She shrugs at him and looks at me. “Bummed, I guess.”

“Because of Skylar’s news?” he asks.

She nods. “Yeah.”

“I don’t want to push you too hard today,” he says. “I’m sorry you’re having a tough morning.”

I’m surprised by how gentle he is with her. Trials are six weeks away—there isn’t time to take it easy, especially not when Hallie’s less of a shoo-in for the Olympic team than we all had hoped.

“Thanks,” she says. “I mean, I’m okay. It’s just… unfair.”

“It is. It really is,” he says. “Is there anything I can do to make things easier for you right now?”

She gives him a skeptical look.

“I’m here if you want to chat,” he says warmly, sounding like a coach and a protective big brother all rolled into one. “Or if you want to smash things, I can bring in my old printer and a hammer. Or we can skip practice today and pick up tomorrow.”

She laughs. “No, I’ll be good. I appreciate all that, really, but no smashing necessary.”

“Okay. Just let me know,” he says.

“Will do.”

He starts to rise, but appears to think better of it. “If it’s any comfort, I have a tiny piece of news that might cheer you up,” he says.

“Trials are canceled, and I can go straight to the Olympics?” Hallie guesses.

I think I know where Ryan is going with this, and I don’t like it.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” I mutter.

“Well, I’ve been talking with Dimitri, and he seems really excited about training you for 2024, if you still want that,” he says, offering a small smile.

There’s no way Dimitri would have ever used the word “excited.” Ryan’s exaggerating.

Hallie beams. “Well, that’s nice!”

“Just passing along a compliment,” Ryan says.

“I mean, I guess a lot depends on what happens this summer, but… without making promises, I think I do still want to keep 2024 open as an option.”

“Cool,” Ryan says, high-fiving her.

“Dimitri’s intense, isn’t he?” Hallie says, turning to me. “I mean, he’s the best, but he’s intense. Right, Avery?”

“Yeah, he’s intense,” I say darkly.

“Avery,” Ryan says quietly, as if he’s warning me.

He shoots me a meaningful glare, and I hesitate.

“I’m sure whatever happens, you’ll be amazing,” I tell her diplomatically.

It’s the truth. Not the whole truth, but there’s only so much I can say without crossing an inappropriate professional line.

She squeals and drums her hands against the mat. “Eep, thanks.”

Ryan smirks. “Glad I could cheer you up. Let’s get to work.”

Chapter 26

• CHAPTER 26 •