Page 6 of Cole

And then there was the small matter of the crush she had on the man. Maybe it was inevitable since all she’d heard from Benji was what a great man he was. Not that she hadn’t also learned that about him herself by doing a little research.

Would seeing him in person squash the crush she had on him?

Maybe that would be for the best.

She was too old for crushes, especially ones that wouldn’t lead anywhere. She hadn’t thought she’d ever see the man inperson, so it had seemed harmless enough to let her feelings linger.

“Head’s up!” a man’s voice called out, but Annie was already locked onto the ball that was headed her way.

She was just lifting her hands to protect her face when Cole Halverson maneuvered himself so that he could catch the ball with one hand, reversing its course and sending it back onto the court.

When Cole turned to face her, there was concern on his face. “You okay?”

“I’m… fine.” She stared at him, never having expected to be the focus of the man’s attention. “Thank you.”

A grin lifted the corners of his mouth as the skin at the corners of his dark eyes wrinkled. “You’re welcome.”

Annie’s pulse pounded as she watched him jog back into the fray, where he proceeded to get the ball and make a basket.

At odd moments throughout the rest of the games, Annie caught Cole glancing her way. She was glad no one was sitting too close to her, or they might have seen her heated cheeks.

When the games were over, the boys stayed on the court with Cole, who was going through some exercises with them. Cole called out encouragement, even going so far as to compliment Benji on his form when he jumped to shoot.

After the practice session, Annie watched as Benji approached where Amelia Madden sat with her sister, Layla. Annie knew about them because Benji had a crush of his own.

She didn’t think that it had anything to do with Amelia being part of the Halverson family, courtesy of her mom, Charli. Or at least she hoped that it didn’t.

From the shy smile Benji gave Amelia as he greeted her, Annie thought it was genuine.

“I want to go for ice cream,” Cole announced as he joined the group around Amelia, which currently included Benji. Cole looked at the man who stood next to him. “You up for that?”

The man shrugged. “Sure.”

“You okay with that, Sky?” This time, he directed the question to a woman with dark hair who was seated on the second row of that section of the bleachers.

She seemed to consider it for a moment before she nodded. “Anyone else coming?”

“Can we come?” Layla asked. “And Dawson and Benji?”

“Of course,” Cole said. “The more the merrier.”

As soon as Cole said that, Benji headed over to where Annie sat, a look of anticipation on his face.

“Can we go with them to get ice cream?”

The question came as no surprise, and Annie knew she should tell him no. But this might be one of the only times Benji would get to hang out with his basketball idol.

She glanced over to find several eyes on them, and she couldn’t find it in herself to deny him. Nodding, she said, “I’ll just have to let them know.”

Benji grinned, his eyes lighting up with joy. “Thanks, Annie.”

“You’re welcome.”

While he returned to where Amelia waited, Annie pulled out her phone and sent off a quick message to Dawn, letting her and Andrew know that there was a second destination. It was likely that they wouldn’t be happy about the change in plans, but they’d roll with it.

Dawn:Andrew’s going to head there to check things out. I’ll need to ride with you, or Jude will flip his lid. I’m going to let myself into your car to wait.

Since none of that was a surprise, Annie sent back a thumbs up. She stayed seated, not rushing Benji so that Dawn and Andrew would have time to do what they needed to.

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