“Really?” Sasha said as she sat down at the table. “That's really fascinating. We should talk, maybe we can do some social media sharing, I’ve been talking about doing a campaign on women in hockey. I'll talk to Hillary about it over the summer.”
Dylan looked at her with a surprised look on his face and he poured the egg into the skillet. “Yeah, I can set you two up. I know she would love that.”
When she caught Conner's eye he winked at her, and damn, she wanted to jump his bones.
After they had finished breakfast Sasha looked her phone. “How long does it take to get to the center from here?” she asked Conner.
“Only about fifteen minutes.”
“We should probably get going, if you don't mind.”
It felt so comfortable getting ready here with him. But the closer they got to the center the more nervous she got for the upcoming conversation she had to have. She didn't want to be dealing with this, but she couldn't ignore it anymore.
Conner's hand settled on her knee as he pulled into the Magic center's lot. “How are you feeling?”
She tried to smile at him, but she knew it was a tight smile. She couldn't shake the concern, and now she couldn't shake the feeling that he might be here watching her.
“Hey, he can't get into this lot,” Conner said, as if reading her mind. “You’ll be safe in the building. I'll be there to take you right back to my house when we’re done today. I'm here for you.”
She laced her fingers through his that were resting on her leg. “Thank you. It really does mean a lot to me.”
“You ready?” he asked with a warm smile.
“Let's do this.” She grabbed her purse and her work bag before they both hopped out. He opened the trunk and grabbed his bag before they headed in.
As they walked in together Sasha found herself to be a mix of feelings. Something about walking into work with Conner felt good. She could see herself doing this every day, but she was getting way ahead of herself. He was only doing this because of the situation she found herself in. Conner would do this for anyone. He was what her D&D loving brother would call a paladin, the red headed paladin of the ice, always doing the heroic thing. She kind of loved that about him.
But part of her was worried she was clinging to him because of that, she felt the need to be around his safety and goodness. And part of her did worry what he would think about some of the pictures she had posted on her old accounts. They were probably part of why this guy was after her.
They came to the hallway where it was time to part ways.
“Do you want me to walk you to your office?” he asked.
“No, I'm good. What time are you done for the day?”
“That all depends on Coach. We are reviewing videos at ten with practice after, so I'm not too sure.”
“Okay, I have a meeting this morning, but after that I'm flexible.”
“Are you going to tell Hillary?” he asked. That question hung between them. Was she going to tell her? She wasn't too sure.
“I’ll see what happens after the meeting. With the announcement going wide that Wes is out for the season there might be more work than normal. But I’ll figure it out.”
“I think you should tell her.”
She nodded. “I know…”
“I’ll be by your office when I'm done,” he said. He leaned in to kiss her but stopped halfway there and the moment hung in the air between them. Things with them had felt so natural since the gala, like that is how it should have been all along, and then everything after that night had only cemented that to her. But now they were here in the real world. The world where Conner was all hockey all the time team captain, and she was the put together social media manager.
She gave her head a little shake. “Bye Conner, I'll see you later.”
“If you want me there when you tell her –“
“I know,” she said, quickly cutting him off and looking around. “I know and I appreciate it. See you later,” she said as she quickly turned and walked away from him. She could feel his eyes on her as she made her way down the hallway, but she needed to figure this out on her own. She appreciated it, she really did, she just hated it.
She walked into her office. Bill was there working. “Good morning, Sasha. How was your weekend?”
“What?”