Knowing I couldn’t get out of this, I kept my eyes averted from the players. Mateo was somewhere in that bunch.
With each step, dread pooled in my stomach. I should have told Mateo the other day, and now I was kicking myself for not having done so.
The players parted to let me through, my five-two frame, miniature compared to the lot of them. It was like I was surrounded by giants as I walked through the huddle.
“Gentlemen,” my dad’s voice rang out, echoing to the metal beams surrounding the field. I came up to his side as he draped an arm over my shoulder. A proud grin graced his face as he turned to his players. “This is my daughter—Emmie.”
I lifted my head to face the group. It took all of three seconds before my eyes clashed with a pair of blue ones.
9
MATEO
This is my daughter—Emmie.
My eyes darted between my coach and the woman next to him. Aside from the red hair, there were similarities—the same hard set of lips, noses that mirrored each other even though Coach’s was a bit crooked.
Emmie stood stiff as a board, green eyes locked on mine. There was something close to regret on her face as she stared at me. I wasn’t sure if I was upset she didn’t tell me her dad was my coach or amused that she thought she could hide it.
It made sense why she had a weird look on her face two days ago when I talked about her dad.
With my arms crossed, I cocked an eyebrow at her. There was no way she was getting out of this one.
“Emmie here is a two-time Olympic figure skater,” Coach Reggie said, voice oozing with pride. My lips twitched at the way Emmie winced. Once again, she looked right at me as if waiting to see my reaction.
Little did she know, I already knew that tidbit. With plenty of time on my hands since I last saw her, thanks to nopractice and no text from the pretty redhead in front of me, I searched her up.
It didn’t take long for the search results to appear. A figure skater with not just one medal, but four. And, apparently, she was going for more. Again, it made sense why she seemed hesitant telling me anything at the rink.
From what I learned, Emmie was a hotshot in her world. Accolades from the time she was thirteen to now. By the sound of it, she was insanely talented, and I wanted nothing more than to witness it in person.
“You’ll be seeing more of her around here, so I expect every single one of you to treat her with respect,” Coach said, giving us his stern stare.
Unable to help myself, I spoke up.
“You got it, Coach.” I looked directly at Emmie as I said it. The way her eyes narrowed made me want to grin. Now I knew where she got her glare from.
With that, Coach dismissed us. “That’s it for practice today. I’ll see you all Friday morning.”
While the guys slowly dispersed and headed for the locker room to get their things, I stayed where I was.
“You coming, Boone?” Jake asked beside me.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a second.” My gaze was still on her.
Jake was silent for a moment before he hummed and asked, “What’s that about?”
I glanced over at him to find him nodding at Emmie. Jake and Perry knew about her. Well, they knew about a girl, not that it was Emmie specifically. That was only the case because I spent the last two days constantly looking at my phone waiting for a text that never came.
“It’s her.” I jerked my head in her direction.
It took a second before it sank in. “Her? As in the girl you’ve been obsessing over lately?”
“I haven’t been obsessing.” I rolled my eyes. Maybe I was a little. “But yes.”
“She’s the coach’s daughter,” Jake said, stating the obvious.
“I know,” I muttered, not sure if that was a big deal or not yet.
