Page 151 of Puck My Life

“What’s going on?” I ask Gerry.

She smiles, pulls out her phone, and shows me the video of me that’s online.

“It’s viral.”

My stomach drops out. I blink rapidly and then search for Vae.

She’s smiling at a couple of old ladies and boxing up some cakes for them.

My happiness dims.

The dream I’ve held onto for so long versus the one I have now, well, it’s no contest, Vae is the one I want.

“Put it away.”

Gerry follows my gaze. “She will be happy for you.”

“I don’t want her to be happy for me; I want her to be happy with me, and Vae has given up her dreams for us for far too long.”

Gerry puts a hand on her ample bosom and blinks rapidly. “You are something else, Raynor.”

Vae packs up the shop and dances over to me, slipping into my arms. If I compare fame and fortune and singing on a stage or having Vae like this right now, it’s not even a competition.

We leave Gerry and the cleaners to pack up and head to the game.

The arena is full of roaring fans. We’ve got seats near the ice.

“So, are you going to accept the offer?” Vae asks and glances sideways at me.

“What offer?” I ask in confusion.

“The offer to run off and become a star.”

I sit back in the seat, thinking about how to word this so she believes me.

“Vae, do you remember how much Deacon and Mal wanted to play hockey? How they changed their entire lives for hockey?”

“I remember.”

“I don’t feel that way about being a musician, not a famous one. I don’t want to perform on stage for thousands; I like performing in cafés. All I want is to make music. That’s the difference.”

“So…”

“I’m not leaving. Not for anything. To me, you are the passion of my life.”

“So you’d just be a viral sensation playing in my bakery?”

“Yes, if you’d have me.”

She sniffs, and, in the next blink, she’s wrapped in my arms, snuggled on my lap.

“I’m never leaving you, not for fame, not for fortune, not for anything.”

She kisses me. I lose myself in her, falling into her honeycomb candy kisses, wondering if any cake she could make would ever taste half as sweet as her.

A bang has me tearing my mouth from hers. Mal and Deacon are on the other side banging on the glass.

I stick my finger up at them and kiss her again.