I catch her chuckling.
“What?” I say.
“Nothing. I just think it’s cute that you, a tough college hockey player, like drinking something so cute and colorful.” She nods at my milkshake, which is topped with a huge dollop of whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles.
I just grin and take another sip. “I had one of these last night, and we won. It’s my good luck charm.” I glance down at the black Hollis U hockey jersey she’s wearing.Myjersey.
“You’re my good luck charm too, wild girl,” I say. “I had an assist and a goal after I saw you wearing my jersey.”
Her cheeks flush and her smile turns giddy.
“Cheers to that,” Blake says, tapping his glass of Coke against my milkshake. “Whatever you did to play like that tonight, keep it up. We’ve got regionals coming up soon, so let’s get a winning streak going.”
“Especially since it sounds like scouts will be there watching us again,” Leo says.
“Coach talked to you guys about that, too?” Travis asks. Both Leo and Blake nod.
“Scouts for what?” Poppy asks.
“For the pros. They’ll come watch us play sometimes. See if any of us are worth signing to a team in the NHL,” I say.
Poppy’s expression brightens. “That’s amazing. Well done, you guys.”
She turns to me. “They must have been blown away by you tonight.”
“Yeah, maybe. Hopefully,” I say, trying not to get my hopes up.
“Don’t downplay yourself,” she says. “I saw how well you played. You left the other team in the dust.”
I smile and shrug. “Scouts see a lot of great hockey players. You have to be really, really good to play pro. I don’t wanna get too cocky.”
I expect Poppy to tease me about being so cocky all the time. But she doesn’t.
Instead, she looks at me with warmth in her eyes. She slides her hand in mine and gives me a gentle squeeze. “They were impressed by you. I have zero doubt. You were incredible.”
Joy bursts through my chest at the way she’s looking at me and how she speaks about me. The conviction in her tone is undeniable. She’s speaking from her heart, I can tell. There’s pride in her eyes. She’sproudof me. And that means everything.
I press my mouth against her temple and kiss her. “Thanks, wild girl.”
The server drops off our meals. Poppy’s eyes go wide when she sees the dozen plates piled high with food.
I chuckle and kiss her temple. “We’re really hungry after we play.”
“I can imagine,” she says.
She eats a single blueberry pancake while the guys and I demolish the food on our plates. Blake finishes a massive slice of pumpkin pie in three bites.
“You really like pumpkin pie,” she says.
“Oh, yeah. It’s my favorite,” he says. “That’s why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. All the pumpkin pie I can eat.”
Leo elbows him. “He’s been counting down to Thanksgiving since the end of the summer. Thank fuck it’s next week so he can finally get his fill.”
We all laugh.
“That was impressive, guys,” Poppy says while staring at our clean plates ten minutes later.
The check comes, and Travis hands over his credit card.
