Page 148 of Of Pucking Course

I love his smile, the way his eyes brighten when he looks at me, how tight he hugs me.

I love himsomuch.

The need to tell him pummels me from the inside out.He’s probably going to think I’m crazy. It’s so soon. We’ve only been a couple for a few weeks.

But we’ve known each other for years. He’s one of my best friends. Next to Sophie, I’m closer to him than I am to anyone.

Maybe we haven’t been romantic for very long, but our feelings for each other took root years ago.

For a fleeting second, I wonder if he could love me too…

Hope sprouts inside my chest like a million wildflowers.

But honestly, it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t love me. I just want him to know that I love him, that my feelings for him are true and real.

“By the way, Sam, you’re trending on TikTok and Instagram,” Ingrid says, pulling me back into the moment.

“Am I?” Sam chuckles as he refills his beer glass.

Ingrid grins. “Yup. Look.”

She turns her phone around for the whole table to see. We all lean in and look at the search page on her screen. It’s a bunch of videos that people filmed of Sam going off on Henry’s dad.

She hands Sam her phone. “Read the comments.”

Sam shakes his head. “I don’t know if I want to.”

“They’re all good, I promise.”

Sam takes the phone and scrolls through the comments. I lean closer so I can see.

Don’t fuck with the gentleman defenseman. Or his girlfriend.

Looks like the gentleman defenseman goes into beast mode if you mess with his lady.

Well, that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.

Can all men be like Sam McKesson and act feral like this when their lady is being harassed?

Watching Sam McKesson defend his girlfriend just made my panties wet.

Sam’s mouth is curved up in a bashful smile as he hands Ingrid her phone back.

I slink my arm around his. “I agree with the comments. What you did was hot.”

He grins. “You think so?

I nod, and he kisses me.

“I’m so happy you two are finally together,” Sophie says, smiling at us both.

“After all those years of you two being friends, it’s honestly so sweet how it worked out this way,” Bella says. Maya nods along.

Xander turns to Sophie. “I don’t think I could have just been friends with you for years. I would have tried to sleep with you ASAP.”

Everyone laughs. Sophie smacks Xander’s shoulder as she chuckles.

“I’m just being honest,” he says with a cocky smile. “The second I saw you, I was a goner. I was instantly in love with you.”

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