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Natalie

S ven was in his closet, getting dressed in his game day suit, while Natalie snuck into the room. While he was showering and getting ready, she had gotten herself and Winnie ready as well. Both were dressed in their Olsson jerseys.

She sat with Winnie on the bed, waiting for Sven, and smiled. Winnie looked adorable with her jersey and the purple bow in her dark curls.

“I have you guys passes for the family box, so you should be good there,” Sven called out. “But I would love it if you guys were down by the ice for warm up. I think Sasha would like that too. The reception for the article has been great. Sasha says people might want a picture of it. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but I would love to see you guys down there with Gunnar’s family.”

He walked out of the closet, and the sight of him in his suit and his hair slicked back made Natalie ready for the game to be over and for him to be home so they could have more fun in this bed.

The sight of her and Winnie stopped him in his tracks, too. His mouth dropped open as he took them in.

“Fuck,” he said barely above a whisper. “You are a dream.”

“You like it?” she said as she stood Winnie up to let her bounce in her Magic jersey.

“I love it,” he said as he crossed the room and got Winnie swinging her up over his head and pretending to eat her belly as she squealed in delight.

“How are you feeling about tonight? There might be some cameras on you.”

Natalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about it. But for all they know, I’m just your nanny, so all eyes are on you and Winnie.”

He came and sat by her on the bed. “You don’t have to come to the ice. You don’t even have to come to the game if you’re not comfortable. I know Hillary thinks it will be good to put a face to it, since people will be talking about the article, but if you aren’t comfortable, then we don’t do it.” He put his hand on her leg and searched her face.

Her hand covered his. “It’s okay. Am I comfortable in the spotlight? No. But I can do this. It’s all about you and Winnie.”

As Winnie babbled in his arms, he cupped her face. “No, Natalie, this is real. I want to be with you. That does mean you’ll be in the spotlight from time to time.”

“Sven, I get it. I do. I mean don’t forget granddaughter of Mr. Roper,” she said, pointing to herself. “I understand the spotlight and how to handle it. I might never be comfortable in it, but I can do it.”

“You’re sure?” he asked once again, searching her expression.

She leaned up and kissed his handsome, questioning face. “I’m sure! Now, you get going, and Winnie and I’ll be there for warm-ups.”

***

Later that night, Natalie pulled up to the area and took a deep breath. She was relieved to have a parking pass for families of players, so she was a bit closer and didn’t have to deal with being in the main entrance—because who wanted to deal with that and a baby?

She went up to the family suite and got Winnie’s diaper bag and everything dropped off before making it down to the ice. The team was about to take the ice for warm-ups, and she would be there.

As she made her way down to the ice, the temperature dropped, and the sound of skates cutting through the ice and pucks being hit filled the air.

“What a darling little girl,” said a woman who was making her way to ice. “Have you brought her to a game before?”

“Nope, this is her first one. We’re up in the family box,” Natalie said, smiling at Winnie.

“The family box?” asked the woman. “Are you married to a player?”

Dammit, why did she say that?

“No, ma’am, I’m not. But this little one is Sven Olsson’s daughter.”

“I heard he had a little girl. I can see it. It’s?—”

“In the eyes,” the woman and Natalie said in unison.

“Yeah, she looks like her dad.”

They had made it down halfway to the ice.

“This is me. It was nice to meet you,” she said, giving Winnie a little wave.

They continued her descent to the ice. The interaction did help to calm her a bit. Maybe it would be that bad. They made their way to the ice, and Natalie couldn’t help but smile as Sven was on the ice doing stretches. A small part of her wanted to yell at everyone not to watch him. She wanted to be the only one who knew what those hips could do and while him on the ice stretching his hips you didn’t need much of an imagination to figure it out.

“There’s Daddy,” Natalie said, pointing to Sven. She propped Winnie up against the glass.

After a minute, Sven skated over to them. Natalie could feel the camera trained on them. Smiling, she remembered this was about Sven and Winnie. She would just be the nameless nanny holding Sven Olsson’s baby.

Winnie jolted in her arms as she recognized Sven and banged her little hands on the glass. “Da-da-da-da.”

He smiled at her and tapped the glass. Before she knew it, Conner McPhee and Wes Darling were at the glass, making goo-goo eyes at Winnie, who squealed with glee. The audible “aww” of the crowd around them matched the one in Natalie’s heart.

After the guys took off to finish warming up, Natalie left for the safety of the family suite. She sat in her seat and let out a breath of relief. Before long, a beautiful woman with long blond hair sat next to her.

“Hi, I’m Jenna, Gunnar Thompson’s wife,” she said as she reached her hand out.

Next thing she knew, a blonde girl about eight ran in. “Mom, can I have a coke?”

“Absolutely not. You can have a Sprite, but you are not having caffeine this late.”

The girl scowled but made her way to the bar of food in the suite.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Natalie said with a smile.

“Welcome to the suite. It can get pretty crazy here, but I think you’ll fit right in.”

“Thank you. It does feel like a lot,” Natalie said, bouncing Winnie on her knee.

“I bet, especially with the article yesterday. But this is about as crazy as it gets. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

Natalie and Winnie settled into the game. They had discussed her leaving after the second period since that was already past Winnie’s bedtime.

Natalie was in the bathroom, getting Winnie changed into pj’s in case she fell asleep on the way home. As she was getting her, a woman entered the bathroom.

“Hi, are you Natalie?”

“Who’s asking?” she turned and took in the woman.

She was tall with long blond hair pulled into a ponytail, wearing business casual at a hockey game.

“I’m Madison, a friend of Sven’s. This must be Winnie,” she said, reaching in to touch Winnie.

Natalie didn’t care for that one bit. She picked her up and held her close.

The smile never left the woman’s face. Was this one of Sven’s hook-ups? She didn’t know what was happening, but something felt off.

“So, you’re Sven’s nanny?”

Natalie nodded.

“You have to tell me. What is it like being a granddaughter of THE Mr. Roper?”

“How did you know that?”

Her heart was in her chest. Fight or flight kicked in, but she had Winnie. She had to get out of here.

“I’ve been doing a bit of research . . .”

That was all Natalie needed. She picked up the diaper bag and turned and quickly made her way out of the bathroom.

“Natalie?” the woman called after her.

Natalie walked quickly back to the box to her coat and Winnie’s blankets so they could get out to the car.

“Is everything okay?” asked Gunnar’s wife.

“Yeah, Winnie’s just tired. We’re headed home.”

“Okay, see you next time.”

“Bye,” Natalie said with a forced smile.

She was glad they were in the VIP lot and quickly made her way to the elevator. She got down to the parking level and made sure Winnie was covered with blankets.

Her heart almost dropped when she rounded the corner to see the woman from the bathroom and four reporters all by the exit. Once they saw her, they made their way over to her.

“Natalie. Are you working for Sven? Can you tell the nature of your relationship with Sven? Is it true you are Natalie Roper, granddaughter of Mr. Roper?”

The barrage of questions threw her off balance, but she held tight to Winnie and ignored them, making her way to her car.

“Is it true you were fired for inappropriate sexual activity with a minor?”

That question almost stopped her in her tracks.

Fuck. How the fuck did they find out about that? The foundations said they would kill the story.

Her steps quickened, and she made it to her car. She tried to buckle Winnie into her car seat. The adrenaline coursing through her made it hard to buckle her in, but she got it as quickly as she could before turning to get in the car, hiding her face from the flashing cameras.

She got in her car and drove home.

As she turned the corner, she could see a couple reported on the sidewalk outside of Sven’s house.

Fuck. What was she going to do?