Page 39 of Sven

“What brought you all the way to Glendale?” Murphy asked as they skated around the rink.

“I was looking for a change of pace, and my old college roommate asked me to come stay with her. Her sister’s the one that actually got me the job,” Natalie continued.

“Oh, really? Who is her sister?”

“Hillary?”

Murphy looked shocked.

“Oh, really? You’re Sydney’s old college roommate?”

“Yeah, she’s really the only person I know in the area.”

“Well, now you know another person,” he said with a friendly smile. “We should hang out sometime.”

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

“Here, put your number in here,” he said, handing her his phone.

She took it and put in her number. As she was handing it back to him, Sven skated up to them.

“Hey,” he said in a tone Natalie had yet to hear from him.

“Hey, where’s Winnie?”

Sven nodded over to Conner McPhee, the team captain, who had her and was busy making silly faces at her.

“What’s going on here?” Sven asked in the same curt tone she did not care for.

“I was just trying to remind myself how to skate, and Murphy here was keeping me company,” she said.

Murphy gave his eyebrows a friendly wag, and Sven scowled at him.

“I think Winnie might be ready to go. We should head home.”

“Oh, okay,” said Natalie.

“Let’s go get her,” Sven said, taking Natalie by the hand and pulling her towards Winnie.

She looked back at Murphy to see him watching them with a questioning look. She just shook her head, trying to convey she was just as baffled by his behavior as he seemed to be.

“Hey, sweet girl, let’s get you home and ready for a nap,” Sven said, taking her from Conner.

“Are you guys heading out?” asked Alice.

“Looks like,” said Natalie, still trying to figure out what had Sven acting so strange.

“Well, let me get your number. We should hang out sometime.”

“Yeah, that sounds amazing.”

She handed her phone to Natalie.

“Why didn’t you tell us your nanny is Mr. Roper’s granddaughter?” Alice asked Sven.

“Whoa. Are you really?” asked Conner.

“I loved that show when I was a kid. I’m a huge fan,” he said.

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