Page 46 of The Pucking Single Dad

“Hey!” Henry said happily to the team. “Hey, Hunter is back!”

Hunter had to admit it felt nice to have Henry as a friend again instead of an enemy. It made the whole thing much easier and less dramatic.

“Hunter!” another team member yelled. “We heard that you were going to play the last game of the season with us. Are you ready?”

“I will be by the time the game starts,” Hunter laughed. “I’m just happy to be back and train, man. I missed all of you.”

They continued to catch up with one another. The team inquired about Adam’s health, overall well-being, and Luna. They all seemed to care genuinely. Hunter thanked them for their genuine concern, and he also thanked them again for all showing up to the hospital that horrible time Adam had relapsed and was back in the hospital.

“Of course, man,” one team member said to Hunter genuinely.

“We are not just a team, Hunter,” another team member said sincerely to him. “We are a family. You know that. I am sure that you would do the same for any one of us if we were ever in similar situations.”

Henry nodded. He knew in his heart that he would. They were all brothers. Even though they fought at times when push came to shove, they were always there for one another, and nothing was going to change that. Hunter smiled as he walked back to the locker room to change. It felt good to be back. Training that day went beyond expectations. It was as if Hunter had never missed a beat. It all came back so naturally to him. He was born to be a hockey player.

When practice was over, Hunter went into the locker room and showered. It was almost time to meet Luna for dinner. He was so excited about his surprise for Luna, and he could not wait until he saw the look on her face at dinner. Once he was done showering, he quickly got dressed, brushed his hair, and sprayed some cologne on his body. He looked at himself in the mirror. This was the first step, a necessary action to propose to Luna.

While Hunter was across the city, Luna was putting the finishing touches on her look. She slipped into a dark green dress that fell to her shins, its thin straps elegantly highlighting her collarbones. After applying a bold coat of red lipstick, she spritzed on some expensive perfume Hunter had gifted her.

Once she finished with her makeup, Luna slipped on a pair of gold heels and admired her reflection in the mirror. However, she felt her outfit was missing something. She decided to search for a pair of pearl earrings in her jewelry box. After fastening them in place, she stepped back to take another look. She felt elegant and poised, excited for the surprise Hunter had planned.

Part of her instinctively thought that he might propose. In contrast, another part wondered if he was taking her to visit her family in Guatemala. Regardless of what the surprise was, she knew she would love it. Hunter always had a way of making her feel special, and as long as she was with him, happiness followed.

Luna walked out of the bedroom and saw Ella playing with Adam in the living room.

“Whoa,” Ella said to Luna when she saw her walk into the room. “You are a knockout!”

Luna felt a warm blush spread across her cheeks, thrilled with how good she looked. She thanked Ella for taking care of Adam that evening, embracing and kissing them both goodbye before stepping out of the apartment. As she approached the front door of the complex, she spotted their usual driver waiting beside a sleek black car with tinted windows. He greeted her with a friendly smile and opened the back door for her.

Climbing into the car, Luna settled into the plush seat, her mind racing with curiosity about where the driver would take her.

“Where are we headed?” she asked the driver.

“Sorry, Luna,” the driver said with a smile. “Hunter made me promise not to tell you. You will just have to wait and see once we get there.”

Once the driver pulled up to the restaurant, Luna noticed where she was. She got out of the car and thanked the driver. She was standing in front of a Central American restaurant. She had been telling Hunter for weeks that she wanted to eat there. She smiled to herself. She was so lucky to have him. Luna walked inside the restaurant and went straight to the hostess’ table.

“You must be Luna,” the hostess said to her immediately. “Hunter is in the back, waiting for you. If you will, please follow me.”

Luna followed the hostess to the back of the restaurant. There was a party room at the back of the building, and Luna wondered why Hunter had rented such a large room for dinner. However, when she walked into the room, she understood why. Luna’s face was filled with shock. Her chin dropped to the floor.

Hunter, Lisa, and her mom stood in the room. Hunter had brought her family in from her native country. Luna ran over to her family and embraced them. Tears started to stream down her eyes. Even though it had only been a few months since she had seen her sister and mother, having them both there in America was joyfully overwhelming. She embraced her family again. Hunter came over, and Luna looked up at him. She mouthed the words thank you to him. He nodded and smiled at her in response. She was happy, and that was all that he cared about. Her happiness was everything to him.

“Hunter was so kind to bring us in,” Lisa said. “We have been getting to know him while we were waiting for you to arrive. He is just lovely, Luna, and Mom agrees, too.”

Luna asked her mother what she thought of Hunter. Her mother responded that Hunter was a handsome and generous young man.

“You did well to find him,” her mother said.

Hunter overheard her comment and smiled before stepping into the conversation.

“Actually, I did well to find her,” Hunter said with love. “She has saved me in more ways than you both know.”

Everyone was in good spirits. The three sat down around the table and ordered wine and appetizers. Luna was so excited to eat food that was similar to what she was used to eating in her native country, and her family members agreed.

“You did well in picking this restaurant,” Lisa said to Hunter. “You get an A plus, Hunter.”

The family continued to get to know one another. They all seemed to fit together easily. It was as if it was all how it was supposed to be. Hunter watched Luna during the dinner. There was an easiness about her. It was nice to see her reunited with her family, and he was happy that he was able to meet both her sister and mother. If he was going to propose to Luna, he wanted her mother’s permission. When the dinner was over, Luna asked her family where they were staying.