Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
EMILY
Michael Bublé crooned over the loudspeakers as locals, bundled up in beanies and scarves, skated over the ice.
Gold twinkle lights were strung around the sides of the rink, as well as overhead, creating a canopy of warm light, supplemented by some strategically placed floodlights.
On one side of the rink, a large Christmas tree covered in silver bulbs and oversized red ornaments added to the holiday vibes.
“This is gorgeous!” I exclaimed, hugging the skates we’d just rented.
I was still buzzing from filming the café scene.
Having Dana performing her grumpy waitress role on camera had made my day.
Not that today’s shoot had been completely smooth-sailing.
We’d had to reshoot one scene because I’d stumbled over a line and flinched multiple times at Austin’s touch.
It was frustrating that my experience with Phillip was still affecting me in this way.
“It’s very festive,” Dana observed, then pressed her lips together. Her white skates hung in her hand, dangling next to her butt encased in black jeans, her other hand stuffed into the pocket of her black Carhartt jacket.
I bit my lip. “Thanks again for offering to help. I hope this all isn’t too much.”
“I’ll survive,” Dana said with a wry smile, then nodded toward a bench just outside the entrance to the rink, opposite a small stand selling hot chocolate, mulled wine, hot apple cider and pretzels. “Why don’t we head over there and put on our skates.”
On the way, I swerved around a teenager who wasn’t looking where they were going, too fixated on drinking their decadent-looking hot chocolate piled with whipped cream and a skewer of marshmallows. I licked my lips. Damn, that looks good.
Once we were seated, I pulled off my sneakers and wrestled my feet into the stiff skates, tying the laces in droopy bows.
Suddenly, Dana dropped on one knee in front of me. I blinked. What was she doing?
“It’s important to make sure they’re done up tightly enough so you have lots of support, but not so tightly that they completely restrict your ankle movement,” Dana said, wriggling a little closer to me.
“Oh my god!” a woman with graying hair twisted into a bun exclaimed, holding her hands to her chest and beaming at us.
Dana stared at the woman then her eyes widened and she blinked. “Oh! No, I’m not proposing. I’m just retying her skates.”
“Oh, my mistake.” The woman laughed. “Have a lovely evening ladies!”
I let out a nervous giggle. “Well, that was awkward.”
If that had happened in my parents’ neighborhood or if the woman had recognized who I was, I would have been panicking right now.
But Sapphire Springs seemed more accepting than the community I’d grown up in, and my beanie and scarf, along with low lighting, gave me a comforting degree of anonymity.
“Clearly I have to be more careful about getting down on one knee.” Dana leaned forward, undid my droopy bows and started working her way up my left skate, tugging the laces tighter as she went.
“There we go. Does that feel okay?” Dana looked up at me, her face glowing from the twinkle lights, her breath visible in the cold night air.
“Much better, thank you,” I said.
My eyes locked with Dana’s, and a shiver shot down my spine. God, she’s stunning.
Dana broke my gaze and rose. “Let’s walk over to the entrance. It’s going to feel a bit strange.”
Ankles stiff and feet heavy, I wobbled over to the rink. The skates threw off my entire center of gravity. We tucked our shoes into the wooden cubbyholes next to the rink.
At the entrance, I paused. The ice looked… very icy. Hard and slippery. A deadly combination. I swallowed. Why had I told Brittany I could skate?
“You’ll be okay,” Dana said, placing a gentle hand on my forearm. I didn’t flinch when Dana touched me. “We’ll take it slow. We have all night.”
Her words were low, almost husky. What would it be like for her to murmur them into my ear, body pressed against mine, hands gripping my hips? Heat flared in me, and I gritted my teeth.
Good god Emily, not now. Not ever, for that matter. You’re only here to learn to skate.
Dana slid onto the ice, gracefully turning to face me. “Now, hold the top of the wall and step slowly onto the rink. I’ll be on your other side in case you need more support.”
Gripping the wall, I gingerly placed one skate on the ice. Was it going to slide right out from under me? I stepped my other skate onto the ice, tensing all my muscles in an attempt not to lose balance immediately.
“Good. Let’s take a few steps away from the entrance so we’re out of the way.”
I pulled myself along the side wall, relying mainly on my arms rather than legs to propel me.
My legs felt like they were out of control, spreading farther apart like a newborn foal.
I shivered. The air temperature seemed to have dropped another five degrees now that we were on the ice.
