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It’s insane that it was only a few weeks ago that I asked her if she was going to ruin me.
It’s even more insane that it only took a few weeks for her to thoroughly do so.
Twenty-One
DELILAH
“Stop being nervous,” I mutter, pinching Ian on his side.
He hisses, his nose wrinkling as he peers down at me. “I’m not nervous.”
I roll my eyes as I watch him immediately turn back to watch the small crowd filing into the stands around the rink; Jack worked with the Druid’s PR team to have the annual charity game moved to the rink at the orphanage last summer, something I was stoked about since it will mean a great time for all the kids, but it also means that many more eyes on the ice to watch what I’m beginning to suspect is a real source of anxiety for Ian.
“You know the guys are going to be happy to see you, right?”
He shakes his head. “Most of these guys I haven’t spent any real time with outside of the rink since I got traded.”
“So? People fall out of touch all the time. It just means you’ve got a good place to pick back up from.”
His teeth worry at his lower lip, his arms crossing tightly over his practice jersey as he considers. It’s honestly cute on him, these nerves; he looks like someone waiting for their first date, which is adorable on a man who looks like a ginger, freckled Thor.
I bump his hip with mine. “It’s going to be great, Cupcake. Jack will be there.”
“Where is he, anyway?”
“Running late, as usual,” I say with a shrug.
“Ian!”
We both turn our heads toward the little voice, spotting a familiar head of blond curls bounding our way. Ian’s face lights up immediately, his prior nerves melting away when he spots Kyle coming down the steps of the bleachers two at a time toward the landing where we’ve been lurking.
“Hey, buddy,” Ian says, crouching to meet Kyle on his level. “Good to see you again.”
Kyle’s expression looks stern for all his seven years. “You haven’t been back.”
“Oh.” Ian’s eyes round, his face flushing with guilt. “I haven’t. I’ve been pretty busy with training camp.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Kyle grumbles.
Ian stands, clapping a hand on the boy’s shoulders. “But I tell you what. How about I get you tickets to our first game? And then the weekend after that, I’ll come back by for more practice, yeah?”
Kyle’s face pinches like he’s trying to maintain his stoic facade, but I can see the way his lips twitch with the ghost of a smile. He purses his lips together for a beat like he’s considering, finally bobbing his head with a nod.
“Okay,” he says. “Yeah. That would be cool.”
“Awesome.” Ian flashes Kyle a bright smile, and my heart does a little flip-flop when the boy grins back at him. “You’d better go get your seat. I’ll try to come say hi after.”
“Okay!”
He waves at us both before taking off toward the steps again, and I poke Ian’s arm. “See? Someone’s already excited to see you.”
“I wish everyone were that easy to please.”
“I don’t know…You do a pretty good job pleasing me.”
He glances at me from the side, with heat in his eyes, the weight of his heavy stare something I can feel all the way down to my toes. “Be good, and I’ll please you again after this.”
“Promises, promises,” I laugh.
