Chapter 19 Marry This Boy
MARRY THIS BOY
Blades cut into ice, shaving a spray of cold white dust as Holt stops sharply to steal the puck and then he’s off again. The way the man moves over ice is astonishing. He’s so fast, moving so fluidly. And he looks so big.
Holt’s not a small guy to begin with. Since I’ve known him, he’s grown inches.
Elise has moaned and groaned to Mom about the rate of needing to buy Holt pants, because in the last year alone, he’s grown at least three, maybe four inches.
He can’t possibly grow any more. At six feet two inches, he’s already a behemoth.
Put skates on him and he feels like a monster.
The slap of the stick connecting with the puck is always a little jarring to me, even though I’ve seen it a million times. Excitement quickens sharply in my chest as it flies past the goalie and into the net. The crowd roars.
Andy lifts her horn and blows. I ring the crap out of my cowbell.
Holt’s head swings our way, and he smiles behind his helmet, lifting the stick he holds with his gloved hand in celebration of his goal.
“They look so freaking good out there.” Andy lifts her horn to blow once more before the cheering crowd dies down.
The buzzer sounds and the team rotates, taking Holt and Micha off the ice. Andy takes the quick break to twist toward me. She leans in and whispers, “You know how you were sick last weekend?”
“Ugh.” I groan. “That flu was brutal.”
“Not gonna lie, that flu is the best thing to happen to me all year.” She laughs when my brows climb high.
“Uh, what now?”
“We were supposed to go to the movies, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, you got sick, so Holt didn’t come either. It was just me and Micha and—” She does a giddy shimmy in her seat. “He held my hand! And he asked me out!”
“Wait.” I hold up my hands. “You and Micha are dating now?”
“Yes!” Andy screeches, totally unlike her normally ultra cool self.
I throw my arms around her as the buzzer sounds and our men are back on the ice.
The Pizzeria in town is bursting with after-game energy.
Of course, the Rubbles won, and the entire town is celebrating.
Every booth is packed, every table full in the authentic Italian pizza shop.
There’s even a gigantic stone pizza oven, and the entire ambiance is all rough stone and exposed wood.
I love this place. It’s definitely second to Cherry’s.
Shrugging from my jacket, Holt pulls me closer into his side before throwing his arm around my shoulders. Pride bubbles inside me, because I’m the girl on his arm. The one he chooses for himself.
I’m so in love. Since he came back from Nashville, our relationship has been stronger than ever, even though Holt spends even more time on the ice, practicing.
I don’t mind, though. Not really. I work most weeknights at Dad’s shop, anyway.
It’s easy enough to study while I’m on shift, so it works. Besides, we’re going to need the money.
Knowing that I have a nice little cushion saved for when we move to the island together has kept me from buying a car.
Holt drives me most places I want to go, but even still, when he doesn’t, it’s easy enough to walk the small town of Rubble Ridge.
I did get my license, though. So, I’m not completely hopeless.
Mom says I’m frugal. Dad says that’s smart.
Holt drops his mouth to my ear. “What do you want?”
I peer down at the menu, nibbling my lip as I do. “Want to split a pizza?”
“Anything you want, peach.” Holt’s voice rises, “Yo, Tate!”
I lift my eyes from the menu to see Tate and his newest girl walk into the Pizzeria. His brows are high as he takes in the over-capacity restaurant. With a hand around his girl, he starts toward our table. Holt scoots me closer to Andy in the booth as Tate arrives with Leah.
“It’s packed in here.”
“We’ve got room,” Holt invites. I’ve noticed a visible change in Holt and Tate’s relationship since Tate has been with Leah. Holt is more relaxed. More friendly toward his brother. I love it for them. And Leah is super sweet.
I think she and Tate have a good chance at something long-term.
That’s if Tate doesn’t find some reason to dump her like he did with all the rest. But unlike all the rest, Leah is sweet in a way that feels more like Tate.
She’s not demanding and loud and over the top, which has always, oddly, been what Tate goes for.
She’s even a little shy, so I lean around Holt and Tate to smile at her.
“Hey,” I call. When her eyes come to mine, she offers me a sweet smile. Like expected, it’s shy.
“Thanks for letting us join you.” She takes the menu Holt offers her. “I’m starving.”
“Yeah, the town is crawling with people,” I say.
“Game day,” Holt adds.
Tate smirks, but he claps a hand on Holt’s shoulder. “Already heard the Rubbles won.”
Holt’s grin drips confidence. “Brother, we always win.”
Tate can’t say otherwise. For the last two years, the Rubbles have been undefeated.
They have a great team, but mostly, it’s because they have Holt.
His talent is far superior to most talent I’ve seen on the ice since I started watching the game.
I’ve already heard there’s some higher-ups keeping an eye on Holt.
“One day your confidence is going to bite you in the ass,” Tate warns. Leah makes a noise that sounds surprised, and she elbows Tate gently.
He kisses her temple, and her shy smile stretches.
My heart warms. I love her for him.
I don’t expect it when Tate’s sea-glass green eyes slam into mine. I don’t expect everything that swirls inside them. I can’t help but fix my attention once again on the menu.
“I’m thinking something cream based.”
Holt’s hand drifts absently up and down my arm. I snuggle deeper into him as Kevin says something to Jenna that has Shyanne’s full lips turning down in a frown. When she sees me watching, her spine snaps straight and she shoots me a glare.
I look away. Andy leans close to whisper, “Someone is pissed.”
“What’s new?”
I point at the menu, blinking up at Holt. “This one. It has cream sauce, chicken and bacon.”
Holt kisses the tip of my nose. I didn’t even realize there were still pieces of my heart he had yet to claim for his own, but I feel it break off and float through the ether of my soul straight to him.
“Sounds great, baby.”
“I love you.” The words just spill from me. Heat flushes my face, but Holt doesn’t leave me hanging as he returns, “I love you most.”
Yeah, I have an amazing boyfriend.
One day, I’m going to marry this boy.