Page 11 of The Recovery Coach
“I don’t think you’re allowed to take that in,” Olivia said.
Daisy chuckled.“I’m allowed to bring in whatever I want.I’m a WAG, and a staff member, and press.”
“Lucky!I never get to bring my own snacks.It’s always thirty-five dollars for nachos and a beer.”
Security let them through without searching the giant tote.“As long as you’re with me or any other WAG, you won’t have to worry about that.We can check out the family room too.There’s food in there.”Daisy led Olivia to the glass for warmups.
Olivia frowned.Connor hadn’t ever invited her to the family room, even though she’d sat with the WAGs before.Maybe she’d been missing out on the privileges he could offer.
Children with signs and intoxicated adults pounded on the glass.As soon as Daisy and Olivia got to the front of the crowd, the three Connors waved at them, and Valentine raced toward them, slapping his hand onto the glass in front of Daisy before zooming to the bench to congregate with his linemates.
“Well, that’s kind of rude,” Olivia said.
Daisy, distracted watching them fiddle with something on the bench, asked, “What’s rude?”
“That weird thing Valentine just did.”
Daisy turned wide eyes to Olivia.“You call him Valentine too?I’ve been trying to start a movement for years.”
Olivia cleared her throat, inexplicably embarrassed.“Connor said I could.Calling them all Connor would be too confusing.”
“That’s what I said!”
“I sure as hell wasn’t calling him Lover.”Olivia mimed an over-the-top gag, one finger pointed down her throat.
“They lean way too heavily on that joke.Better now that he’s twenty-six, though.When he was twenty-one, the media’s portrayal of him fired me up.He doesn’t deserve that toxic shit.”
“Exactly!”
Three hockey players loomed in her periphery.The Connors stood along the boards, staring at her and Daisy.
Beanie winked at Daisy, who blushed but reached into the air to catch the puck he tossed over the boards for her.It had a piece of paper secured to it with a rubber band, and Daisy pulled the slip free, unfolding it and smiling.When she stuck the paper in her pocket and examined the puck, Olivia asked, “What’s that?”
Daisy’s smirk held secrets Olivia didn’t want to know.She waved away her own question.“Never mind.”
Daisy pointed at the glass and said, “You’ll see for yourself in about ten seconds if you’d pay attention to the poor boys.”
She’d gotten distracted watching Daisy pore over her puck and hadn’t noticed that while Beanie had left the ice, warmups almost over, Connor and Valentine still stood there.She frowned at them.
“What?”she mouthed, knowing they couldn’t hear her.
Connor held up a puck and bounced his hand a couple of times, showing her she should catch it.The puck flew over the glass, and she snagged it, shoving it in her pocket before Valentine tossed a second.
Valentine’s had a sticky note attached to it.She pulled the blue paper free and flipped it over in her hand, confused.In sloppy script the note said, ‘Can’t wait to meet you!-Beanie.’
She showed Daisy the note, eyebrow raised in question.
“Aww,” Daisy said.“They included you!What do the pucks say?”
Olivia glanced at the one in her hand.As they climbed the arena steps toward their seats, she said, “Valentine’s has a phone number on it.”
“Wait, what?”Daisy stopped mid-stride, and Olivia ran into her, dropping the little black disk.Daisy crouched to pick it up.She read the number written in barely legible silver ink and laughed.“Didn’t know he had it in him.”
“What do you mean?”Olivia asked.
“Valentine doesn’t go around giving randos his number.That’s more of a Hazy move.He must like you.”
Daisy handed Olivia the puck.She grunted, stuffed it in her pocket, and pulled out the one from Connor.
