“Are you ready for this, Scar?” Gunner asks me as Bennett takes off his skate guards and double checks the straps on Gunner’s helmet.
“I’m ready,” I tell him, aiming my phone at him and pressing record. Gunner steps onto the ice and instead of the unsteady steps he took in the fall, he glides across the ice with practiced strides. My cheers of surprise have him stopping, which has me cheering even louder. “Oh my goodness, when did you learn how to stop?”
Gunner takes off as fast as he can skating back toward me before stopping again. “Bennett teached me!” God, I love this kid so much.
Strong arms wrap around me from behind and I melt into Bennett’s embrace as he kisses my temple. “I’ve been taking him skating with Griff, Cadence, Carson, Leo, and Lainey each week after I do schoolpick up when you have your late meetings. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, he wanted it to be a surprise.”
Tugging his arms tighter around my waist, I reply, “Bennett, you don’t need to apologize. This is the best surprise!”
We stay wrapped in each other’s arms as we slowly trail behind Gunner. It’s only then that I watch Gemma spin on the opposite side of the ice accompanied by Nathan Connelly. The rookie takes her hands in his briefly before grabbing her waist and lifting her in the air over his head. The move looks practiced—rehearsed—which is unsettling.
“That’s weird. Each time I asked Gemma if she wanted to skate, she said she wasn’t ready to be on the ice yet. But she looks . . .familiarwith Connelly,” Bennett points out.
“Didn’t Nathan say that his mom used to teach figure skating classes and that’s how he got so good at his edgework in an interview earlier this season?” I ask Bennett.
“Yeah, but he didn’t say he was a pairs partner ever. I think I should go warn our rookie not to hurt himself with those dangerous moves right before a big game,” Bennett suggests but I stop him before he can go intervene.
“Let’s just watch to see what happens. It’s not a terrible thing to see Gems skating again. I mean, look at the smile on her face. I’ve missed seeing that.”
When Nathan sets Gemma back down on her skates, they stride in sync, and it’s uncanny the way they mirror one another like that. Their movements are halted when Colton and Eva skate up to them.
I remove my prying eyes from them when Kenna skates up to me. “Scar, these jackets are amazing. How did I not know you were a designer?” She makes a show of pointing out her favorite parts of the jacket.
My cheeks heat from Kenna’s compliment. “Oh, I’m not.”
Kenna chuckles and shakes her head. “I’d beg to differ. The group picture I posted of the players’ significant others in our jackets is blowing up with comments of people asking where they can get their hands on them. I’ve already had wives from three other teams asking if they can have the name of the designer so they can get custom jackets made for their teams.”
Bennett unwraps his arms from around my waist. “Scar is being modest. She’s most definitely a designer. And a talented one at that.” His praise has me turning bashful. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, Red, the guys were asking about the jacket you designed for my birthday. They wanted to know if you’d make them one of their own.”
The Classic jackets were something I came up with a few weeks ago when I was designing Bennett’s birthday jacket. For the significant other’s jackets, I went with a mid-length black puffer style with lime green, oversized zippers and matching patchwork. Each jacket is customized with lime green stitched last names on the lower back to accommodate for longer hair with their players’ numbers above the last names. The team logo is on the front left panel of the jacket with Minnesota written down one sleeve and Wolverines down the other.
Griff comes over to us with Rowen in his arms and Cadence skating behind him.
“Where’s Gunner?” Cadence asks me, and I point over to where he’s now skating with Nathan. Cadence zooms across the ice to join them.
Griffin narrows his eyes at Bennett. “What are you going to do about that?”
“About what?” Bennett questions.
Griff scoffs. “About the fact that Gunner has heart-eyes for my daughter.”
Bennett bends over in a fit of laughter. “G, get a grip. They’re kids. Cadence is eight, you can’t go all overprotective daddy-mode already or you’re going to have high blood pressure by the time she’s a teenager.”
That makes Griff turn to Kenna and pout. “He’s not listening to me, Sunshine. I can’t handle our Little Ray having a crush already. It’s too soon.”
“She could have crushes on far worse kids than a good boy like Gunner, baby,” Kenna informs Griff, and her use of the term of endearment seems to relax him completely.
“You’re always right,” Griff tells her.
“Such a simp,” Bennett coughs out.
Griff winks at Kenna before wrapping his free arm around her and she swoons as she nuzzles into his side. “Proud member of the simp club for over a decade now. Let me know if you want a membership, Benny.”
Carson chooses that moment to skate up to us with Leo and Lainey in tow. “G, what’s the first rule of simp club?”
“You don’t talk about simp club,” Griff and Carson answer in synchrony.
“Exactly,” Carson says as he shakes his head. “Anyway, Benny’s already a member. Has been since he serenaded Scar at your bachelor party. Speaking of which, when are we having your bachelor party, Benny?”
