Page 29 of Gamechanger

"Look at you go! You'll be doing triple axels in no time." Finn continued to skate backward ahead of me.

I laughed. "Let's not jump ahead too far. I'll settle for staying vertical for the moment."

As we slowly glided around the rink, I watched a woman in a puffy jacket approach Quinn. He slowed down to meet her, and I took it as an opportunity for a breather along the edge of the rink.

"Oh, my God, are you Quinn O'Reilly?" she blurted out and nearly lost her balance when she skated to an abrupt stop.

I tensed, aware of how quickly it could all mushroom into an online celebrity sighting mess. Fortunately, Quinn had it under control.

"That's me." He reached out for her forearm to gently help steady her. "Are you out here celebrating the New Year?"

"Yes, and I'm such a big fan of the Lumberjacks. I can't believe you're here—like a real person and everything." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "Would it be okay if—"

Quinn smoothly blocked the phone camera before she could finish her question. "How about I help you do better than a simple selfie? What's your name?"

The interaction was fascinating, and I couldn't look away. "Amber," she breathed.

Quinn's natural charm oozed out in his voice. "Amber, would you like to join me in a top-secret New Year mission?"

She nodded eagerly and then looked to her right, suddenly noticing the rest of us.

Leaning in close, Quinn adopted a conspiratorial tone. "See, we're trying to have a fun night out, incognito, but you spotted me with sharp eyes. I appreciate serious fans who can do that, but here's the deal. If you keep our skating adventure under wraps for tonight, I'll record a personalized video greeting and post it on Insta tomorrow. You can share that with all your friends. Have we got a deal?"

"Really?" Amber's face lit up. "That would be fantastic. Cheryl's gonna be so jealous."

"Excellent." Quinn shared his social media account with Amber. "Remember, this is classified information until tomorrow. Think you can handle it, Agent Amber?"

Amber nodded. She tried to hold a serious expression, but her beaming smile broke through. "Your secret is safe with me, Mr. O'Reilly."

He reached out to shake hands. "Please, call me Quinn. Now, enjoy the rest of your skating, and a Happy New Year!"

As Amber skated off, Quinn's smooth handling of the situation blew me away. He took control of the situation without skipping a beat.

"And that, gentlemen, is how it's done." He turned to us and took a bow.

Axel rolled his eyes. "Show-off."

"Hey, I can't help it. I'm good at stuff like this. Did you see how happy she was? Being recognized can be good if it lights up their whole night."

I nodded. "Not just tonight. You made her whole year, Q."

While Quinn and Finn headed off to buy hot cocoa for the four of us, Axel gently elbowed me. "Let's take a lap. Are you good with that?"

"Yeah, I think so." My skating was still wobbly, but I was pretty sure I could stay upright. We glided along at the outside edge, silent in each other's company.

Axel finally spoke up. "So, you and the rookie, huh?"

I grinned. "Yeah, just like you and your rookie. Does it meet with your approval?"

He snorted. "Wouldn't matter if it didn't, but yeah, I'm good with it." He grabbed my elbow, and we stopped for a moment. "You look happy. Both of you do. That's what's important."

"I am happy, but I'm terrified, too."

Axel nodded. "That's love for you. It's scarier than any enforcer I've ever dealt with in a game."

I nearly stumbled when he uttered the four-letter word. "I didn't say—"

"You didn't have to. Look, I'm no genius at all this emotional crap, but here's what I do know. You can't control how other people will react to any of this. Remember that. All you can do is be true to yourself and do your best to show that man how you feel. He needs to know you're there."

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