I kiss the top of her head and take a deep breath.
“Just so you know, Wildflower, I’ve never been happier,” I tell her.
I hear her little intake of air and feel the way she presses even closer to me. “God, you really do know how to talk dirty to me, Alex Olsen.”
CHAPTER 28
ALEX
The next morning,I’m knocking on Astrid's door again just after four-thirty a.m.
She opens the door. “Is this going to be a regular thing?”
“Bruce mentioned getting me a key when I was out late at the fire with Josh,” I say. “I’ll remind him of it today.”
She steps back, letting me in, and we head toward the kitchen.
“I guess I don’t mind. It’s nice to have time to talk to you,” she says. Then she yawns. “Though later in the day would be nice.” She starts preparing our cups of tea. “I absolutely love what you’re doing, by the way. Ticket sales keep growing, but that’s not the only reason.”
“Can you be more specific?” I ask with a smile.
“The take Alex to work stuff,” she says. “Brilliant. Your social media hasn’t been this active in months.”
I nod but shift in my chair. My sisters are both incredibly impressive women, and I have always wanted and worked for their approval. “You really like it?”
“Absolutely. Not only is it getting you back in front of your fans, but it’s highlighting what you’re doing here in Louisiana. It’s perfect.”
“It’s really about the other people. And I wonder if it’s a little silly. Most people probably already know what firefighters and landscapers do.”
She turns back to me with a thoughtful look. “Well, first, I don’t think anyone ever knows completely what someone else does at work. It’s great to see all the details and behind the scenes. And even if we do know what they do, it’s fantastic to highlight it, and remind people how important the people around them are and that the jobs they do really matter.”
Nora said something similar.
“But it’s not just about those people or the jobs they’re doing,” she says.
The kettle whistles, and she pours water into two mugs before bringing them to the table.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s about you.”
I frown. “I’m just a hockey player who is willing to admit that he has been a little selfish and self-absorbed and hasn’t really ever connected with people doing regular jobs.”
She sets her mug down without taking a sip and nods. “Exactly.”
“What?” I’m not following.
“That’s what's so enchanting about it. Here you are, a rich, very successful, and talented professional athlete, and you’re willing to not only admit that you’ve been incredibly privileged and cut off from the real world, but now you’re not just trying to learn new things or highlight these people you’ve met, you’re actually really into it.” She smiles. “You’rethe draw here, Alex. Your genuine enthusiasm for being on these job sites and talking to these people is what is so charming.”
“Come on,” I scoff. “Beckett is filling a really important gap in the community. The kitten was cute all on his own. Quinn is a woman not only playing in a male-dominated sport, but alsoworking in a male-dominated field for a female boss. Josh is a fucking hero. Period.”
“Yes, of course, all of that is true. But it’s your platform. How do you not see this? The people who are following you and followingthisbecause of you. And now you’re using that platform to be vulnerable and funny and self-deprecating. You’re letting them see what’s happened since you got hurt and had to leave the pros. But you’re not sitting around wallowing, you’re not talking down about the lesser league, you’re not making fun of small-town Louisiana. You’re building it all up. You have never talked about your professional-athlete friends and teammates the way you’re talking about these people.”
I frown. “I didn’t need to talk about them. They have their own following.”
“Right. You’re giving the small-town delivery guy, the landscaper, the teacher, the firefighter, the youth counselor all a spotlight they’d never have otherwise. It’s fantastic.”
I want all this to be true. “It’s not like what you did after your injury. I mean, you became a fucking inspirational speaker. People follow you because you make them feel better about their lives.”
