Page 21 of Cole

“Cole?” Her gaze darted to the side, which Cole assumed meant she was looking at Annie. “I didn’t expect to seeyouon the phone.”

“Surprise!” Cole said as he lifted his hand and waved. “When Annie said that she and Benji were going to watch Amelia practice, they invited me to tag along.”

“Oh?” Lexi’s gaze was curious, and Cole couldn’t exactly blame her for it.

He didn’t know Lexi well since she’d come on the scene after he’d left. But she seemed to make Wilder happy, so Cole was glad she was part of the family.

“Are you in LA?” Lexi asked, her gaze going back to the ice.

“Yep. Hanging out on my deck, sweating to death.”

“We’re definitely not sweating at the moment,” Annie said. “It’s freezing in here.”

“Amelia, come over,” Lexi called out with a wave at the girl.

Without hesitation, Amelia skated over and came to a stop in front of Lexi.

“Your uncle is watching you from the phone,” Lexi said.

Amelia frowned. “My uncle?”

Cole knew that, technically, he wasn’t Amelia’s biological uncle. However, she was Charli’s step-daughter, so there was noquestion but that he’d claim her as niece. He was quite sure that Charli didn’t differentiate between biological or non-biological children, so he wouldn’t either.

“Hey, Amelia,” Cole said as Annie turned her phone toward the teen. “You’re doing great!”

“Oh. Hi, Uncle Cole. Thanks.”

“How’s practice going?” he asked. “I hear you’re preparing for a competition.”

“Yep. I’m working on my jumps. Especially my triple Axel. If I can land it consistently, my score would go up.”

“Practice makes perfect. I remember when I was trying to increase my ability to make three-point shots from anywhere on the court. It took lots and lots of practice.”

“But it definitely paid off,” Annie said.

“You’re known for your three pointers,” Benji said.

Annie again shifted her phone, getting Benji in the shot too. The tall teen stood with his arms braced on the top of the boards. Amelia shifted on the ice to stand a little closer to him.

“I’ve only gotten those shots because I practice them religiously.” Only it had been awhile since he’d put some serious time into practicing. He needed to change that because he still had to make it through another season, and he owed it to himself and his fans to give them the best season he could, especially if it was going to be his last.

“Back to work, Amelia,” Lexi said with a clap. “Break’s over.”

Amelia propelled herself backwards away from them, then turned and skated toward the far end of the rink.

“Are you training other skaters, Lexi?” Annie asked as she turned the phone back toward her and Lexi, allowing Cole to see her face.

“I teach skating classes, but I only have Amelia and one other skater who are part of the competitive circuit.”

“Does the fact that Amelia’s a relative make it harder or easier to coach her?” Cole asked.

“I think it makes it easier,” Lexi said. “We’ve been together for a while now, so we know each other really well. It helps with the coaching relationship.”

“Amelia didn’t want to do pairs like you did?” Annie asked.

“No, which is fine by me. There is a dynamic to pairs that can be challenging, plus finding good male partners can be difficult.” She called out a correction to Amelia, encouraging her to keep her leg lifted on the follow through of her jumps. “Thankfully, Amelia isn’t interested in partnering. She’s doing great as a single’s skater.”

“Do you know how to skate, Annie?” Cole asked.

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