Page 52 of In the Danger Zone
I could just tell she wanted to say more. Meeting new people was hard for her. Not only did she feel like she couldn’t trust them, but she was worried they’d say something about her stutter. But I knew Daisy had more to say and I wanted the whole world to hear it.
I held her hand tighter. “What else, baby?” I asked softly.
Daisy took in a long breath. “Well, it’s… It’s j-just that paintings from hundreds of years ago still have so m-much history, so m-much depth. There’s just something really special about that.”
The sound of her gentle voice was something I could listen to all night. I kept holding her hand, hoping she could tell that I was proud of her for stepping out of her comfort zone.
“She’s too smart for you,” Tanner said, pointing at me lazily.
I grinned. “I already knew that.”
“That’s n-not true,” whispered Daisy.
Did she think Tanner hurt my feelings? I laughed, wrapping an arm around her. “Nah, it is. You’re the brain and beauty part of this team. I got the muscle, though.”
“You’re a loser.” Hudson chuckled. “But I agree with Tanner’s point.”
“So, Daisy, you know a lot about art then,” Tanner said, leaning across the table. “Have you ever seen any of those paintings with the UFOs in them?”
The whole table seemed to groan at that.
“Tanner, come on.” Hudson rolled his eyes.
“UFOs?” Daisy asked.
“Tanner’s really into aliens,” Hudson muttered.
“Goalies are weird,” I explained to Daisy. “That’s all you need to know.”
“But you’ve seen ‘em, right?” asked Tanner. “You know the ones I’m talking about.”
Daisy sent Tanner a little smile. “I think I know what you m-mean. B-But I’m n-not sure if they’re UFOs.”
Tanner just let out a little hum in response, drinking more of his water.
“So, you’ve seen Evan play now, Daisy. Do you like hockey?” Hudson asked, thankfully stopping Tanner from asking anymore dumbass questions. “Or are you already tired of it?”
“I had a lot of fun at that game the other day,” Daisy said. “Hockey’s pretty… v-violent. B-But it was still fun.”
“Well, once this one’s suspension is over,” Hudson said, giving me a nod, “we’d love to have you back at the rink. You can sit with the girls.”
“Welcome to the WAG show.” Sasha winked at Daisy. “It has its ups and downs, but I have a feeling you’ll be okay with Evan. He’s a good guy. Despite him being a little stupid.”
“Look, hockey players don’t have to be smart.” I shrugged.
Daisy laughed and I knew that the sound was something I wanted to hear again and again. With my arm still around her, I felt her relaxing a little bit. That was what I wanted. I didn’t want her to feel like there was a target on her back or that the people around the table were gonna give her shit. There was one person whowouldhave if he had been allowed to turn up, but I would deal with Asher another day.
All that mattered was that Daisy felt safe. Because that meant she trusted me. And I was gonna make sure I never broke that trust.
Chapter 25
EVAN
“Thanks so m-much for tonight,” Daisy said softly. “I had a lot of fun m-meeting your teammates. They were really n-nice. So was your coach.”
Standing outside of Daisy’s dorm door, I sent her a smile. “You should hear the stuff he says to me during a game. Or before a game. And especially after.”
“I’ll tell him to leave you alone.”
