Page 149 of One Good Puck
She beams when she sees the chocolate chip smiley face on the short stack of pancakes.
“That’s so cool,” Emma says when she looks up at Gavin.
“Glad you like it, kiddo.”
My heart flutters in my chest seeing Gavin go out of his way to make Emma happy.
He sits next to me on the couch. “How did I get so lucky to get you?” I say, smiling at him.
He kisses me. “I’m the lucky one.”
I take a bite of pancake and moan. “This is really yummy.”
“My special recipe. One of the few things I can cook well.”
I hold up my fork and offer him a bite.
“This is my new favorite thing,” I say. “Cartoons and chocolate chip pancakes in our pajamas.”
“We’ll make our little tradition,” Gavin says.
Emotion bubbles up inside of me, and for a moment, I feel so overwhelmed, I could cry.
“You okay?” Gavin asks.
I look up from my plate and look at him. “More than okay. For the longest time, I thought it would just be Emma and me forever. And I was happy with that. But then you came along. And you changed everything for the better.”
Emotion flashes in his crystal blue eyes. He looks at Emma, who’s engrossed in her cartoons and pancakes and not paying attention to us.
Then he looks at me and drops a kiss to my lips. “Thank you for letting me into your life,” he says softly.
That warm feeling encases my whole heart. I never thought I could feel this happy.
A few minutes later, the doorbell rings.
“I’ll get it.” When I open the door, I’m greeted by Sophie, Xander, Del, Blomdahl, Sam, Theo, Camden, and Ryker.
“Hey, guys,” I say, surprised.
“Sorry to show up unannounced like this,” Sophie says. She hesitates. “I, um, might have let it slip to Xander that Alan was going to fire my dad.”
“And I might have told the guys on the team,” Xander says.
“We’re here to support Coach,” Del says. All the guys nod along.
I smile, heartened that so many of them showed up for Gavin.
“Come on in,” I say.
They all step inside and follow me to the living room.
“Gavin, you have visitors.”
His eyes go wide when he sees everyone standing with me.
He stands up from the couch. Emma hops up and waves at the guys. “Hi!” she says brightly.
They all say hi to her.
