A Secret for a Secret (All In #3)(18)

“Not usually, no. But it’s easier to be where my dad is so I don’t have to go back and forth between the office and the arena if I have pressing questions.” He doesn’t answer texts or emails during practice.

Stevie taps her lip. “Interesting.”

I should keep my mouth shut and not ask questions, but I’m terrible at the whole impulse-control thing. “Interesting how?”

“Because he keeps looking over here, and I’m one thousand percent sure it’s not me he’s checking out.”

I fight to keep my eyes off him and fail. She’s right: he’s looking at me, and yet another shot gets by him, this time because he’s hugging the post.

“Oh my God, look at how red your face is! Do you have the hots for Kingston?” She says it way too loud while elbowing me in the side.

“What? No! Shhhh! Keep your voice down!” I duck my head, pretending to focus on my laptop, which would be more convincing if it weren’t sitting closed on my lap.

We’re close to the bench, and while there are only a couple of players making adjustments to their equipment, my dad is right there. As if I need him to overhear this conversation.

“Oh my God! You totally do! What is going on between the two of you?” She grabs my arm, eyes alight with some kind of weird excitement.

“Nothing. There is nothing going on. Can we drop this, please?”

She cocks a light-brown eyebrow. “I’m totally calling bullshit.”

“Call it whatever you want, but there’s a no dating players policy in effect, so there really is nothing going on between us.” My face feels like it’s on fire.

“Since when?”

“Since I started working for my dad.”

“There’s definitely a story to go with that comment.”

“There are actually many, and I’m not telling any of them right now.” I nod toward the bench, where my father is standing with his arms crossed.

“Okay, fine, dropping it.” She smirks. “For now.”

I don’t have a chance to come up with another retort because the sound of more children in the arena draws our attention. We both look over our shoulders to find Violet, Alex Waters’s wife, making her way down the stairs with two children in tow. I’ve met her once before, but she only had the two oldest boys with her that time. This time she ushers a pair of kids down the stairs. They look to be a little younger than Kody, and they’re holding hands.

“All the way down, River!” Violet calls out. When River reaches the aisle we’re sitting in, he tugs on his twin sister’s hand, but she ducks behind him and shakes her head.

Violet pats her on the head. “It’s okay, Lavender; you know Rainbow Stevie.”

The auburn-haired little girl sticks her fingers in her mouth, and Violet crouches down in front of her and whispers something to her. Eventually she follows her brother down the aisle, gripping the back of his shirt.

“Lavender’s shy around new people,” Stevie explains.

“She’s adorable.”

“She is definitely that,” Stevie agrees.

The little boy stops in front of Stevie. “Hi, Evie.”

“Hi, River. Hi, Lavender. It’s so great that you could come to see everyone play today.”

Lavender peeks out from behind her brother and lifts her hand in a quick wave before she tucks herself behind him again.

“We get to go for ice cream after.” He shifts his green-eyed gaze to me and holds out his tiny hand. “I’m River Waters. My daddy is the coach. This is my sister, ’ave-der. She’s shy.” Based on the rote way he speaks, I’m thinking this is his standard introduction. He has incredible speech for such a young kid. He steps to the side, but his sister mirrors the movement, keeping herself hidden behind him.

I shake his little hand, impressed by his firm grip. “It’s great to meet you both. I’m Queenie, and my dad is the general manager. He works with your dad, and so do I.”

Lavender peeks out from behind her brother, and I get a glimpse of wide, bright-blue eyes. She tugs on her brother’s sleeve, and he leans in so she can whisper something to him. He frowns and shakes his head, but she tugs on his sleeve again and nods.

“Are you Queen of the ’rena?”

I chuckle at that. “Nope, but that would be a pretty fun job, I’d think.”

“Why don’t the two of you have a seat? Lavender, I have your coloring book right here.” Violet pats the empty seat next to her.

Lavender tugs on her brother’s hand. “We has to sit,” he tells me and then lets his sister tug him toward their mother. They cram themselves into the same seat. River helps his sister unpack her coloring supplies and hands her the crayons one at a time, always seeming to know what color she wants next without either of them saying anything.

“They’re adorable,” I tell Violet.

“Thanks. Don’t let Lavender fool you, though. Once she’s comfortable with you, she’ll talk your ear off. Isn’t that right, River?”

“Yup.” He nods solemnly.

Lavender gives her brother a look and then whispers something in his ear. He turns to me. “She says her voice gets lost with new friends.”

“Nothing wrong with saving up your words for the people who count,” Violet says. “Your grandma said I was the same way as a kid. Not sure when that changed, but it’d probably save me a lot of embarrassment if I could manage to keep my trap shut instead of the constant verbal diarrhea I spew when I’m nervous, which is about ninety-five percent of the time.” Violet drops down beside Stevie and motions to the rink. “Anyway, enough about that. You two enjoying the eye candy?”