Page 126 of Puck Me Secretly

“Really?”

“All good.”

“Thanks for standing up for me.” I meant it. I appreciated how protective he was.

“I would have done a lot more to that asshole if we hadn’t been in practice.”

ThatI believed. “Be careful, okay?”

“Can you do me a favor?”

“Yes.”

“My uncle is coming to town this weekend to watch one of my games.”

“Yes!”

I could hear the smile in his voice. “You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m in.”

“I'd like to get him a decent seat for the game.”

“I can take him out for dinner first.”

“You’d do that?”

“I’d love to.”

“Thanks, babe.”

My heart squeezed at the term of endearment.

CHAPTER 44

Uncle Ronny wasthe exact opposite of what I expected. I expected a big strong man that resembled an older version of Max. Instead, he was short and slight in stature, with a handlebar mustache and a military crew cut. He shared Max’s blue eyes. They twinkled when he smiled, and he smiled often.

We enjoyed dinner at the restaurant in the arena, and then we made our way down to our seats, which were right behind our bench.

Ronny was an avid hockey fan. He stood up and screamed when Max had a breakaway and scored a goal. It sounded like he was the only one in the entire stadium cheering.

He turned towards me, his eyes baffled.

“What the fuck is going on?”

I chewed on my lip. “It’s a long story.”

He sat down heavily beside me. “They don’t like him here.”

“They are warming up to him.”

“Come on, little lady, that’s bullshit and you know it.”

I rubbed my eye. “The fans are skeptical about Max because of his past including his fight with Flanynk.”

Ronny scratched the side of his face. “Well, that sucks.”

“I know.”

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