Page 30 of Cole

“It seems you’re pretty friendly with her,” Wilder said with a curious lilt to his voice.

Cole couldn’t deny that, so he didn’t even bother trying. “Yep. I ordered some things from her online shop.”

“Didn’t she say she sews baby and women’s stuff?” Aiden asked.

“Yep. And I decided to throw some business her way by placing an order for some baby stuff for a couple of teammates whose wives had just had babies.”

Wilder gave a laugh. “Did you even know anything about what babies need?”

“Nope. I didn’t have a clue,” he admitted. “Which is why she ended up calling me to clarify my order. We’ve talked a few times since then as well.”

Cole figured that he didn’t need to hide anything. Was he curious about her? Definitely. Was it a romantic curiosity? At times, it seemed that way to him.

For now, he was glad to have a friend who didn’t seem overly wowed by his fame or fortune. Either that or she was a talented actress. However, he didn’t think that was the case.

“Lexi really likes her,” Wilder said. “She’s come by the rink several times with Benji, and they’ve been working on a new skating costume for Amelia.”

Cole knew all that already because of the conversations he’d had with Annie. She’d been a little nervous about tackling a type of project she’d never done before.

But what he’d admired about her was that even though she was nervous about it, never once did she say she wanted to give up. He really liked that quality about her.

He’d learned early in his life that giving up never moved a person forward in life, so he was glad that Amelia didn’t let the unknown challenges hold her back.

“So you’re really not interested in her romantically?” Wilder said.

“I don’t know. She strikes me as someone who would want a relationship to be serious,” Cole said. “And given my schedule during the season, it’s probably not the best timing to start something serious right before I’m back to work.”

The truth was that there was something about Annie that drew him in, which was why he hadn’t seemed to be able to cut off contact with her yet. Since she hadn’t seemed interested in flirting with him, it was possible that she really only wanted a friendship.

“You never know, Cole,” Aiden said, his voice thoughtful. “Sometimes the best things happen when you’re not looking for them.”

Cole splashed water at his friend. “Don’t get all philosophical on me. I’m just enjoying the summer before the season starts.”

“Well, now that she’s on our radar, we’ll be sure to let you know if she goes on any dates.”

Cole frowned at his friend. “And what would you expect me to do with that information? I don’t live here.”

Wilder splashed him. “Maybe we’ll just have to give it a whirl to see what your reaction would be.”

His whole life he’d had siblings, which meant that he was well versed in how to avoid raising their suspicions. Which, in this case, meant to not protest what they were teasing him about. “Just make sure you don’t tell me on game day. You know, just in case you’re right. You wouldn’t want me to go into a game upset.”

Wilder rolled his eyes. “I’ll be sure to do the fans a favor and hold that news until after you’ve played.”

“I’m sure they’ll be appreciative,” Cole said.

The truth was, he’d always done a pretty good job of leaving any emotional upheaval or upset behind when it was game-time, so he wasn’t too worried.

A splash drew their attention to the boat in time to see Skylar and Lexi surface in the water. Aiden and Wilder immediatelyabandoned Cole, with Aiden grabbing the inner tube and towing it behind him as they swam to where the ladies were.

Cole watched them for a long moment, then he tipped his head back. Closing his eyes against the bright sun, he tightened his core and lifted his legs to the surface. Unfortunately, he’d never been able to float on his back without considerable effort, so that position didn’t last too long as it just wasn’t relaxing.

Flipping over onto his stomach, Cole swam toward the boat. He glanced over to see the teens still floating together. Last time, they’d asked to be pulled on the tubes, so Cole assumed they would do the same that day at some point.

When he reached the boat, he lifted himself up onto the platform, then shook his head again as he reached for his towel. After drying off, he draped the towel around his shoulders. Gripping the ends of the towel, he made his way to the covered portion of the boat.

“How’s the water?” Hudson asked as Cole sank down beside Annie.

“It was cool and wet,” Cole said as he used the towel on his hair, then picked up his tank top. “And not a single fish tried to eat me.”

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