Page 20 of Conner

“There is nothing lackluster about you, Sasha.”

It was out of his mouth before he even knew what he had said, but it hung in the air between them.

She took a deep breath and gave her head a little shake. “Okay, let's get these videos done.”

12

Sasha

Conner demonstrated how to effectively stop on skates. Sasha even set up a camera to get the effect of him spraying ice on it. Once she was satisfied with the footage, she was ready to call it quits before everyone started showing up for the family skate. This was one of her favorite days of the month. So much cuteness to be had with the players skating with kids and their loved ones.

“Why don't you try it?” Conner asked.

“I’m sorry?” Sasha asked, not quite following him.

“Stopping. See if you picked up any helpful hints,” he said with an encouraging smile.

“It was for the page. Not a skating lesson.”

“I know, but you've gotta be able to skate to work for a hockey team. Just try it.” He skated to the middle of the rink. “Skate to me and stop.”

Sasha shook her head. He smiled expectantly at her, waiting. Reluctantly, she decided to give it a go. She took off and tried to turn her skate like he had to stop, but she lost her footing a bit. Conner's strong hands grabbed her hand and her arm keeping her upright.

“Much better,” he said as he steadied her. Then he took off skating to the other end of the rink. “This time try keeping your weight more centered on your heel.”

She nodded with a hint of determination and took off down the ice to Conner. This time she stopped and even made a little ice spray of her own.

“There ya go,” Conner said with an approving nod.

She beamed at him, trying to ignore the butterflies in her belly. Conner was becoming less infuriating, and while that was a good thing for their working relationship, it did allow her to focus on how attractive he was. It also allowed her to focus on how good of a leader he was. Even she had to admit, when this version of Conner showed up, she understood why everyone loved him.

Coach Wagner and his granddaughter were the first of the families to join them on the ice. Conner skated right over to the little girl who seemed to be about six and gave her a high five.

“You lose a tooth playing the game?” he asked. “I knew you were tough but taking a puck to the face is next level.”

“No,” she said through a laugh. “Conner, I lost my baby tooth!”

“Oh, that makes more sense. Did the tooth fairy bring you anything?”

“Yep! I got five dollars!”

“Man, inflation. I only got a buck when I was a kid. If I lose a tooth in a game, do you think the tooth fairy will bring me five dollars?”

“Conner, you're so funny! The tooth fairy only comes for kids!”

“Well, that doesn't seem fair.”

Before Sasha knew it more people were starting to appear on the ice, and she got ready to take more photos and videos. And she pushed down the way her heart had just clinched watching Conner interact with that sweet little girl, but damn if she didn't keep looking for him on the ice.

13

Sasha

The team’s wins weren't coming in quite like before with Wes Darling out for the season, but the boys were still playing well. They had clinched a seat in playoffs with their last game between that and their newfound online popularity, ticket sales were at an all-time high. That was so validating for Sasha. She really liked the players, Hillary, even Bill was growing on her in all his grumpiness.

She only had the one message from the website, but everything had been quiet on that front, so she was relaxing there too. Maybe it had just been one of her old fans recognizing her.

Evie - Are we still on for tonight?

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