He bumps my shoulder back then looks back up to the ceiling.
Hunter is one of my best friends, and as much as I want to let him in, I want to figure this out on my own. I don’t know why, maybe because I finally feel confident enough in myself to figure it out without anyone’s help.
As I contemplate why I might want to be alone with this, my phone buzzes next to me.
Niko
On my way now.
“Niko’s on his way to get Sophia.”
Hunter kisses the side of my head then says goodbye. I sit in silence, staring at Niko’s text I left unanswered.
Niko
I might be.
I curse myself for not responding. God only knows where his mind went when I didn’t reply.
Guess I’ll have to show him that I definitely hope he is actually after my heart.
Niko doesn’t walk through my door until about ten minutes later, which is much longer than it normally takes to get here from the training room, and when I look over at him, I see why. There are crutches under his arms and his knee is wrapped and covered with Kinesio tape.
He does his best to quietly approach Sophia and me, but when he rests his crutches up against the wall, one tips to the side and clatters to the floor before he can catch it.
Sophia bolts upright, panting hard and searching the room. Fear is laced in her little eyes, and I do my best to calm her down, simultaneously rubbing her back and whispering to her. “Shh. It’s okay, Sophia. You’re at the rink. Your dad just got here. It’s okay.”
Her breathing seems to calm, and as soon as Niko carefully lowers himself to the floor, she sees him and climbs out of my lap into his.
“Daddy!” She wraps her arms around his neck and Niko starts rubbing her back.
“Hey, sweet girl. Sorry I took so long.”
Sophia finally releases her dad and sits down, keeping one arm looped around his neck. Her eyes move down to his knee that’s wrapped and then over to the crutches that now lie on the floor next to him.
“Are you okay? What are those?” She points to the crutches.
“Thoseare going to help me get better so I can hopefully play again in this series.”
My eyebrows shoot up, shocked to hear he plans to play again so soon. “They said you’d be back in this series? What’s the diagnosis and recovery plan? I should text Sloane and see if she needs me to put something together too.”
I realize I’m rambling, but the need to take care of Niko is strong and I’m choosing not to dig into why that is right now. Instead, I grab my phone and attempt to stand. Niko grabs my hand, hauling me back to the floor.
“Relax, Sadie. Sloane said she’d email everyone tonight with the game plan.”
Thoughtlessly, I nod. Over and over. Trying to convince myself to sit still. He still didn’t tell me what’s wrong with his knee.
Before I can stop myself, I blurt out, “How bad is it?”
Niko’s eyes are on me, crinkled with humor. I’m so glad that he thinks my worrying is funny.
Sophia looks at her dad and then back at me. Maybe she’s wondering why he hasn’t answered yet just like I am.
“Yeah, Daddy. How bad is it?”
Niko lifts Sophia from his lap and sets her in between us. “Watch.” He bends his leg a few times before resting it back down on the ground.
“I just tweaked it a little. I’ll be good as new before you know it. No need to worry.”
