Luckily, time with Brett was exactly what she wanted.
The elevator door opened, and her brothers pushed the carts out.
Brett kissed her forehead. “Let me go get your bags.” He strode over to the carts and clapped her brothers on the back. Penny made the rounds, giving all of her siblings and parents hugs.
“We'll see you for Christmas, right, Pens?” Andrea gave her a look.
“If she doesn't come, I'm coming without her,” Brett called out, and her parents beamed at him.
“I didn't know he was an ass-kisser,” Andrea murmured.
Penny laughed. “You better watch out. He might steal your place as favourite child.”
Andrea rolled her eyes as Penny blew her a kiss and jogged to catch up with Brett.
“I think they're more in love with you than I am,” Penny said, taking one of the roller bags.
“That's my play. Make the parents so attached, you can never leave me.”
She swatted his butt as they walked through the door, then clasped onto his free hand. “And when do I get to meet your family, hey?”
Brett shook his head. “Oh, at least a few months from now. When I'm sure they won't scare you off.”
“Coward.”
“Absolutely.”
They crossed the street, and Penny’s stomach grumbled. Her body was sure it was supper time even though it was ten in the morning. “Want to go get breakfast? An omelet or something?”
He nodded to his car at the end of the aisle. “It’s called a frittata, Penny. This vacation has changed you.”
Penny squeezed his hand. She didn’t care what they called it. As long as she got to eat it with him.
Epilogue
Penny steepledher hands in front of her lips, her whole body tense as Brett skated out onto the ice.Please be careful.Her silent prayer was ridiculous because of course he wasn’t going to be careful. He was a hockey player. The word “careful” had probably never fully landed in his vocabulary.
“He’s going to be fine.” Kelty squeezed Penny’s gloved hand.
“You don’t know that.”
“Nope, but we all say it to each other anyway to keep from thinking about the fact that the men we love are going to keep battering themselves against the boards day in and day out until they die.”
Emma snorted next to her. “That’s the best description of this sport I’ve ever heard.”
Penny gripped the edge of the metal bleachers as Kelty let out a whoop. Their cheeks were already rosy from the chilled air in the ice centre, and Penny pulled down her toque. She wasn't ready for winter, but the first snow was already forecasted for that weekend. It wasn't even Halloween yet.
Penny locked onto Brett on the left wing. He looked good on the ice. Smooth and powerful. The puck zipped across the ice, and Penny held her breath as Sean passed it to Brett, who weaved past a forward on Stiff Sticks only to be slammed into by a defender.
"Damn it," Penny hissed, her heart jumping into her throat. Brett was already sprinting back over centre ice unfazed.
"I've got a trick for you." Emma reached out and pulled Penny’s toque down over her eyes. Kelty chortled next to her as Penny rolled it back up. She found Brett just as Sean intercepted the puck from a Stiff Sticks player past their own blue line and tapped it to him.
Brett took a sharp turn, ice spraying beneath his skates. He danced around the same Stiff Sticks forward, then bolted center with Sean filling in behind him. The crowd held their breath as he shot the puck toward Country who flicked his wrist and sent the puck whizzing into the far corner of the net.
Cheers erupted from the crowd as lights spun at either end of the rink. Two to one Snowballs in the second. Tyler subbed for Brett and Mike for Suraj, all of them tapping mitts as they traded positions. As Brett sat on the bench, Penny exhaled. At least she could enjoy the game for a few minutes now.
The Snowballs held onto their lead and went up three to one in the third. More importantly, when the final buzzer sounded, Brett was still upright. Penny leaped to her feet and cheered, stripping off her gloves so her clapping actually made a sound.
