Page 34 of That Thing You Brew
I sat up straight and pulled her onto my lap, which leveled our faces closer in height. Cradling her against me with my left arm, I brushed a wayward tendril off her forehead and tucked it behind her ear, then trailed the fingers of my right hand down the side of her face. Without breaking eye contact, I leaned slowly toward her, and she met me halfway.
Our lips connected, and the chemistry was instant. Her hands were on my face, both of my arms held her close, and we became one very efficient kissing machine.
I closed my eyes and let the euphoria take over. I wanted full immersion. The warmth of her breath mingling with mine, the vanilla scent of her face—like her hand sanitizer but without the alcohol sting—the strength of her arms that were now securing the back of my head, holding it in place in case I had thoughts of breaking the kiss.
Nope. I’d be like those characters at Disney who weren’t allowed to be the first to break a hug. No way was I breaking this kiss.
Not even if my phone rang. Which it did.
The mood-breaker cycled through three rounds of the sound bite from thePirates of the Caribbeantheme before Penny pulled away.
I groaned. “Why you go? My lips are cold,” I whined, grudgingly opening my eyes.
She grinned. “I wanted to kissyou,not Jack Sparrow. And that’s all I could picture once your phone started ringing.”
I stared at her, joy pumping through my veins. Had I heard her correctly?
“What?” she asked, her smile fading. “Are you … mad?”
I shook my head. “Pen…” I blinked, not caring that my eye wells were filling with water.
She tilted her head, and then realization marked her features. Eyes wide, she blurted, “I didn’t stutter!”
I squished her to me. “This is the best day ever. It started off sad but pulled a one-eighty. I’m an all-star, I’m marrying the sweetest girl in the world, and she’s lost her stutter with me.” I rested my chin on her head. I loved the way her silky hair felt on my neck. “Do you think we should practice more?”
“Absolutely!” came the muffled reply.
We could finish the card game another time.
CHAPTER10
Penny
Xavier’s kiss had been magic. Almost as good—maybe better—was that I felt so incredibly free being able to talk to him without stammering or stumbling over my words. It was liberating.
But—that kiss!
We “practiced” until he had to get ready for his game.
I wasn’t working the afternoon shift, but I didn’t think Jannell or Marcus would mind if I popped in to make his coffee.
We still had to tell my family about our plans. It didn’t feel right keeping something this big from them. I thought the best time would be after church tomorrow. It was New Year’s Eve, and Xavier had a home game later in the afternoon, so the team had the morning off, which worked out perfectly.
He wanted to come with me to church, which filled me with joy on a whole other level. Our Sunday family traditions were important to me, and Xavier said they would be important to him, too.Swooooon!
Suddenly showing up with a boyfriend—or fiancé-to-be—was sure to cause a stir. But being that you were supposed to be quiet during church, it would give my family time to process our sudden togetherness in an environment they couldn’t ask all the questions in. Then we’d head over to my grandparents’ house for weekly brunch. Gabby’s fiancé, Noel Allaire, would be there, too, so at least Xavier would know someone other than just me, Tasha, and Gabby.
Xavier and Noel had played together the last few years, starting the year Noel returned to the Volts after a season-ending injury. He’d taken a hard stick to his abdomen and needed a kidney transplant. After taking a year off hockey to recover, he currently bounced between the Volts and the Edge, depending on who the Edge was playing. Noel was fast and had a real talent for the game, but no one wanted to risk another critical injury playing against the more physical teams. Both the Volts and Edge had rallied around him, making sure opposing players weren’t too rough. At any time, either organization’s medical team could pull him from playing, and no one wanted that. Gabby told me he hated having his friends fight his battles, but facing a lifetime of dialysis was worse.
Brunch was lovely. My aunt put her interview skills to work—she was a local news anchor—and put everyone at ease. Xavier fit in easily with my family, and he even helped my grandmother and I clear and wash the dishes.
Good. We were going to need all the brownie points we could get.
We’d decided to tell my whole family and ask them to keep it a secret until after hockey season was over. Only Tasha knew the real circumstances. I’d filled her in that morning before church, and though she said all the right things, I could tell by her skeptical demeanor she didn’t entirely approve.
Once we were all settled in the family room for what my grandpa liked to call the “post-brunch bunch and munchies,” where we ate dessert and each of us shared how the previous week went, my nerves started to kick in. I didn’t stutter with my family, and if I did, our news wouldn’t be received well. If they thought Xavier made me uncomfortable … well, that would be bad.
I was grateful Grandpa saved us for last. Rexie snoozed at my feet, and the presence of the old husky did wonders to calm my nerves. When it was my turn to talk about my week, Xavier stood and held his hand out for me. He tugged me up to his side and wrapped his arm securely around my shoulders and squeezed me to him gently. I glanced at each of my family members in turn and took a long breath.
