Page 94 of The Wingman

“I don’t follow.”

“Come work for the team.”

I stare at him for a long stretch of silence. “What?” I finally ask.

He chuckles. “I would love for you to join the Vancouver Storm’s analytics department.”

I blink again. “Why?”

He smiles. “Because, Darcy, not only are you clearly intelligent and talented, but doing something like this for free and for fun means your heart’s in it, and that’s an important part of the team I’m building.”

I imagine it—working for the team as an analyst and playing with my hockey models every day. Working for Ward already seems so much better than my current boss, who cares more about profits than his employees. I see why Hayden and the guys like this man so much.

And it would be fun, working with hockey stats all day, discovering new patterns in the data.

“Our analytics department consists of three retired hockey players,” Ward continues. “No one with your analytical experience. You’d be a huge asset to the team.” His dark eyebrows go up. “We could really use you. They’re really eager to get you on board.”

“I’d be the only stats analyst?”

“Yep.” He lists off a generous salary number, but I barely hear it.

“So everyone would rely on my numbers?” Being the onlyanalyst is the exact opposite of what I want. The pressure would be tenfold.

He arches an eyebrow. “The analytics department works as a team.”

“But no one could check my numbers.” The pressure drops onto my chest like a weight, and it’s hard to take a full breath.

Ward opens his mouth to say something, but I’m already on my feet.

“I already have a job.” My shaky smile is polite but firm. “But thank you. I really appreciate it.”

He studies me like I’m something curious before nodding once. “Alright. If you change your mind, you know where to find me. The door’s always open.”

“You bet,” I tell him, knowing full well I won’t be walking throughthatdoor again.

Before heading out for lunch, Georgia and I stop by the rink, where the guys are taking a break during practice. She talks with one of the players on the bench about something. Hayden chats with Alexei and Rory on the ice. When he spots me, he skates over wearing a tight smile.

Memories of the other night with him and the toy wash over me, and goosebumps scatter down my arms. I’ve never come so hard.

When I made a move to touch him after, he stopped me. Because we’re not in a relationship. He was just helping me.

“Hey.” He skates to a stop in front of me on the ice, eyes moving over me with curiosity.

We haven’t talked about what happened, but I’m trying to act normal to show him that I’m not getting clingy.

“Georgia and I are getting lunch and she needed to drop a prescription off,” I explain, glancing over at her a few feet away.

“Sure.” He nods before his gaze comes back to me. “How’s your day?”

“Good. You?”

He nods again, giving me a small smile. “Good.”

I think about how nice it felt to wake up next to him the other morning and how well rested I was after sleeping against him all night.

I chew my bottom lip. “Ward offered me a job.”

His eyes widen and a proud smile spreads across his features. “He did? That’s great, Darce.”

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