Page 38 of Finding Her

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“So, Levi, we are just so excited to meet you,” Mrs. Wade said with a warm smile, her enthusiasm bubbling over like champagne.

“How long have you and Poppy been dating?”

“Uh, I think it’s six months today,” I said, glancing at Poppy.

Her hands rested neatly on the table, fingers lightly laced.

The restaurant buzzed with chatter and clinking glasses, but all of it faded into background noise.

My eyes were glued to her—the soft curls framing her face, the flowy purple dress that swayed when she walked.

Though honestly, she could’ve been in sweatpants, and I still wouldn’t have been able to look at anyone else.

We were sitting at a circular table with her parents and Ivy and Zach.

Across from me, Ivy and Zach were sharing some inside joke that made them both grin.

The scene felt almost surreal. I’d been to this restaurant plenty of times with my dad or Claire’s family, but it had never felt this nice.

Maybe the food tasted better when you were surrounded by people you actually liked.

“So,” I asked casually halfway through lunch, “how do you all feel about hockey?”

Poppy snorted into her drink, and I had to fight a laugh. Mrs. Wade shot her a puzzled look before recovering with, “Well, I suppose we’re fans.”

Mr. Wade nodded. “We’d be happy to come watch your games sometime if you’d like.”

I forced a polite smile, even though the thought made my stomach twist. “Oh, no, that’s okay.” I waved it off lightly. “But thanks.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate the offer—it was nice, really—but the idea of her whole family coming to watch me play felt... weird. As much as I loved having Poppy there, I kind of liked that her family wasn’t a hockey family. It was such a stark contrast to what I’d grown up with.

Things with my dad hadn’t exactly improved since that fight on the ice.

We talked here and there, but it was mostly surface-level.

He couldn’t seem to wrap his head around the idea that I wasn’t “throwing everything away”—I was just choosing something different.

Coach kept telling me to hold my ground and to not give in just to make my dad happy.

He said things would get easier in college when I’d have more space, more independence. I hoped he was right.

The rest of the meal passed in a warm blur.

We lingered long after the plates were cleared, laughing and talking like we had nowhere else to be.

It hit me then, sitting with Poppy’s family, how different this felt.

When I went out with my dad or Claire’s family, it always felt like an obligation, something to get through.

But with Poppy’s family? It was the kind of warmth I didn’t even know I’d been missing.

I guess I just needed to have the one thing that made it all worth it—and I’d finally found her.

Later, when I walked her back to her dorm, she turned to me with that smile that made everything else disappear. “Thank you for doing that,” she said softly. “I know it was probably the last place you wanted to be.”

I shook my head, pulling her close. “Being with you,” I whispered, “is never the last place I want to be.”