Pucking Sweet: An MMF Workplace Hockey Romance (Jacksonville Rays Book 3)
Pucking Sweet: Chapter 71

To their credit, the O’Sullivans only ask a few pointed questions before they take pity on me. Shelby helps me adopt the cat, while Sully runs interference. He makes my excuses to the rest of the guys. Apparently, they’re all hanging out at the beach before Shelby’s party. But I don’t have time to hang out. I need a plan…and a litter box.

With the kitten in a carrier, I drive over to the nearest pet store. Pathetic mewing sounds squeak from the carrier as I walk up to the first person I see. She’s a tiny redhead who looks like she’s fifteen. But she’s wearing a badge, which makes her more competent than me.

“Yeah, hi. I just adopted this cat for my girlfriend, and I need help.”

She eagerly helps me collect the basics.

Cole calls while I’m in the cat treat aisle. With a groan, I answer. “What?”

“Where the hell did you go?”

“It’s complicated,” I reply, tossing two bags of treats into the cart.

“Well, where is Poppy? Did you talk to her?”

“I’m putting together my grand gesture as we speak. Tomorrow morning, I need you to get Poppy, and bring her over to the house, okay? We’ll show her the library with all the books, the walk-in closet, and the room for the nursery. I have Janice and her team coming over in an hour to get started.”

“You’re putting a nursery in?”

I huff, hand on my hip as the kitten glares at me through the mesh of her carrier. “Well, where the hell else is the baby gonna sleep, Cole? The roof? The fucking garage, like he’s a goddamn scooter?”

“Well, where are you?”

“Pet store,” I reply.

He groans. “You realize you shop for baby supplies at a baby store, right? Not a pet store. Do I need to come over there and help you?”

“Shut up. I adopted a cat.” I push the cart down the toy aisle, eyes wide as I take in the bright feathers, lasers, and crinkly balls.

“But you fucking hate cats.”

“I know I hate cats, but Poppy loves this thing. She wanted to adopt it, but they wouldn’t let her, and she was freaking out. I tried to calm her down, but that backfired, so I adopted the cat.”

“What do you mean it backfired?”

I stop the cart. “Listen, I’m not gonna do this with you, okay? We hit a little speed bump, but I’m fixing it. We’ll both stay outta the house tonight to let Janice work. We’ll go to Shelby’s party, make an appearance, and tomorrow morning, we’ll pounce. Grand gestures, okay? Love and family and chocolate lava cake in Aruba.”

He’s quiet for a moment. “Fine. I trust you.”

Fuck me, those three little words almost sound sweeter than the “L” word.

As if the asshole can read my mind, he adds, “And I love you, Lukas.”

My heart skips as I let out a breath. “Yeah.”

“Say it back, or I’m not hanging up.”

I roll my eyes, smiling like an idiot. “I love you too, Colton.”

“Of course you do. I’m a damn catch.” With that, he hangs up.

Slipping my phone in my pocket, I smirk down at the cat. “See? I don’t need your validation. You can keep making that mad face all you want because Cole loves me.” I pause for a second. It can’t harm to practice a little more, right? “And I love Poppy.” I take the cat out of the carrier and let her sniff the toys. “Now, will you pick something you want, so we can get out of here?”

Driving back from the pet store, the cat quiet in her carrier, I can’t get my mind to stop humming. I mean, it’s kind of handy, right? Not only do they have everything you could ever need for a pet in there, but they have grooming services, training classes, a vet, books on animals.

And if a store can have all that stuff for a cat, then they definitely have it for human babies too, right? I mean, it might sound dumb, but this is sort of a revelation for me. I’ve been sitting here spinning my wheels for weeks thinking I would be the worst thing that ever happened to a kid. I don’t know anything about being a parent. It’s not like I ever had one. I’ve never even held a baby. But I wasn’t born playing hockey either. I learned how to skate, then I learned how to handle the puck, then I learned the rules of the game. One step at a time. I was never alone. I always had a team there to show me how to do things better.

Poppy, Cole, and me—we can be a team. I really think we can do this. And I’m not gonna be the weak side here. I’ll get the books; I’ll go to the classes. If this kid is mine, I’m not gonna abandon him the way I was abandoned. I’m not gonna make him someone else’s problem.

What the hell am I saying? Of course the kid is mine. Even if he’s Cole’s, he’s mine too. I’m in this, right? That’s what I want. I want the three of us together…soon to be the four of us.

A team. A family.

Holy fuck. Just saying it inside my own head is so fucking scary. When it comes to hockey teams, there’s always a trade clause. There’s always a way to make me someone else’s problem. But not with this. There’s no trades on this team. There’s no walking away. If I join, I’m in it for the long haul.

I take a deep breath, both hands on the wheel as I gaze out through the windshield. My truck coasts up the bridge over the intracoastal waterway, the bright blue of the water almost blinding in its beauty.

