look and takes hold of my arms. “There’s nothing wrong with a grand gesture and nothing like it to convince a girl you’re serious.” She winks. “As long as you’ve done all the right things, all the little things, the groundwork that makes it real, you’ll have your moment with the girl you love.”

* * *

I hear through Jonas, of all people, that Sara got a new job and found an apartment. We’re at practice on Monday after my talk with my mother and I stifle the urge to hug Jonas’s smelly ass.

“How do you know this?”

“She talks to Mindy all the time, man. She was serious about the babysitting gig and being into kids.”

I nod, my chest tightening with empty longing. Maybe it’s not too soon to make a move.

That night I send her a text.

I heard you’re moving to an apartment soon. I have a badass SUV and a few muscles to help you with the move when you’re ready. Say the word.

Thanks for the offer, but we have the family van, and Bobby and Paul are helping with the muscle. Good luck for tomorrow’s game.

Fuck. We’re playing our arch-rivals, Montreal, tomorrow and if the leaden feeling of disappointment doesn’t improve by then, I’ll need all the luck I can get.

After the game—where I score no goals, but the team wins so I’m happy anyway—I come out of the locker room to see Billie Mae. My eyes immediately search the surrounding area for Sara since they go to games together all the time.

But there’s no sign of Sara and my gaze collides with Delaney’s instead. She’s standing with Billie Mae. Delaney zeroes in on me and drags Billie Mae over.

Fuck.

“And here’s the heart-breaker,” Delaney says. “Billie Mae tells me you broke off the engagement.”