Page 144 of Double Puck

I didn't fix us. We're not fixed. There's no montage coming where Dad and I play catch at sunset.

And our family is still a fucking mess. He still cheated, and as a result, Mom and Dad are still getting divorced. None of that magically changes because I finally picked up the phone.

But I chose the call. I chose the words. I chose when it ended.

And now Poppy can put that in my file, because I don't care what anyone says, that's fucking growth.

"BECK!"

I turn around.

And fuck me. I don't have time to think.

Darcy Madden is coming down the pier at a dead sprint, heels in one hand, hair absolutely wrecked by the wind, and clamped under the other arm, bouncing with every stride like a hostage in a low-speed chase, is a giant blue stuffed bear wearing tiny plastic glasses.

"Darcy?"

I squint to make sure Kai didn't spike my coffee this morning.

Yep. It's her. And she's carrying Beartholomew.

"You—" she gasps, stopping at my feet, "—are impossible to find."

"I've literally been standing still at the end of a pier for an hour."

She points Beartholomew at me like an accusation. The little glasses flash in the sun.

"You weren't at the meeting. Your own meeting. About your career." She pants some more, and honestly, it's kind of hot. "What the hell are you thinking?!"

Christ, this woman really is incredible.

She has run through half of Beachside, holding an enormous stuffed bear, just to yell at me?

I have never been more attracted to anyone in my life.

"Yeah, I heard that was happening." I nod at the bear, grinning. "Did Beartholemew take notes? He looks like the type."

Darcy swings Beartholomew and catches me square across the chest.

"Ow."

She hits me again.

"That is for missing the meeting."

Whump.

"That is for turning your phone off last night."

Whump.

"And that is for making me run a mile in heels carrying a bear half way across town."

I catch Beartholomew around the middle before she can reload. "Okay! Jesus. He's a carnival prize, not a blunt-force weapon."

I pull her into me before she can protest, and she makes a small, surprised sound against my shoulder. Then her arms come up around my neck and she holds on as I bury my face in her hair.

I inhale, smelling her scent, feeling her heartbeat still hammering from running half of Beachside with a giant bear under her arm.