Page 39 of Puck My Stepbrother (Pucked and Possessed #2)

QUINN

“ W hat time should I pick you up?” Levi asked.

“We live in the same house,” I told him. “How are you going to pick me up for anything?”

“How do you know I won’t scoop you right up?” He literally swept me off my feet, just because he could.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his lips.

“I think you just did,” I said.

“I get your point, though. Maybe I should restate that: when do you want to go to dinner?”

I understood what Levi was aiming for—my boyfriend wanted to be romantic, something I totally appreciated. Before, I wouldn’t have thought romanticism even existed in his DNA. He was off to a good start. When you think about it, the thought mattered more than anything.

We agreed to leave the house by five thirty.

I wore a button-up shirt and dress pants because I wanted to look nice for our first real date.

I figured Levi would wear a T-shirt and jeans, maybe a hoodie, because that was all I ever saw him wear outside of his birthday suit.

I didn’t mind. At least he wouldn’t outdo me.

When five thirty rolled around, I saw my boyfriend at the top of the stairs, decked out in a full suit. Honest to God, he looked like he could’ve graced the cover of GQ .

I whistled at him because I could think of no other response that suited the moment.

He descended the stairs slowly, one step at a time, as if he anticipated a crowd of paparazzi at the bottom.

Maybe he only meant to let me drink it all in.

When he drew close, the musky scent of cologne wafted into my nostrils.

“You look like a million bucks,” I said.

He gripped his lapels and smiled proudly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dressed up any other time than the wedding,” I added.

“I told you, this is special. I’m going to treat it that way.”

I was starting to believe him…and feel underdressed.

“Shall we?” He offered his hand, and I accepted. Then we strolled hand-in-hand to his car, where he opened the door for me. Once inside, he closed it, walked around the side of the car, and hopped into the driver’s seat.

“Where to?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

Again, that smile. It would’ve won me over from the start had my guard not stayed up.

He backed out of the driveway and drove downtown to the theater district, where he found a quiet parking lot. From there, we walked a couple blocks to Salvatore’s Steak and Chops.

“This is really where we’re going?” I asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“Isn’t this place seriously expensive?”

He shrugged as if to say that money was no object for him. We joined hands again when entering the restaurant, like he didn’t care who saw him acting cozy with another guy. If I needed proof that Levi was all-in on us, that more than sufficed.

When I glanced at my surroundings, I almost couldn’t believe that I was really in this restaurant. I’d never visited a place like it in my entire life, so I felt like a fish out of water. Meanwhile, Levi was playing the role of the worldly man who felt perfectly at home dining with the upper crust.

“Been here before?” I asked after the host seated us.

“Of course. Came here with the Larkin Lions after winning the national title last year. Food’s to die for.”

Then he opened his menu as if he found winning a national title as casual as eating in such a fine restaurant.

We each ordered steak, go figure, with a glass of red wine. Then we sat and stared at one another across the table like neither of us could get enough.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asked.

“It’s perfect. The only thing missing is a candle.”

Levi raised his hand as if to summon someone to bring a candle, but I stopped him.

“It’s okay, Levi. I didn’t mean you had to make that happen.”

When he smiled at me, I knew he really meant to say that my wish was his command.

“Have you ever done anything like this before?” I asked. “You know, with any of the girls you dated?”

“Not even once. Usually, I’d take them somewhere really loud and crowded, like the Colter Bay Grill or Gabriel’s Gate. We would chow on chicken wings and beer, not steak and wine. It wasn’t one-on-one, either. I usually had other people around. And those places aren’t as intimate as this one.”

“But you still want to have a hockey career, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then you know what they’re going to say about us even before they get into our family situation.”

Levi savored another bite of his steak. His nonchalant attitude didn’t surprise me. I wished I knew how to adopt that mentality for myself.

“You know how I got as far as I have in life?” he asked.

“Being seriously hard-headed?”

He laughed. “Close. I don’t care what other people think. It doesn’t matter.”

“But what other people think can still have influence.”

He shook his head. “I’m Levi Dunn. That’s all they need to know about me. Anytime you have doubts, just remind yourself that you’re Quinn Standish.”

My boyfriend’s words resonated with me and, all at once, everything made sense.

I was the guy who’d survived Levi Dunn as a kid only to fall in love with him.

The guy practically worshipped the ground I walked on.

What the rest of the world thought of me didn’t matter.

In fact, I’d cared about that crap for way too long.

Sure, they’d rag on our family situation, but I couldn’t control that. I also understood that I couldn’t control who I fell in love with.

I didn’t have to tell Levi that I understood his point. He already knew.

When the check came, Levi snapped it up.

“I’ve got this,” he said.

“Are you serious? I know I don’t have a lot of money, but?—”

He waved me off like he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“This is how it’s going to be once I’m a rich and famous hockey player,” he said.

After dinner, we strolled hand-in-hand through the theater district.

I’d stopped glancing over my shoulder to see if anyone was looking at us funny.

It didn’t matter anymore, remember? I was Quinn Standish, and he was Levi Dunn.

We brought out the best in each other, we were meant to be together, and we had no need to feel ashamed.

“So what’s next?” I asked. “You told me you wanted to play the rest of our special evening by ear?”

“That’s right. But what’s next is coming up right now.”

He pointed straight up at the Shea’s Buffalo marquee that read: HAMILTON.

“Yeah, so?” I asked.

“I’ve always wanted to see that play.”

“What, you? Seriously?”

“Haven’t I done enough to show you there’s more to me than you ever would’ve thought?”

“Good point.”

“So why don’t we go see that?”

“What, like someday?”

“No, I mean like right now.”

“But, Levi, we don’t have tickets.”

“Actually, we do. Come on.”

He all but dragged me to the theater door. Once inside, he approached a ticket-taker with his phone. The ticket-taker pointed us in the direction of our seats.

“Trust me,” Levi said, “these seats are really good. Come on.”

Sure, that wasn’t playing it by ear exactly, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was that I was with Levi Dunn.

Sitting in the middle row together, I rested my head against Levi’s arm, having never felt so comfortable in my entire life. The people around us didn’t know that his mother was married to my father, but I understood that people would know soon enough. And I didn’t care.

Levi Dunn had an uncanny way of making everything okay. You know, like nothing could go wrong as long as I stuck with him. How I’d ever pushed him away was beyond me.

When the performance started, I realized I couldn’t pay proper attention.

My mind had drifted off, wondering how many nights like this we had ahead of us.

Thoughts of what others would think—my father included—ceased to matter.

Like Levi had suggested, I’d never enjoy the better things in life if I got hung up on that.

After all, he was Levi Dunn. And I was Quinn Standish.

Together, nothing could stop us.