Page 5 of Slap Shot Surprise
joe
I’d missedthe rehearsal dinner completely, but I met up with the wedding party at a bar called Buckley’s Pub.
Which was kind of a weird coincidence.
I’d been thinking about that girl on the plane almost the entire drive up to Cherry Tree Harbor. The one with the dark hair and dimple in her cheek. The one who’d blurted out all those things about her sex life when she’d thought the plane was going down.
Mabel Jane Buckley.
Not my usual type, I’ll admit, but there was something about her. She was cute in that girl-next-door kind of way, like the nice nurse at the pediatrician’s office when you were a kid, the one who gave out the suckers. Or your favorite elementary school teacher, the one who said good things about you at parent-teacher conferences, even though you had trouble following all the rules.
She was thirty years old. Never had an orgasm during sex. Faking it for years with unexciting guys. Never had a one-night stand with a hot stranger. My interest had definitely been piqued.
But once the flight had smoothed out, she’d kept her earbuds in and her laptop open. Then after we landed, she’d avoided eye contact as she hurried through the jet bridge and into the terminal.
Too bad, I thought, pushing open the door to the pub. I wouldn’t have minded playing the role of hot stranger for her. I had zero interest in being anyone’s boyfriend, but putting the puck in the net was my specialty.
Inside Buckley’s, an upscale place with lots of leather, dark wood, and brick walls, I spotted my twin brother Paul standing by the bar. We looked alike but weren’t identical. Both of us had brown hair, our dad’s muscular build, and the Lupo nose and mouth, but I had our mom’s blue eyes where his were dark. We also had an older brother, Gianni, and a younger sister, Francesca.
Paul smiled when he saw me, grabbing me in a bear hug. “You’re late, asshole.”
“Sorry,” I said. “Flight was delayed out of Chicago. We didn’t even land in Traverse City until after eight, then it was a ninety-minute drive up here. How did everything go?”
“Fine.” He shrugged and tipped up his beer. “Footsie seems pretty chill about everything, and our part is easy—we just stand behind him during the thing and then follow him back down the aisle when it’s done.”
Footsie—his actual name was Daniel Foote—was the groom, and his wedding was tomorrow afternoon. Paul, Footsie, and I had been friends since elementary school. We’d all played hockey together before I went on to Juniors and they played for our high school team. But we’d stayed close.
“Cool,” I said. “I’ll just do what you do. I’m gonna go findFootsie and say hi.”
It was easy to spot him—he was always the tallest guy in any room. At six foot three, I wasn’t short, but Footsie had a few inches on me, and he was built like a fucking tank. With his wide shoulders, blond hair, and thick beard, he looked like a Viking.
“Lupo!” Footsie’s long arms engulfed me. “Good to see you, man!”
“You too. Sorry I missed the rehearsal.”
He waved a hand in the air. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Joe Lupo! You’re late!” Footsie’s fiancée Lisa approached and wagged a finger at me. I hadn’t been around her all that much, just enough to feel kind of sorry for my old buddy. She was always on his ass about something. Perfect example of why I didn’t want a girlfriend.
“Sorry, Lisa.” I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Flight was delayed.”
“Just be on time tomorrow, okay? And at some point tonight I want to introduce you to Jackie—she’s your assigned bridesmaid for tomorrow night.” She giggled. “She’sveryexcited.”
“Okay.” I did not want to be assigned a bridesmaid, but I tried not to let it show on my face.
Lisa tugged Footsie’s elbow and looked up at him. “Babe, I need you for a minute.”
Exhaling, he looked at me. “Sorry.”
“No worries.” I held up my palms. “I’m going to grab a beer.”
Back at the bar, I caught the bartender’s eye and ordered a beer. When he brought it, I could tell he recognized me.
“Dude,” he said. “Are you Joe Lupo?”
I nodded. “Hey.”
“Dude,” he said again. “That goal you scored in the lastgame against Toronto in the Western Conference finals was insane. Fucking bar down.”
