Page 46 of Never Bet Against A Hockey Player

She tapped the cover of one of the books.

“Everyone went crazy for it. I loved it, too.”

She let out a little happy sigh as if remembering the story. That was a glowing recommendation.

“Perfect,” I said, pulling out my wallet.

She rang everything up, and I paid quickly, taking the bag and rushing out before my face could actually catch fire.

It just so happened I had at least an hour to kill.

That was enough time to snuggle into the corner booth at the diner and get some reading in.

If Lydia didn’t tease me into hiding first.

Chapter

Thirteen

Dhara

Ididn’t think I’d ever seen my brother so excited. He was practically bouncing on his feet when we entered Pack Adventures.

The entire place was loud and busy. It was almost overwhelming. Gavin was loving every second of it while I tried not to cringe every time a kid screamed and ran past us.

As if he could sense my discomfort, Lachlan placed his hand on my lower back, offering me a comforting smile.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just not used to big crowds like this, but look how excited he is.” I cocked my head to the side to gesture to my brother who was beaming.

Lachlan smiled over at him, looking genuinely happy to see us smile. “Once we get to the table, we’ll get him a game card.”

“You guys aren’t going to play the games with me?” Gavin asked, looking disappointed.

“Now, I never said that,” Lachlan said, flashing him a grin. “I just didn’t want to hurt your feelings by kicking your butt at all these arcade games. I’m practically a pro.”

Gavin let out an exaggerated eye roll, but he was smiling from ear to ear.

“Oh, it’s on, pretty boy.”

I lost it at the nickname. Who knew my brother could get so sassy?

Maybe he’d just never been given the chance before.

“Your table is ready,” the host called, leading us deeper into the loud restaurant.

Thankfully, most of the kids were already busy in the arcade, so it wasn’t quite as bad in here. It definitely wasn’t an intimate setting, but the fact that we were doing something Gavin was so excited about made me appreciate Lachlan even more.

It also didn’t come with the same pressure.

I knew this date couldn’t reach a point I wasn’t comfortable with because my brother was here.

He was a smart delta.

Lachlan pulled out my chair for me, and we settled around the table. A beta walked up to greet us as soon as we were all seated.

“Hello. We’re glad to have you here with us tonight,” he said with a well-practiced smile. “Is this your first time here?”