Page 14 of Snowed in with My Pucking Ex
Frank nods, “It’s turkey dinner. Let’s discuss football.”
Winter’s pale as a ghost, seemingly mortified as she glances between her father and grandmother, vigorously shaking her head at them both.
“Actually,” I peer over at the stunning woman by my side, wanting her to know where I stand, so she doesn’t have any misconceptions about my feelings, past or present. I wasn’t planning on saying anything about this right now, but I may as well, so not only does she know, but so does the entire table. “None of them ever held a candle to your granddaughter, and that was all the confirmation I needed to know that they were never the one for me.”
I’m in Canada, having just played our last game for the week, when I finish telling Jake, my best friend and teammate, whathappened at Thanksgiving. I’m met with stark silence, not used to himnothaving an opinion on something. His mouth opens and closes a few times before he finally responds. “You told her how you feel in front of her family? They all heard you say it?”
I nod, aware that everyone else, for the most part, is eavesdropping on our conversation. I’m sure a couple of them are fighting themselves from commenting.
“Dude. You’re brave, I’ll give you that, but also crazy, my friend. What if her father flipped out and threw the potatoes at you or something?”
I stop unlacing my skate to glance up at him. He’s completely serious. “Jake, what kind of people are you having turkey dinner with that are okay with throwing the bowl of potatoes?” That’s literally never happened at any of the holiday dinners I’ve been to, and we’ve gone to several different houses for the occasion.
His hands go up, staring at me like I’m the crazy one for asking. “I have sisters, okay? Trust me when I say things get heated when you’re the only guy in a house with four sisters and a mom who still thinks she’s thirty. You should’ve seen the time one of them showed up with a dude my mom dated. We didn’t get to eat anything that day because it was all over the dining room walls. I’m more concerned that it never crossed your mind that something similar could’ve happened at Winter’s house when you went allbook-boyfriendon her. Does she know about how you towed her car to the mechanic shop yet?”
“Book boyfriend? What does that even mean? And no, she hasn’t figured out yet that I’ve done anything with her car. Besides, I told them to make sure she thinks it was a Secret Santa who had her car towed.”
He snorts, shaking his head. “Yeah, you pulled something straight out of one of my sister’s romance novels. Going all open heart at dinner and then fixing her car without her knowing.” He chuckles, yanking the tape off the top of his skates.
I shift my pants down, finally out of my skates. I’m a sweaty mess; I played my butt off tonight and am ready for a hot shower to scrub the grit off. “And you know what your sister’s books are like, because…?”
He rolls his eyes with a huff, “All I’m saying is, don’t knock the books until you’ve read a couple. You’d learn some things, man, trust me.”
I shake my head, double-checking the guards on my skates before setting them in my large duffel bag. I grab my travel towel and some fresh clothes, then quickly hit the shower. Thankfully, this arena is huge, so the locker rooms are more on the posh side than some of the others I’ve been to. Jake returns from the showers at nearly the same time I do, so we pick up the conversation where it left off.
“What did she say when she found out you’ve been carrying a candle for her all these years? Are you finally back together? I mean, she’s always been the one that got away, right?”
“Nah, we’re not back together. The subject got changed. Her grandfather isn’t my biggest fan, so he turned the convo to football. Then, before I got another chance to talk about it with her, she was out taking care of the animals on her parents’ farm. Mom and I ended up leaving not long after, since she had to work at the clinic first thing in the morning and I had to fly out for our games.”
Chris Christianson, another of my teammates who’s been listening in the entire time, shoulders into our space, “Bro, not good. You shouldn’t have left withoutsomethingfrom her. Even if she said something along the lines of she needed time to think or whatever, you don’t want to leave it all in the dark.”
A groan of frustration escapes as I run my hand through my damp hair and then use the towel to dry it off some more. Thankfully, I don’t have to rush out of here still dripping wet, since it’s not my night to worry about media time. “I was tryingnot to force it and smother her. I’d been around her all day, making myself useful to her whenever I could, so I figured at that point I’d be coming on too strong. You’ve heard of the‘ick,’right? Chicks get it for random stuff, and I didn’t want to force my feelings on her, because if she gets the ick, then I’m completely done for.”
“Crash and burn, Spruce,” my teammate, Randy Stocking, admonishes, now deciding he’s a part of this private conversation as well. He peers over at me while putting on his deodorant, like I’m the team’s last hope and just blew it. On the contrary, I scored the winning goal earlier, thank you very much. I may not have everything figured out with Winter to fit into a neat little box, but even I know that potential relationships don’t work that way.
I sigh, asking, “All right, what would you guys have done if you were in my shoes, then?” They think they know everything, so let’s hear this grand master plan they’d have implemented in my place.
Chris speaks up first, while busily tying his shoe. “Well, for starters, I wouldn’t have let her go outside to take care of the animals alone.”
Randy nods, tossing a chip in his mouth. He chews and swallows, then agrees. “Yeah, for sure. You should’ve taken advantage of the alone time.” He tosses the chips back on the shelf and slides his arms into his blazer.
Jake agrees, sliding his team hoodie over his head. He rights it and comments, “Yep. And if it were me, I would’ve kissed her. Laid a big one on her so she felt it all the way down to her toes. Then, at least you’d know if the spark is still there after all these years.”
“The spark is still there,” I confirm immediately, my irritation growing at even the mere thought of losing my connection with her from before. “I don’t need a kiss to know. I don’t needanything; just seeing her face again after so many years was enough to know. And guys? It’s not a spark when it comes to her, it’s a lightning bolt slamming straight into my heart.”
Whistles and cheers with a bit of razzing ring out around me, and I can’t help but chuckle, shaking my head. One day, they’ll get hit with it, too, and then they’ll know exactly what I mean when I say there’s only ever beenonewoman.
Chapter Nine
Winter
His words have been playing on repeat in my mind ever since they left his mouth. That was a week ago, FYI. He’s been traveling all over the country for his games, so I’ve had nothing but time in his absence to think.
Talk about taking a hit from the left, I never imagined those words would tumble free from his lips, let alone at the dinner table during Thanksgiving in front of my family. I may’ve fantasized about him saying them a time or two over the years, but I’ll never be caught admitting as much. And now, it’s only a matter of time before my siblings find out, and I’m bombarded by them with questions that I don’t have the answers to. I’m surprised my phone isn’t ringing already from one of them having heard the news from Mom or Gram, but maybe I have the poor cell service to thank for it. It’ll only be a matter of time before they try the landline.
Thankfully, I haven’t had to see Sean since the big reveal. It had me in a chokehold all the way until dinner ended, and I was able to escape outside to care for the animals. I’m beginning to wonder if the distance wouldn’t be by his choice after everything, but only because he’s been working. Me, on the other hand, I have needed the space desperately to think and attempt to get my head back in the game. I don’t want to simply fall at Sean’s feet, asking for another chance.
Dad was adamant about turning his game on the other night, and I have a feeling he’ll do the same thing tonight, too, so I haven’t been completely free of the gorgeous hockey player. I couldn’t stop myself from watching, even though I tried. In the end, I was glad I didn’t miss the entire game, because I got to see Sean score a goal.
