Page 45 of Pucking Tangled
She was laser focused on what was happening right in front of her.
On him.
On Casey, Owen, and Waylon too.
It seemed stupid—how excited he was that she showed up.
But for the first time in his life, Luca was brave enough to ask for something he wanted and it happened.
Mia did that for him.
She put on her brave face. Confronted her past and showed up.
Casey caught the flicker of his gaze while they skated and gave him a knowing smirk.
Owen tried to be more subtle when their paths crossed, but he read the hint of amusement in his captain’s expression.
Waylon? He’d been impossible to read. That wasn’t new.
He’d been closed off since he spotted Mia holding his hand back at the house.
Luca didn’t miss the way they all looked at them when it happened. He fully expected an inquisition when they got in the car.
No one said a word.
Sooner or later they would.
They’d have to.
But first, they had a game to win.
The buzzer rang. Warm-ups were over.
Luca tapped the ice and grabbed a puck to toss into the stands.
He wanted to throw it in Mia’s direction but hesitated. He knew she was nervous about being there. He damn sure didn’t want to draw more attention to her and make her uncomfortable.
As he headed toward the tunnel, he locked eyes with her and held up the puck—silently asking if she wanted it.
A childlike smile spread across Mia’s face, and she nodded excitedly.
Fuck yeah!
Luca tossed it to her, beaming like a fool when she caught it and mouthed ‘thank you’.
It was going to be a damn good night.
Waylon
The rookie invited her to watch them play. He held her hand. And he asked her to come to a game.
Something Waylon wouldn’t have dared to do.
He remembered what happened the last time Mia caught a game live.
Casey told them all about the fans talking shit. It pissed him off then, and he was still pissed off about it now.
Pulling off his helmet, he ran one hand through his hair with a scowl on his face. He needed to fucking focus on hockey and not Mia in the stands. Vulnerable.
