Page 1 of One Pucking Surprise
Chapter 1
Zach
WyattdragsChloeover,throwing an arm around my shoulder and pulling me close. “Zach, Lainey—best man, maid of honor. You two are going to be spendinga lotof time together.”
Chloe beams, clearly pleased. “With our best friends working together, this wedding will be perfect. You two make the ultimate team.”
Lainey offers a tight, polite smile. The kind that says she’d rather be anywhere but here. She’s practically gift-wrapped in control issues, tied with a bow that reads,Handle with caution.
The rose-pink dress she’s wearing doesn’t help my resolve—fitted in all the right places, the silky fabric hugging her tall, willowy frame with an elegance that feels entirely unfair. Her long blonde hair falls in loose waves down her back, soft and touchable, like it’s made to catch the light just right. But it’s her eyes that demand attention—striking blue, sharp with focus, andflecked with a guarded determination. Her smile may be warm and polite, but those eyes could slice through steel when she’s annoyed.
And annoyed is her default setting around me.
I’d have to be blind not to notice Lainey, but any stray appreciation gets buried under the pile of color-coded schedules she’s been shoving my way. She’s treating this wedding like a military operation, and I’m her least cooperative soldier. I respect attention to detail—in small doses—but this? I’d rather wing it and call it a night.
I raise an eyebrow. “We alreadyarespending a lot of time together. Isn’t that right, Lainey?”
Her lips pull into a flat line. “Only because you keep ignoring all the plans I send you.”
“Oh, I read them. I just don’t see the need to treat a wedding like it’s the final play in the Cup.”
Chloe stifles a laugh, nudging Lainey gently. “Maybe you could meet him halfway? A little flexibility wouldn’t hurt, right?”
Lainey sighs, glancing at Chloe like she’s betrayed her. “Flexibility and Zach? I don’t think those two words belong in the same sentence.”
Wyatt laughs, planting a quick kiss on Chloe’s cheek. “Alright, we’re leaving you two to figure this out.” With a wink, he guides Chloe away, but not before she gives me a playful warning look.
“Try to play nice, Zach,” Chloe calls over her shoulder, her tone teasing but carrying a hint of seriousness.
I watch them disappear into the crowd, leaving me and Lainey standing alone in the middle of their engagement party, locked in a silent stare-off.
The room is buzzing, the kind of lively energy you’d expect when half the city is still talking about our Stanley Cup win. Last week, the LA Knights closed out Game 7 with a comeback no one saw coming, and the champagne hasn’t stopped flowing since.
But tonight? Tonight isn’t about hockey. It’s about Wyatt and Chloe and this party they’re throwing like it’s the wedding itself.
Lainey crosses her arms, fixing me with those sharp blue eyes that seem to catalog my every move. “You’re not taking any of this seriously, Zach.”
I grin, feeling a buzz from my drink. “Just because I’m not living and dying by yourcolor-coded schedules doesn’t mean I don’t care. I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Barely,” she mutters, glancing away like she’s mentally calculating all the things she’d rather be doing.
I step closer, lowering my voice. “Would it kill you to relax for once?”
“Relax?” she snorts, shaking her head. “Relaxing is what got you in trouble to begin with.”
I laugh, not even mad. “Touché. But I think my track record’s still pretty solid.”
“Maybe,” she says, her eyes narrowing. “But this wedding is important, and I’d appreciate it if you could at least pretend to care.”
“Oh, I’m pretending all right.” I smirk, giving her a quick once-over that makes her cheeks turn a shade pinker than her dress. “And you should try it, too. Relaxing, I mean. Might be good for you.”
Her lips part like she’s about to fire back, but then someone calls her from across the room. She glances over, her expression tightening, and excuses herself.
As she walks away, I can’t help but grin. She’s frustrating, sure, but there’s something about that fire in her that keeps me… intrigued. And the more she tries to keep things under control, the more I want to mess with her just to see her break out of that perfectly constructed shell.
Then something unexpected catches my eye.
Lainey strides toward the bar with a determination that makes me curious. She exchanges a few words with the bartender, then knocks back a shot of something amber-colored without hesitation.
