Page 117 of Her Goal
Delaney smiles. “We all do.”
“You all have your hockey husbands, but?—”
Cara says, “What Delaney means is we all did want that. It’s normal. Natural to want to be seen and selected as someone special.”
Whit, who rivals my sisters with how tough she is on the outside, softens and adds, “We all wanted that warm, internal girly squeal, toe-curling feeling of a guy liking us.”
“Why? Isn’t that like against what we’re supposed to want?” I ask.
“To the exclusion of knowing and respecting yourself, yes, of course. But wanting to be in a relationship with someone who adores you isn’t weird at all,” she says.
“This is more like a situationship. Did anyone’s parents arrange theirs?”
I get a lot of head-wagging.
“Maybe you’re skittish. Afraid of what’ll happen when you finally get what you want. If you stopped looking for your hockey dream guy because you had him … then what?” Margo asks.
Whit supplies, “Then you’d have to accept his love.”
I bristle.
They’re right. It’s not like I’m looking for a savior. More like romance. Love. Not too much to ask because my black cat heart has a lot of affection to give, too. That part won’t be hard, but I’m so afraid of being rejected again.
“Unlike the rest of you, I’ve never had it before. Not even close. What if I’ve built it up and …”
“And it doesn’t meet your expectations?”
Jess lets out a breath, “I was on the phone with Robo the other night, walking him through how to make pasta, and it’s safe to say that man has it bad for you. So trust me when I tell you that it will meet your expectations.”
“Not if you keep up your walls.” Whit wears a knowing look.
I nod. “Wait, Jess, you tutored him on how to make dinner?”
Her lips pucker with a stifled smile. “You didn’t hear it from me.”
As if she senses I’m holding back, Cara asks, “Is there anything else about Robo you want to talk about?”
“Like how cute you think he is?” Delaney asks.
Letting out a breath, I say, “Well, there is the thing about his brother.” I tell them about how I had a big crush on him in high school.
Cara sticks out her tongue. “You and Hunter were not a match. He was so moody and had that spiked hair before he grew it long. Then it was so stringy. I never understood what you saw in him.”
“Potential?” Maybe I tried for the low-hanging fruit because I perceived other guys were out of reach … because I’ve always been so tall and athletic.
“Sometimes opposites do not attract,” Gracie adds.
My voice is small when I say, “I tried to be who Hunter wanted me to be.”
“Does Hudson ask that of you, overtly or subtly?” Whit asks like she’ll punch him if necessary.
“Not at all,” I answer truthfully. “We’re so different.”
“Yes and no. Think about Jack Attack and yours truly.” Ella practically swoons like it’s still day one of their marriage.
“The Puck Princess?” I ask. “It was so obvious you were meant to be together.”
Jess levels me with her gaze. “Okay, try Liam and me.”
