Page 4

CHAPTER 4

OLLIE

T he rink is quiet except for its natural hum. I’d gotten here early this morning so I could have it to myself; I like early mornings at the arena, all alone. It’s just me, my thoughts, and the ice.

I’d spent at least ninety minutes working my body over, and when I call time, I park myself on a bench to start taking my skates off. I’m ready for my post-practice massage and an episode or two of Below Deck —my guilty pleasure. I can’t help it. There’s a woman from New Zealand, Aisha, and she’s hands down the best yachtie ever. She’s cool and doesn’t seem to fluster easily, which of course reminds me of Anna. And Captain Sandy’s a boss, so there it is. My reasons for watching. I can hear Anna ridiculing me for even carving time out to indulge in my ‘mind-numbing show’, as she likes to sigh. But after having my butt kicked all day, I like disappearing into dramas that aren’t mine, even if they are of the loosely scripted variety.

I’m scrolling through an episode list, loving my options for binge-watching today, when I overhear someone talking to someone else. I can’t tell who it is, though. Standing up, at first I see no one, but when I crane my neck and look around the rink, I can just make out someone who looks like Danny Denault, our King of Ice Resurfacing, as I like to call him, who is also Anna’s father. Otherwise, he’s also known as Big Daddy Zamboni Guy.

“Stop calling me. This is bordering on harassment.”

When I hear these words come out of his mouth, echoing across the arena floor, I immediately make my way over to him. No one goes after a Renegade family member, no matter who they are, without one, or all, of us being involved.

When I get closer, I notice Danny doesn’t look like he usually does. The guy I know walks with his head held high, shoulders pulled back, proud. This Danny is hunched, looks tired, and is pacing in a circle and seems agitated.

“No.” He holds up a hand, slicing the air with it. “Stop this now. I’ll take care of it. I said I would.”

I don’t see the stray water bottle on the floor that I manage to kick, thus announcing my arrival to Danny. He spins around, his eyes widening when he sees me…and he immediately hangs up his call.

“Hey, Ollie,” he says, his stature straightening and his eyes lighting up as he slides his phone back into his pocket. “Didn’t see you there. How was practice?”

“Good.” I stoop down to pick up the empty water bottle and toss it into a recycling container nearby. I want to say something to him, but to be fair, I was also eavesdropping. I’m not sure where the line is drawn when you worry about someone, but I know I don’t want to find out right now. All I can go on is assumption. “Just making my way back to the locker room now, but I saw you and wanted to say hello.”

Danny laughs, but also looks at me with a little side-eye. Why? Because I’ve never just walked over to say hi before, probably. “I caught the last few minutes of your solo practice, you’re looking good.”

“It’s all me.” Ben’s voice booms from behind as he appears as if he’s a vapor and is suddenly standing with us, clapping Danny on his back but staring at me. When I turn around, my insides do a little hop and a skip. Anna stands beside him.

“You’re so humble,” Danny says with a laugh. He and Ben have known each other a long time, in fact, I think Danny may have taught Ben to skate, but I need to fact-check that info. We’ve all been around this arena for so long, all of the relationships and teams, games played and years lived flow together into one giant memory after a while.

Seeing his daughter, Danny leans in and gives her a quick peck on her cheek. “Don’t let your boss bully you around too much, okay? If he does, I’ll run him over.”

Anna smiles, stopping beside me and hip-checking me. As she moves, the faintest hint of clean linen and lavender hits me like a Mack truck, leaving me fighting the urge to close my eyes and sniff the air like a bear on the hunt for vegan ice cream in someone’s freezer in the middle of winter in Lake Tahoe. That really happened. Look it up.

“He’s all talk, Ben,” she says as her eyes take the three of us in. She turns to me and slugs me in my arm. You know, like friends do. “He sent me out here to find you…”

“And then I realized I needed to also find you, Danny,” Ben says pointedly. “I’ve gotten a message today about adding a few responsibilities to your plate. Straight from the Ivory Tower. You got a few minutes so we can chat?”

“Let’s do it,” Danny says with a nod, laughing at the inside joke. I’m not sure who branded the executive offices the Ivory Tower, but after you spend any time up there, you get it.

Danny follows Ben toward the exit, but Ben’s voice floats through the air. “Me and you in the locker room before you go, Decker. See you in five.”

I watch as they disappear from sight, turning back and finding myself all alone with Anna. The most wonderfully scented human being on the face of the earth right now. Yes, I’m being dramatic, and maybe it’s because I’ve been sweating out here on the ice for the last hour and a half, but I can’t help it. She smells great.

“How’s it going?” she asks, taking a hairband off her wrist and pulling her long, light brown hair up into a high ponytail, exposing the length of her neck.

I open my mouth to answer, but as soon as she shows off that stretch of smooth, sensuous skin on her body, all of the words clutter on the tip of my tongue and come out like a pile of gibberish.

“IsgooIthin…” I stop, shake my head and give myself a pep talk. Look, I’ve had a crush on this woman for a while now. I should be smoother than I am, and usually I’m the guy who can roll with the unaccounted for. I’m adaptable. But when she’s around? It’s like I’m suddenly all thumbs. “It’s going, we’ve got some away games coming up, so Ben’s pushing us even harder. He knows when we’re not on home turf it’s a slight disadvantage, but we’re getting there.”