Oh god. I should have confessed I couldn’t skate and maybe they could have found a body double or I could have pretended to skate on solid earth or something. Anything but this.
“Great!” Dana glided backward and came to a halt in front of me. “Now, keep your knees bent and lean forward a little, so the weight is over the balls of your feet. You can hold your arms out for balance. Don’t stand straight up or lean back, or you’ll lose balance.”
I followed Dana’s instructions. Now that I’d shifted my weight, I was a little steadier.
“Does this look okay?”
Dana skated around to the side and stared at me. “Your feet and arms are good, but your, um...butt is sticking out a bit too far.”
I tucked my butt in and wobbled. I clutched the side of the rink.
Dana tilted her head. “I think you tucked it in too much. Put it out a little further.”
My cheeks heated at all the attention on my butt.
I readjusted my body until I was balanced again and breathed out. I looked down and immediately wobbled. Shit!
“Don’t look down, it’ll throw your balance off.”
“That’s looking good now. How does it feel?” Dana asked.
“Um, okay I think.” I blinked. I actually didn’t feel like I was about to land flat on my back. That was an improvement.
“Excellent. Now, you can practice marching, like this.” Dana demonstrated lifting one foot, and then the other, in small steps across the ice. “After you get the hang of this, you can start gliding. I’ll stay in front of you and skate backward so you can grab on to me if you need to.”
Dana was really taking her role as instructor seriously. Hopefully I didn’t need to grab on to her, though. My pulse quickened at the memory of her catching me the other night. Yes, I should definitely avoid any further contact like that.
After half an hour, I was taking shaky glides around the rink as “Last Christmas” by Wham!
blasted over the loudspeakers. Apart from the occasional heart wrenching sensation that I was about to topple over, a few erratic skaters who seemed to have indulged in too much mulled wine, and some pain from the boots pressing against my ankles, this was actually quite enjoyable.
“You’re doing great,” Dana said, shooting me a slightly crooked smile.
My heart stuttered.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“My ankles are a little sore but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.”
Dana’s gaze dropped to my feet. “Do you want to take a break so we can check your skates? I might have tied them too tightly, or sometimes your socks can bunch up and rub against your skin.”
“That sounds good. I could probably do with a drink too. I didn’t realize skating was going to be such hard work!”
After gliding over ice, stepping back onto non-slippery solid ground was a reality check. My legs were heavy and stiff, my steps clunky, and it took more than a moment for my balance to reset.
We made our way over to one of the small circular metal tables that had been set up in front of the food stand. I sat on a metal fold-out chair and loosened my laces, relieving some of the pressure against my skin. That’s better.
“I’ll grab us a drink,” Dana said. “What do you feel like? Water, hot chocolate, apple cider?”
While hot chocolate wasn’t known for its hydrating qualities, the sweet scent of chocolate wafting from the stall was too delicious to ignore.
“A hot chocolate would be great, thank you,” I said, wiggling my toes and shooting Dana a grateful smile.
Dana returned a minute later with two paper cups full of hot chocolate.
“Thank you!” I took a sip, and the rich, warm liquid chocolate flooded my tastebuds.
We sat in silence, watching skaters swirl around on the ice in time to “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, as we sipped our drinks. The music switched to “All I Want for Christmas is You”.
Dana shot me a look, and I realized I’d been singing it under my breath.
“I know you’re not a fan of Christmas, but surely you don’t dislike this song?”
Dana snorted. “Are you serious? It’s the most overplayed, overrated Christmas song out there. For months leading up to Christmas, it’s blasting everywhere you go. It’s impossible to escape.”
I should change my ringtone before Dana heard it.
“I love the constant reminders that Christmas is just around the corner.” I grimaced. “I’m sorry, tonight must be torture for you then. I’m pretty sure they’ve played it three times since we’ve been here.”
“Four,” Dana corrected. “It’s fine, though. I love ice-skating and hot chocolate, and I’ve just been trying to block everything else out.” She waved her hand at the Christmas tree.
I wiped some whipped cream from my lips. “Can I ask you about the Christmas thing? Have you always disliked it?”
Dana shook her head. “No. I loved it when I was a kid. And I enjoyed it in my teens and most of my twenties too, but then…” Dana paused. “Life happened and it lost its charm. I lost my dog on Christmas Day a few years ago and then... Other stuff happened as well.”