Page 44 of Never Bet Against A Hockey Player

“Oh, duh. Yes,” he said, exasperated with himself.

I pulled out my order pad and wrote down the fairly large order he rattled off.

Lachlan and Gavin dove into a conversation about the arcade we were going to that night as I handed the order over to Max.

He raised an eyebrow as he looked it over but shrugged. “I’ll have it in a minute.”

“To-go, please,” I reminded him, even though it was written on the ticket.

I was so flustered that Lydia was cracking up at me.

“Shut up. You’re the worst friend,” I joked, fanning my burning face.

“You’re adorable,” she teased with a cackle. “Now get that cute ass over to table three. Looks like they need refills.”

I didn’t hesitate to dive back into my job, brushing off the fog I was in so I could focus.

When the next small lull hit, Lydia slid over a glass of water. I could just tell she was about to impart some wisdom I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear.

“You know, if you’re afraid that you don’t have enough confidence in managing a pack, you can just do what I did.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask.”

Lydia chuckled before waving me off. “Nothing crazy. Just go to the pack romance section at the bookstore. Make sure you get yourself a nice spicy read. I think they could give you a few ideas.”

That was all she said before she was off again.

I’d never been much of a reader, but the idea did have merit. Maybe finding out exactly what it was like to be the center of an entire pack’s attention would help me out.

“Order up!” Max called.

He was already stacking several bags at the window. I gathered them before heading for the register.

“Have a good day at school. I’ll see you after,” Lachlan told Gavin as he got up to join me at the counter.

I typed in his order and gave him his total. I already knew, without having to ask, that he was about to tip me some ridiculous amount.

For once, I didn’t bother to fight it.

Honestly, the fact that they were treating me normally after finding out what they did about my home life was enough for me.

“I better get these back before they turn feral on me, but I’m really looking forward to tonight.” He gave me one last longing look. “See you later, gorgeous.”

Then he was walking out the door like he hadn’t just lit me on fire all over again.

“Damn, he’s good,” Lydia said.

I rolled my eyes at her, but even I couldn’t hide the smile on my face. This was a first for me and he’d even included Gavin.

“So… you’re going on a date,” she mused, ready to ask more.

My watch started blaring, and I held it up between us with a fake sad face.

“Oh, look. I have to go,” I said, sarcasm dripping from my tone. “Come on, Gavin!”

Of course, Lydia was cracking up behind me as I ushered him off to school.

When I got back, I put my full focus into work.