Boring, Ollie. Can’t you talk about anything besides hockey?

“How’s your mom?”

“She’s good. The store had a great year, so she took off a week ago for some meditation and yoga retreat in upstate New York.”

Anna raises an eyebrow. “That’s great! Who’s watching the store?”

“Her partner is, and Mia is going to come in some to go over the books.”

My mom co-owns River City Rocks and Gemstones, a crystal shop located in town. It’s on the Riverwalk, a cool area with shops and restaurants, and also a local tattoo parlor and a record shop which I frequent.

“I still can’t believe in all the years I’ve known you I haven’t met Mia,” Anna says with a chuckle.

“Same, but we’ll figure something out on her next visit.” It strikes me as odd, too, but that’s what happens when one sibling is ten years older than the rest. Mia is my oldest sister, an accountant who lives in Maryland. We’re the single ones, but our other two siblings are happily married and both live in Florida.

“I’d love that. I’ll talk to Dad and maybe we’ll have a ‘family dinner’ night at his place and have you two over.”

I nod slowly, my eyes drifting to the ground. While part of me wants to keep the secret of what I overheard, another part of me put myself in Anna’s shoes. If it was me and my family, I’d want to know if something suspicious was going on. And after hearing Danny’s reaction to whoever was on the other end of that call, I can’t help but feel like something is not right.

I look around to make sure we’re alone, and once I confirm it, I tug on her jacket sleeve. “Hey, I’ve got something I want to tell you.”

She tilts her head to the side, narrowing her eyes playfully as her hand flies to her mouth, covering it. “I’ve got broccoli in my teeth, don’t I?”

“What?” My eyes dip to her mouth, and my immediate thoughts are now focused on bright pink lips that look like soft, dewy pillows. “No.”

“Sorry.” She giggles. “I just had a few bites of broccoli salad before I came out. I always get pieces of it in my teeth, super attractive.” She waves a hand in the air. “Carry on.”

“It’s about your dad.” I quickly fill her in on the conversation I accidentally overheard, expecting her to be surprised. Instead, her face clouds over and a look that can only be described as pure sadness washes across her features.

“Oh wow,” she whispers, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “This is not good.”

While she stares off into the distance, a deep worry line forms on her brow. I give her some space, time to breathe and feel whatever it is she’s feeling. I may not know what’s up, but clearly she does. We stay like this for a few minutes, but then she’s dragging her eyes back up to mine.

“Thank you for telling me,” she says quietly as she takes my hand and squeezes it. Her skin is baby soft compared to my rough, callused hands, taking her warmth with her from my grasp as she pulls away. “I’ll see if he wants to chat about it later.”

When she doesn’t make a move to walk away, I’m not sure what to do. I feel like I should stay, so I do. In case she wants or needs more from me. I’ve got sisters, granted I think they’re feral, but they’re mine. They taught me how to be a good listener, and I pride myself on that part of my genetic makeup. So we stay as we are until her lips begin to twist.

Anna sighs and looks at me. You know those looks when you can tell there’s a lot in the unsaid? This is one of those.

“Ollie,” she begins, thrusting her hands in her pockets. “Please, keep this between us for now?”

I don’t get a chance to nod before Sutton’s voice carries across the room, sharp and commanding as always.

“There you are! Perfect timing.” She strides up to us, her heels clicking against the tile floor. She points at me, but her focus shifts to Anna almost immediately. “Ollie Decker, you’re wanted in that locker room before Ben decides to hunt you down himself. Move it.”

Her attention turns fully to Anna now, her expression softening as she loops an arm through Anna’s. “And you, my dear, are coming with me. I need a consultation for the mayor’s ball.”

Anna narrows her eyes as if she’s thinking. “The mayor’s ball?”

“Yes, the charity gala next month. The Renegades are invited again and I want to get the word out to the guys and their plus- ones. We’re going to arrange a team tux fitting and help them out, too, since the guys are juggling a hectic schedule this time of year,” Sutton replies with a dramatic wave of her hand. “Ben told me I could borrow you for a bite to eat while we finalize a few details. Please?”

Anna grins, standing a little taller. “If Ben’s good with it, I guess I’m all yours.”

“Excellent,” Sutton says, already steering her toward the exit. “I’m already feeling better about the whole process.”

Anna shoots me a quick look over her shoulder, a small smile playing on her lips. “Talk to you later, Ollie.”

“Yeah,” I say, watching them go. “See you.”

I stand there a beat longer, watching them disappear around the corner. It’s not like running into her here was a fluke—I knew she’d be here. Part of me might’ve hoped for it.

Still, I can’t ignore the way my chest tightens at that smile. Or how I can’t seem to stop watching the spot where she stood a moment ago.

I shove the thought aside, heading toward the locker room. It’s too early to read into anything. Too early to think that seeing Anna here is affecting me as much as it clearly is.

But as I push open the door, I realize I’m still smiling—and that’s harder to ignore.