Page 72 of Cross Check Hearts

“It’s all thanks to you,” I tell her and wink.

Her cheeks are flushed, but I can’t tell if that’s from my compliment or all the blood rushing to her head—or both. Either way, she doesn’t address the comment. The two of us just hold the pose until I literally feel like I’m about to pass out, but she must notice because she starts to lower herself back to her knees just in time.

She lowers her forehead down to rest it against the mat with her arms stretched above her, and I follow suit, grateful for the break.

We stay that way for about ten minutes, neither of us saying anything as we catch our breath and give our muscles time to relax. But I don’t mind. As long as I get to spend more time with her, that’s all that matters to me. I’m starting to drift off a little when Hannah gently tells me it’s time to wrap up, so I sit up and stretch a bit before I get up and grab a spray bottle and towel to wipe down my mat. Once it’s clean, I roll it up and carry it over to the shelf.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I have something for you,” I tell her after she wipes down her own mat, rolls it tightly, and joins me at the shelf.

She shoots me a quizzical look but follows me over to where I left my bag on the floor. I reach into the bag and carefully dig around for the items I brought. My hand finds the smaller one first, so I pull it out and Hannah’s face lights up.

“Oh my god, you made Ralph another hat?” she asks as she reaches for it.

It’s pretty similar to the one I already made for the little kitty, but I thought she might like to have some different colors. But this one’s even better anyway because it has the iconic Canadian maple leaf stitched into it in bright red on white.

Hannah pouts out her lower lip, examining the hat. “I don’t know how it’s possible, but this one’s even cuter than the last. I can’t wait to see her in it.”

“That makes two of us. But there’s more where that came from.” I pull out another, much larger hat that perfectly matches the one for Ralph. Hannah belts out a laugh when I hand it to her.

“This so silly, but I love it,” she says, still laughing as she tugs the hat onto her head.

It was tough to guess her measurements, but I must have done a good enough job because the hat fits almost perfectly.

She does a little spin, gesturing out to her sides like she’s holding out a dress as she twirls. “How do I look?”

“At this rate, you’ll be ready for your Canadian immigration test any day.”

“Oh god, don’t even joke about that. I can’t think about another test right now.”

“Anyway, I’m sure my mom is grateful that I have someone else to make things for,” I say as I start to help her clean up the studio and get ready to lock it up for the night.

“What do you mean?”

I grimace wryly. “Let’s just say her winter closet is pretty full. I’ve inundated her with scarves and gloves and everything else under the sun I could think to crochet over the years.”

“Aw, that’s sweet. I’m sure she loves it.”

“I know she did at first, but at some point I think she’ll probably start refusing packages from me,” I say with a chuckle. “I swear, her house is starting to look like an old folks’ home with all of this crocheted stuff everywhere. But I can’t help it. It’s what I do whenever I need to take my mind off things.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. But hey, if you want to crochet me a new sweater or scarf or two, I won’t say no to that—even if Ralph will claw them to shreds.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” I tell her with a wink, and her cheeks blossom with a hint of a blush. “My mom is my biggest supporter, but I think she’d be okay with me being a tailor for someone else for once.”

She straightens the stack of neatly folded towels on the shelf by the door, then turns to me, smiling warmly. “She sounds lovely. I’d like to meet her someday,” she says, and the dusting of blush that was on her cheeks before immediately deepens when she realizes the implication of what she just said. But I love the idea.

We’re not technically dating, and she made it pretty clear that she wasn’t ready for that, but why would she want to meet my mom if she wasn’t interested in me that way? Maybe it’s overly optimistic on my part, but I’m choosing to see it as a sign that she’s at least somewhat open to this thing between us eventually becoming more than just a friends-with-benefits situation.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about flying her out here for one of our games soon, so maybe you’ll get the chance.”

She seems flustered, and I notice her hand shaking a little as she tucks a loose lock of her hair behind her ear, but she smiles and nods. “That’s super sweet. I definitely want to meet her if you want me to.”

“She’s gonna love you, I can already tell. But then again, who wouldn’t?” Her blush deepens, but before I can say anything else, my stomach growls, distracting both of us. “I don’t know about you, but I worked up an appetite. Do you want to grab a bite to eat?”

She grimaces. “I want to, but I have some admin work to do that I promised the owner I’d have finished today.” My heart squeezes a little with disappointment, but then she quickly adds, “It shouldn’t take me long. You could wait for me, if you have the time to wait and wouldn’t mind.”

I beam at her. “I’ll wait for you as long as it takes.”

The words hang in the air between us like some sort of charge is keeping them suspended, and her breath catches as our gazes lock. I didn’t mean for what I said to hold so much meaning, but I can’t deny that I meant every single word.

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