Fuck me, am I about to cry?

I let out a shaky breath. I want this. I want them. Poppy, Cole, the baby. Our son. God, he’s gonna be so beautiful. Holy shit, it’s a whole other person. And I want all of it. For once in my life, I want to belong somewhere and know it’s not temporary. I want to go home.

God, please let Poppy still want me too.

Janice and her team spend the afternoon remodeling the bedroom upstairs, while I spend most of it on the floor of my bathroom, trying to get Miss Princess to eat or drink something. It’s gonna be a great show of my parenting skills if I can’t even keep a cat alive for one fucking night.

By seven o’clock, I’m scrambling to leave. Fuck, I’m so late for this stupid party. I don’t even want to go, but now I feel like I owe Shelby and Sully. I mean, it’s a costume birthday party for a grown-ass adult. We’re supposed to come as our favorite fictional character.

I pick up Cole at Langley’s place. Both of them are fresh off the beach, looking sandy and salty as they force me into my costume. The three of us are dressed as bikers from Sons of Anarchy with jeans, white T-shirts, and fake leather biker vests.

“Everything good?” Cole says as we get in the truck.

I nod. “Yeah, Janice just texted. They’re still working.”

“And you went with the ocean explorer theme?”

“I sent her all your mood boards,” I assure him. I don’t know the first thing about decorating any room, let alone a nursery, so Cole put together some ideas. All I know is I saw a lot of blue paint and a large stuffed octopus.

We roll up to the party, and it’s already in full swing. Dance music pulses and colored lights flash in the windows. As we’re crossing the lawn, Coley cries out, nearly knocking Langers over. “Jesus,” he shouts. “Dude, what the fuck?”

We all turn to see a grim reaper-looking fucker wander out of the shadows.

“Who the fuck is that?” Cole shouts. “Who are you?”

“Dude, chill,” comes a deep voice. “It’s me.” Dave-O pulls back his hood and the three of us sigh with relief. “Pretty cool, huh?” he says, gesturing to the costume.

“It’s not a haunted house, asshole,” Coley snaps. “It’s a birthday party.”

I just grin. Cole doesn’t like horror movies. He’s worse than Poppy when it comes to jump scares.

“Yeah, but this was left over from Halloween,” Dave-O says with a shrug.

They keep bickering as I lead the way inside. We hit the front entry, and J-Lo and Lauren are there wearing bright blue and pink wigs. Lauren’s pink dress is covered with flowers, and J-Lo is in robes of black, a little skull pinned to his chest.

I grin. Hercules happens to be one of my favorite movies. “Whoa, cool costume, J,” I say. “Hades, right?”

“And his darling wife, Persephone,” Lauren chimes, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

Just then, Teddy the PT intern goes dancing past between us, moving like he’s got noodles for legs.

“Who are you supposed to be?” Langers says with a laugh.

Teddy turns, double fisting his beers. He’s wearing a long blue bathrobe that has silver stars stapled to it. And he has a Santa beard strapped to his chin. “I’m Merlin,” he says, swaying toward me. “Aw, damn. Where’s my hat?” He looks all around. “It makes more sense with the hat.”

With a sigh, I slip one of the beers out of his hand and pass it to Langers. Then I snag the other one as Teddy goes stumbling off. “This party is gonna get messy,” I mutter, taking a sip of the beer.

Wishing I was anywhere else, I lead the way toward the kitchen. We can’t leave until Shelby and Sully see us—

Fuck.

I stop, fisting tight to my beer. Standing at the other end of the hall, holding a red Solo cup adorned with fruit and a little pink umbrella, is my Poppy. Oh fuck, she’s not supposed to be here. She said she wasn’t coming. I had hours yet. The house isn’t even ready. Janice texted when we arrived that she’s still doing paint touchups. Why is she here?

Cole stops too, glancing between us. Langers nearly knocks into me. “Guys—what?”

What the hell is she wearing?

She’s in a long dress, and she’s done something with her hair to pin curls around her face like a bunch of grapes.

“You said you weren’t coming,” I say.

She stiffens.

Great. Smooth. Just fucking perfect. Now tell her the cat won’t eat.

“Well, obviously, I changed my mind,” she replies.

This is all out of order. She can’t be here now. Everything is planned for tomorrow. You can’t just change the plans on a hockey player. We crave the structure of routine. “But you said—”

“Cool it,” says Cole, placing a hand on my arm. He knows I’m spiraling. Do I tell her now? Right here in this hallway in front of Langley and the drunk PT intern dressed as half a Merlin? “Not here,” he says, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

No, that’s good. We wait. I can do this.

“Guy’s what’s up?” says Langley, pushing his way between us.

Poppy’s eyes go wide, as if she didn’t even notice he was there. “Oh—hi, Ryan. Nice costumes.” Hiding her nerves, she takes a sip from her cup.

