Page 140 of Hockey Boy
At the sound of Finn shrieking “giddy up, Bossman,” I scan the yard. Beckett is running through the grass with Finn on his shoulders.
“What the—” I mutter as they disappear out the back gate.Where the hell are they going?
The puppy jumps up on my leg, distracting me from my thoughts. In its mouth is a piece of green fabric. It takes a minute for it to register, but when it does, my stomach bottoms out. “You didn’t,” I mutter as I tug at the Luigi costume. The last time I saw the racoons, they were dressed in costumes—Mario, Luigi, and a Princess Peach.
He wouldn’t. He didn’t.
“Duck.” I pull on my hair as panic races through my veins like ice. Finn is going to lose his mind. “Duck.”
“Nah, his name’s Goose.”
I shriek like a teenage girl and jump a good foot in the air when Lennox pops out from behind the bushes.
“Holy shit, Lex. What the—what are you—” My jaw goes slack, and my tongue rolls out like a cartoon character as I take her in. With my jersey over a white dress, she is absolute perfection. “I thought…” I shake my head, at a loss, because I have no idea what I’m thinking.
Lennox lights up, breaking into a pretty smile. “What do you think of our puppy?”she asks as she saunters toward me.
Holding my breath, I study her face, trying to find the joke, but she seems sincere.
“Our puppy?”
“Yeah. And the house. It’s nice, right? Beckett mentioned that there’s a park around the corner. It’d be a great place for you to run around in. Ya know, to get the zoomies out?”
I nod, as if any of the words leaving her make sense.
“So what do you think?”
My heart stutters. “About the house with the dream kitchen and the puppy that I’ve always wanted?”
She grins. “And the girl of your dreams to come home to every night? What do you say, Hockey Boy? Never have I ever grown up. You want to do it with me?”
I lunge for her and pull her into my arms, holding her tight, like if I can bring her in close enough, this dream won’t disappear. Because that’s what this is. My wildest dream. A life with Lennox.Forever with Lennox.
I pull back and cup her face, staring into her pretty blue eyes. “I love you so much. Of course I want to do this with you. Did you really think that was a question?”
She shrugs and shows me her wrist. “I had a plan to get down on one knee and give this to you—” She slides a blue and white friendship bracelet over her hand and dangles it between us. “Marry me, Aiden. Not because of some trust, and not because you think it’s what I need. Marry me because you can’t imagine spending another day without me. Because I know I can’t imagine going another day without being your wife.”
“Oh, I’m going to marry the shit out of you,” I say, taking the bracelet from her. The beads spell outhusband, coordinating perfectly with thewifeybracelet on her wrist.
“Made it with Winnie before I came over,” she says softly. “She’s really proud of you, ya know. Liv let her listen to the Hockey Report. She heard everything you said.”
“Yeah?” I smile, my throat going tight. At least I got that right. Hopefully she’s one of many kids who heard me. Who realize that it’s okay to not feel “normal” and that she’s comfortable talking about it, whether to me or her parents or a therapist.
“I got matching T-shirts for us too,” she teases, tugging the hem of her jersey up. It’s like thoseI’m with stupidshirts, with arrows that point to one side, but this one is emblazoned withHis Last Kiss.
I drop my head back and bark out a laugh. The sound makes the puppy whimper at our feet. “I fucking love you, Lex.”
She leans in and brushes her lips against mine. “I love you. And full disclosure, I get the trust whether we get married or not. My fatherdidofferit to me if I agreed not to marry you, but I turned him down. Then I discovered that my grandmother had the trust amended, removing the marriage clause. But with or without the money, I want to be your wife.”
My chest practically bursts with affection for thiswoman.“Lucky for you, your bank account balance is the least attractive thing about you.”
She grins. “Right back at you.”
“Did you really buy this house?”
She bites her lip and lowers her gaze.
My stomach dips with a disappointment I’m ashamed to feel. Of course she only used it for the proposal. Damn, I really did like it.