Page 15 of Cole

“I’m good. How about you?”

“Doing good. I’ve started training for the upcoming season.”

“It’s the last year of your contract, right?”

“Yep. I’m surprised you know that.”

“Benji is ahugefan of yours,” she said. “So I know a lot about your career.”

She didn’t bother to mention that she also knew a lot about his personal life, courtesy of tabloid reports.

“Want me to send him one of my jerseys?” Cole asked. “I’d be happy to do that.”

It felt wrong to take something for free from Cole when they could afford to pay top dollar for the item. “I don’t mind buying one, and then maybe you could sign it for him.”

Cole frowned. “No need to buy it. I’m happy to send one.”

“Well, I’m not going to argue with you about it. Whatever you want to do.”

“Then give me your address, and I’ll get something in the mail to him.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course. You’re welcome. Any time.”

“Okay. So now, onto your order.”

Cole’s image shifted as he leaned back, a grin on his face. “I really didn’t know what I was doing, but I wanted to support your business.”

Warmth spiraled through her. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.”

It did make her feel… appreciated. Even her parents didn’t view what she did as anything more than a hobby. Her dad had used it as an opportunity to teach her how to price her items, taking into account the cost of her supplies and her time.

Annie knew that one of the main reasons her dad supported what she did was because it kept her isolated. She didn’t have to go to an office or another place where he couldn’t make sure that she was protected.

The sales she made from her business weren’t to support her. Her dad gave her a huge allowance each month, and he also paid all her household bills.

Any money she made from her online store, she matched, then donated it all to a nearby women’s shelter. And sometimes she made things that she also donated to them. While she was working on Christmas stuff, she also needed to make winter items too.

Every year she made mittens and scarfs to give to the shelter so if anyone arrived without warm clothing, there would at least be something there for them.

“So, how badly did I mess up my order?” Cole asked.

She might have been convinced he felt bad about what he’d done, but his grin told her otherwise.

“You didn’t mess it up, per se,” she told him. “It’s just that if you’re giving more than one thing to a person, you might want them to match.”

“Okay. So how do I sort it out?”

“Youdon’t,” Annie said as she picked up her tablet and the paper with his order details on it. “Wedo.”

“I like the sound of that,” Cole said as his image jostled on the screen again. “So what dowedo?

“First, tell me how many babies you’re buying for.” Annie set her tablet and the paper on an empty spot on her workbench and pulled her chair over to sit down in front of it.

“Two. The wives of a couple of guys on the team have had babies in the past month or so.”

“Boys or girls?”

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