“You. Well, you and me. I’m constantly amazed at how God brings people together.”
“Like two opposites like us, huh?”
“We’re not that opposite. Both Christians, and—”
“Both athletes.”
She smiled. “Both extremely witty.”
“For sure. And both trying to make the world a better place.”
Her heart grew soft. His work in recent weeks, shining a light on cancer, visiting local hospitals and partnering with a food drive, certainly made that claim true. “You’re so sweet and thoughtful, aren’t you?”
“Yep, that’s me.”
His dry tone made her chuckle, which drew his smile, as he gathered her close.
“Speaking of being thoughtful, I can’t help but think about you, like nearly all the time.”
“Only nearly?” she teased.
“Sometimes I sleep. But even then I dream of a certain ballerina with the most beautiful eyes, whose laughter always makes me smile.” He bent down and kissed her.
“Luc, people are looking,” she protested, as he stole another kiss.
“Let them look. We’ve kissed on national TV.”
And seeing he didn’t mind such an overt example of PDA, she decided to go with it too. And thanked God that He knew what He was doing in bringing this man into her life.
“So, who’s ready for preseason?” Jai asked.
Luc clasped his head and rocked back on his chair as the others in the video chat answered. “Can’t wait.”
“Bring it on.”
“We’re gonna crush you guys,” Chris said to Luc, the remembrance of his words all those weeks ago drawing his smile.
“You’re gonna try and everyone is gonna watch you fail.”
“Ooh, the new captain sounds feisty.” Franklin laughed. “I should tell Hannah that words are being exchanged and a smackdown is a’comin’.”
“Speaking nothing but the truth here,” Luc drawled.
“Same,” Chris said.
“Well, all eyes will be on Winnipeg for that game, won’t they?” Mike said.
“How is Bailey with it all?” Ryan asked.
“She’s saying the right things. She’s met a few of the guys and their wives now, met Coach Frantzen, and it’s all gone well.”
“It’s gonna be fun to see how she handles seeing the real Luc, instead of the soft dude who likes to waltz on ice.”
“Please.” He rolled his eyes, shaking his head as the others laughed at Ryan’s comment. “There’s nothing soft here.” He flexed.
“Looks like someone’s been training hard lately,” Jai said.
“Someone needed to. Man, I’ve been sore. The dancing stuff was great for my cardio, but my strength and conditioning trainer has had me working so hard.”
As the other guys shared some of their preseason training routines and targets, his mind flicked back to Ryan’s earlier comment. Bailey was excited to see him play. She fit into his world so well, her bright and sunny personality the perfect balance to his bouts of focused intensity. Some of his teammates had noticed, with the goalie, Nate Campbell, commenting to Bailey at dinner last night how Luc was smiling a lot more these days. Which was true. He was. Even if he was still wrestling with how to talk to her about the business side of her dance studio.
Truth be told, he figured Poppy should’ve said something ages ago, but he understood how the lines of friendship made things blurry sometimes, which made it hard to speak openly when you didn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. And this conversation, one that involved her father no less, was ripe for all kinds of miscommunication and offense. He’d been enjoying this time with Bailey too much to willingly burst this cozy bubble. But the fact he wasn’t being himself and open and honest made him itchy inside with nerves. When he’d overheard Bailey and Poppy talk yesterday about expanding the business it only upped the ante in making him extra wary. He needed to say something soon. If only he knew what to say.
“So, what are everyone’s prayer requests?”
The guys shared, and when it was Luc’s turn, he knew he needed help. “Look, I need some wisdom about a conversation I need to have with Bailey.”
“What kind of conversation?” Chris asked, winking.
“Not that kind of conversation. No, it’s about her dad.”
“You need to have a conversation with her dad?” Mike asked.
He nodded. Maybe he should just go direct to the source. That was one way of knowing more about what was going on. And Bailey needn’t know and wouldn’t get upset with him for poking his nose in where it wasn’t exactly wanted.
At the extended silence, he looked up at the screen to see the guys were staring at him. And he suddenly realized just what his words might mean. “Hey, no. Calm that farm down. It’s nothing to do with that. It’s way, way too soon to be talking like that.”
