Page 148 of My Merry Mistake
Both Eloise and Poppy look at me like they aren’t sure I said anything.
“What did you just say?” Poppy asks, shock in her voice.
I look at her. “I—You guys. I love him.”
Poppy’s eyes go wide. “You love him? Finn?”
I nod. Tears spring to my eyes. My thoughts are like gates that swing wide open, finally letting the outside world in. I’ve been trying to reason with myself, but what if I don’t have to explain it? What if I just have to accept it?
I love Finn, and if the ball’s in my court, I need to take a shot.
“I need to take a shot!” I lean forward and say this so loudly the other women all stare at me, confused.
“What’s happening now?” Kari asks, eyebrows drawn downward.
“She loves Finn!” Eloise says, practically squealing.
I feel excited, frantic, and unable to sit still. I start talking fast. “I have to find him. He said I was in control. He said that right after we . . . and then we talked about . . . I have to find him. I have to find him and tell him that I love him.” I scoot forward, looking from Eloise to Poppy and back, unsure what to do next. My hand goes to my head. “I’m finally ready. I’m scared, but I’m ready. He makes me happy—Iwantto be happy.”
I jump up, and my sisters do the same.
“There’s only about twenty minutes before the puck drop,” Poppy says.
I stare at her. “I have no idea what that means.”
Eloise grabs my arm. “It means we have to hurry!” She starts walking, tripping over two guys at the end of our row.
“Where are we going?” I rush up the stairs of the arena, Poppy close behind.
“We’re going to find Finn!” Eloise shouts. “This is huge! We can’t risk you chickening out!”
“I won’t chicken out!” Not again.
We reach the top of the stairs and start running, then Eloise comes to an abrupt stop. “I don’t know how to get there from here.”
I laugh. “Follow me.”
We push through the crowd, Eloise shouting, “Get out of the way! Move it, people—my sister’s in love! Finally!” All three of us are laughing, rushing through the hallways, past the restroom lines, down three flights of stairs. I have to flash my VIP lanyard to get access to a back hallway that leads to the locker rooms.
We’re stopped four times, and each time I show my badge, one of my sisters explains that I have fallen head over heels in love, maybe for the first time in my whole life, and a path needs to be cleared so I can tell Finn Holbrook immediately.
Once upon a time, I might’ve been mortified by this, but right now, fueled by the kind of delusion that only comes from the heart, I’m okay with it.
We rush around the corner at the end of a hallway and reach the doorway of the locker room, where yet another security guard stands at attention.
We all stop, breathing heavy, and it’s Poppy who says, “We have to talk to Finn Holbrook immediately.”
I’m bent over, trying to catch my breath, and I hold my badge up so the guy can see it.
“Please, it’s an emergency,” Poppy says.
“A romantic emergency,” Eloise says.
“A what now?” the man says.
“A work emergency,” I say. “We need to see him before the game starts.”
He looks at his watch. “Ma’am they’re about to go out.”
