I laughed and dropped my phone in my purse. Alexa was supposed to go to the game with me, but she got a last-minute funeral order at the flower shop, too large for her assistant to handle. Since Brody gave me four tickets and I didn’t want the extra one to go to waste, I asked Darla to go with me. After she handled a quick shift switch at the hospital, we were all set. I told her she’d have to drive herself there and back since the girls and I were spending the night at Brody’s, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“How much longer?” Lucy whined.
“Just a little bit. Hold your horses.” I grinned at them in the rearview mirror, looking all adorable in their matching jerseys. All three of us, actually. That’s what was in my box too—my very own Murphy #30 jersey. I had two others in my closet at home, but those were technically Brody’s. I’d confiscated them because they smelled like him and I liked to sleep in them.
A little while later, we pulled into the special parking section of the stadium. I rolled my window down and handed the attendant the special parking pass Brody had included with the tickets.
“Right this way, Miss Jensen. Mr. Murphy requested that we give you his spot.”
Of course he did.
He stepped back and waved his arm toward an empty space right up against the building.
The girls and I hopped out of the Jeep and excitedly walked around front of the car where we met up with Darla.
“Girls!” she called out when she saw us, running over and scooping them up in one big armful. They both groaned as she squeezed the living daylights out of them. “How exciting is this?” She gave me a quick embrace too.
“It’s very exciting,” I said. “I’ve never been to a professional hockey game before.”
“Me either.” She grinned as we walked inside.
I showed the usher our tickets and he looked up at me with wide eyes.
“Follow me, ma’am.” He walked us to our seats, which were up against the glass, right behind the Minnesota Wild’s goal.
“Holy shit! Oh, sorry.” Darla looked down at Lucy and Piper who were staring up at her with wide eyes. “I meant shoot. These seats are amazing!”
“Yeah they are,” I said incredulously, looking around the huge arena. “I’m shocked that they give the players seats this good.”
Darla shrugged. “I guess they wanna keep their boys happy. I’m not complaining, though. Look at the view we get the whole game.” She tilted her head toward the goalie box and wiggled her eyebrows up and down.
I shook my head and chuckled. “You know, I should probably be offended when you say stuff like that, but for some odd reason, I’m not. Come on, girls, let’s sit.”
Lucy and Piper sat down to the right of me, and Darla sat on my left.
“Mom, can we get popcorn?” Lucy asked.
“Or some ice cream?” Piper followed.
I chuckled. “Guys, we just sat down. Relax.”
“Actually, I’m kinda hungry too,” Darla added.
I’m not surprised.
“Okay, well as soon as they start sending the vendors out, we’ll grab something.”
The words were barely out of my mouth when the stadium, though not completely full yet, erupted in cheers. The Minnesota Wild had emerged from the tunnel and were taking the ice for pre-game practice. A sea of hunter green uniforms scattered all over the ice. I narrowed my eyes and scanned a group of players off to the right, looking for my #30. A loud bang on the glass right in front of me made me jump backward in my seat. I followed a Wild jersey all the way up to Brody’s grinning face. He was smiling so big I thought his face might split in half, and his dimples were as deep as I’d ever seen them. His eyes twinkled as he looked at me. He was completely elated to be back on the ice in his stadium and have us there watching him. I was bursting at the seams with pride for him.
I grinned back and gave him the thumbs up sign. Lucy and Piper jumped up and banged on the glass to get his attention. He blew them kisses and winked at me before he pulled his helmet over his face and took his position in the goalie box.
“Why is Brody so fat?” Piper giggled with Lucy following suit.
“It’s all the padding he has to wear to protect himself. He’s just regular Brody when he takes it all off.”
Darla leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I wouldn’t mind seeing him take it all off. By the way, people are staring.”
“At what?” I looked around and she was right. People were looking at us and pointing.
“Probably the girl that the hottest hockey player in the NHL just winked at.” She laughed. “Oh, girl. You’re so clueless.”
I sank down in my seat a little bit, praying that the stadium would fill in quickly. My self-consciousness left as quickly as it came as I watched Brody do what he does best.