Sincerely, The Puck Bunny (Totally Pucked #2)(56)

“Will do.”

He skates off, and Reed stands. “I’m gonna shower and head home. Hopefully I get some alone time with Holland before I fucking die.”

I smirk. Reed’s so fucking obsessed with Holland, it’s kinda sickening, then I remember that I feel the same damn way about Maddison, and I probably shouldn’t say shit.

“Call ya later.” He claps me on the back before leaving me alone, on the bench, with my thoughts.

I only get a few uninterrupted moments of silence before my phone rings. I jump to grab it from the bench, only to see my mother’s name on the screen. I groan.

Fuck.

If I ignore it, she’ll show up at the house, and that’s the last shit I need right now.

Swiping the screen, I answer, “Hi Mom.”

“Hi sweetheart. Just checking in with you, how are you?”

Guilt immediately snakes up my spine. My parents don’t even know they’re grandparents, and I I’m not ready to tell them. Her voice usually brings me comfort, but it only causes my stomach to twist. I feel like an asshole hiding Olive from her.

“Uh, I’m good, Mom. I’m actually at the rink right now, so I can’t talk for long. How are you?”

There’s a brief pause. “Oh, you know, same old. Your father spends most of his time working in his shop and with Beau…” she trails off, “I’m sorry, sweetie.”

“Don’t apologize, Mom.”

“I just worry about you, honey, and I feel like I never get to see you anymore and….”

She babbles on, but my focus is gone when my phone chimes with a notification, and I glance down and see it’s a text from Maddison.

Fuck, I’m nervous. My fingers hover over the message as my mom calls my name.

“Briggs?”

“Sorry, Mom, I’ve got a call coming through, can I call you back later?”

It’s impossible not to hear the disappointment in her sigh. “Sure, honey. I love you, you know that? Always. Please, call me soon.”

“Will do, Mom. I love you, too.”

We end the call, and I open the text from Maddison.

Maddison: Dinner? Tonight? Seven. I’m making lasagna and I think we should talk…

I quickly respond.

Briggs: See you then.

I guess tonight’s the moment of truth.





Twenty One





I’m so nervous that my hands are clammy. I wipe my sweaty palms against my jeans and force myself to take a deep breath.

For God’s sake Maddison, you’ve had a weekend of hot, sweaty, incredibly great sex with the man then had his child. This is nothing. It’s just dinner.

Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself, but I know that it’s much more than that. I took an entire day to obsess over the decision I had already made when he professed his feelings to me in my kitchen.

I just needed to be sure.

And I am. I want Briggs Wilson, and I have since the moment he walked into my grandparents’ inn. That weekend was one of the most memorable of my life, and seeing him be an amazing, patient, doting father to our baby girl? Well… it makes my heart soften every time I see them together.

Tonight, I’m going to tell him and that’s why my stomach feels like it’s wrapped in ten different intricately woven knots. I feel like I’m going to puke as I pull the homemade lasagna out of the oven and set it down on the cooling rack. This apartment is the size of a shoebox, so making complex meals like this is a stressor in itself.

“Shit,” I curse, when I see the edges are slightly charred from leaving it in the oven slightly too long. Of course, everything under the sun has gone wrong since I texted Briggs and asked him over for dinner tonight. Starting with the fact that while I was preparing the lasagna, I went a little past my normal pump time, and soon, my sweater that I spent an hour picking out had two round wet spots.

My phone begins to ring as my alarm sounds.

Fifteen minutes. Okay, I’ve got to put the bread in the oven, and then we’re ready.

“Are you ready to see your daddy, Olive girl?” I ask.

She looks at me with wide green eyes and grins while she sloppily chews on her fists. Her favorite. I even arranged with Ty and Kyle to have an uncle date this evening to give Briggs and me plenty of time to discuss things.

Five minutes after I put the garlic bread in the oven, there’s a knock at my door. I swing it open, knowing it’s probably Ty and Kyle on the other side and screech, “Thank God!”

Except, it’s not Ty and Kyle, it’s Briggs, wearing a smirk. He looks so handsome dressed in dark jeans and a button-down shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He’s leaning against the doorframe casually.

I swallow thickly. It is truly unfair to all women for a man to be this attractive. I think I’ve forgotten how to speak.

“I’m glad you’re excited about my arrival, Mads.”

“I-I-,” I stutter, causing his grin to widen, compounding my nervousness, “I thought you were Ty. He and Kyle are picking up Olive in a few minutes for the evening.”

His eyes light up, a stark contrast to the dark color of his sweater at the mention of Olive. “Good, that gives me a few minutes to spend with her.”

Thankfully, I somehow remember how to speak again, and I clear my throat then swing my front door open. “Come in. Sorry.”