“Hey, Poppy,” says Langley, all bright and cheery. “Who are you supposed to be?”

She sighs. “Honestly, I should’ve just made a sign and worn it around my neck. I’m Elizabeth Bennett.” She gestures down her costume with a flourish.

The three of us glance confused at each other, and she huffs, hand on her hip. That defiant posture stirs my dick awake. Wait, is she annoyed with me right now? Sad and upset are one thing. Those emotions scare me. But angry and annoyed? Hell, that’s one small step away from sex as far as we’re concerned.

“Elizabeth Bennett?” she repeats with a raised brow, that attitude shining through. “Only one of the greatest romantic heroines of all time? From Pride & Prejudice?”

“That’s a movie?” Cole asks.

Surprising the hell out of me, tears spring to her eyes as she glares between the three of us, but mostly she glares at me. “This is why you boys only attract the likes of puck bunnies! Cause any woman of class, taste, and sense knows to steer clear!”

I barely have time to process the words before she storms right through us and marches away. Cole is pressed back against the wall, and Langers just looks supremely confused. So…maybe she’s a step past angry? I’m trying to mentally recalibrate. Fuck, why are feelings so hard? Oh god, this is bad, right?

Langers is looking at me like I have all the answers, when all I really have is a tongue that suddenly feels like it’s too big for my fucking mouth. “Ignore her,” I say. “She’s just upset because she couldn’t adopt that cat.”

He nods, but I can tell he doesn’t buy my dodge. Meanwhile, Cole is gonna burn holes into the back of my head with his laser eyes. I’m on autopilot as I turn away, moving deeper into the house. My mind is racing. This changes everything. I can’t possibly wait until tomorrow, right? Poppy’s here, and she’s mad, and this can’t fucking wait.

But then Shelby is smiling at me and all the people in the kitchen start waving me forward.

“Guys, I found Shelbs,” I say over my shoulder.

Cole comes up right behind me, his hand on my neck, giving it a squeeze. I feel it like a fucking brand. His silent command is heard loud and fucking clear. Fix this.

We say hello to Shelby and Sully. I think I even ask a question. Something about her costume. I don’t even fucking know. I don’t care. We have to replace Poppy. It’s Cole who peels away first, and then I’m chasing after him, grabbing his arm in the hallway. “What the fuck do we do?”

He rounds on me, eyes blazing. “Fix this now, or I swear to fucking god, it’ll be you who sleeps in the garage like a goddamn scooter.”

I groan. “But I had a plan. Tomorrow we were gonna—”

“Plans change,” he says over me. “Hell, all my plans have changed, thanks to you. I was finally ready, Lukas. I had the career, my health, the life of my dreams, and I finally had the fucking girl. Poppy is the dream I’ve been chasing for two goddamn years. She’s my future, and I had her in my hands. I was done. I was set. She was the one.”

“Cole, I—”

He leans in, jabbing a finger at my chest as he lowers his voice. “But then you skated into my life with that stupid fucking shit-eating grin, and your pranks, and your bad attitude. You got between me and Poppy and drove me fucking crazy…until you stayed between me and Poppy and drove me even crazier.”

“Bud, I’m sorry—”

“Now here I am, completely uninterested in the life I’d imagined,” he says over me. “You have ripped that future from me, and fucking shredded it, Lukas.” He lets out a breath, his gaze softening as he looks at me. “And in its place, you’ve handed me a new picture framed in gold.”

My heart fucking stops.

He steps in, his hand going to my waist. “There’s an engagement ring sitting in a box that I will never give to the woman I love. Do you understand? Because I would never put her in the position of having to choose between us—and there is an us, Lukas. The three of us. I’m not choosing between you, so why should she? Poppy wants us both, she loves us both, and she deserves us both.” He steps in closer, mouth against my ear. “Now, get your head out of your goddamn ass, and go get our girl back.”

Taking a deep breath, I let it out. “Right. Let’s do this.”

He steps away and nods. “Let’s fucking do this.”

I lead the way as we search the house looking for her. We check all the rooms on the first floor before making our way up the stairs. I’m starting to panic, thinking she left, when I open the door to one of the bedrooms and replace her sitting on the bed, clutching a princess crown pillow to her chest.

Taking in the determined look on my face, she clutches tighter to the pillow and slowly stands. Fuck, she’s so beautiful, with her bright blue eyes, and that pointed chin.

I’ll never deserve her, and I know that. If I were a better man, I’d walk away and never look back. I’d free her of the burden of having to love me and put up with all my bullshit. But this woman is mine, and I’m hers, and Cole is ours, and I’m going to make her understand that I am never leaving again.

“Lukas, please,” she says on a breath.

Squaring my shoulders, I hold her gaze. “Poppy, I love you.”