Chapter 10 #2
"Okay." My voice wavered, and I wasn't proud of it. I had visions of smacking my butt hard on the ice. It wouldn't feel good. Why was I doing this again?
"That's my girl," he murmured softly so no one else could hear him.
His words made my insides warm. Knowing he had me, I moved one foot tentatively, and when I wobbled, he held me tight. Feeling more confident that he did in fact have me if I faltered, I took another step.
It looked awkward, like a new deer walking for the first time. But I kept going. "I feel like I'm just learning to walk."
"I suppose it's similar, except on ice instead of solid ground."
I chuckled, and when I looked up at him to gauge his reaction, I wobbled again.
He held me tight, maintaining my gaze. "You've got this."
I nodded toward a five-year-old who flew past us. "He's better than me."
"I bet those kids have been skating since they were toddlers. But they started out just like this."
"Hmph." I wasn't so sure about that. Every muscle in my body was pulled taut.
"You want to glide with your skates like this." He demonstrated the side-to-side motion, and I tried to mimic him.
It was hard, and at one point, I glided too much, and he steadied me. "You're getting it."
It did come easier the more I practiced the motion, and I was able to glide, just not as good as Boone. After one lap, I said, "We made it. Time for a break?"
He chuckled. "I thought you were made of tougher stuff than that, city girl."
I would have loved to sit down on a bench and sip more hot chocolate. But Boone was right. Since when did I give up? "Let's keep going."
"That's my girl," he repeated.
I was starting to love when he said that.
Was he here as my reluctant tour guide, or was this an extension of our nights together?
Was he starting to fall for me? Because that would be ridiculous.
I was only in town for a short time, and my job might interfere with his dreams. We didn't have a future here or anywhere else.
His life was here, and mine was in Miami. I never considered leaving because I loved my home, and that's where my family and friends were.
"What are you thinking about? Your focus seems off."
"How crazy it is that I'm doing this when I was watching the ocean from my condo just last week." I loved my view. It was expensive but worth all the hard work.
"You own a condo on the water?"
"Yeah, I love it." I was so proud of myself for being able to buy something like that, and I got to enjoy it when I was home.
"And you just bought it?"
I nodded, keeping my gaze on the ice. "Yup."
"You must be itching to get back.
"My friend, Jodi, is staying there while I'm gone and sends me pictures every morning. It's not the same, but it's nice."
"She's a good friend."
I smiled. "She really is. I'll show you the view from my condo when we're sitting down and I'm not in danger of cracking my head open."
Boone chuckled. "That's probably a good idea."
We made a few more laps around the rink. With each pass, I felt more confident and even dropped his hand for the last one.
Eventually, he asked, "Do you want to take a break?"
"I'm hungry," I said as we glided toward the exit.
He grinned. "I could eat."
We walked to the bench where we'd left our shoes. We made quick work of changing out of the skates, and once I was in my boots, I breathed a sigh of relief. He carried our skates to the rental hut and then asked, "So would you go again?"
"If I lived here, I'd want to be able to skate. You must do it all the time."
He shrugged. "Not so much since I was a kid. Back then we used to skate on the frozen ponds."
"Wow. I can't even imagine."
"It wasn't as smooth as this, and there would be trees and other things that jutted through the ice. Thinking back, it was probably dangerous. But we didn't exactly worry about things like safety. Broken bones weren't unheard of."
"Just for you or all the kids?" I asked, wanting to know more about him and his siblings.
"My brothers and I. Clara wasn't as adventurous as us."
I could imagine Boone as a boy skating around a pond with his brothers.
My childhood was more traditional. "I lived in a neighborhood, and our biggest worry was hurricanes.
Other than that, we had warm weather for the most part and short bouts of rain.
We had a lot of kids to play with. It was fun. "
He started walking toward the shops. "Sounds like an idyllic childhood. But then again, you might think we had the same growing up here. I had fun with my siblings no matter what we were doing."
"You're close with them?"
"Yeah, we are."
"There's no competition with you all working at the same location?"
"Not really. We all have our own talents and interests. I'm the only one whose talent doesn't directly lie with the businesses. I could go out on my own."
"Aren't you already doing that?" I asked.
"I always thought of that as a side thing.
My family's business came first, and if they needed me to make furniture, I'd be available.
But I'm starting to think that held me back a bit.
I've been slow to advertise and grow my business because I wanted to be available for my family. But maybe that was shortsighted of me."
"I don't know." I didn't know much about his family dynamics. "I could see you putting your family first. That seems like a Hart thing to do."
"Yeah, but I'm wondering if I should have focused more on building my solo business and not be so dependent on my family to bring in business."
"It wouldn't be a bad idea to grow your business, especially if it makes you happy."
I was glad I agreed to go out with him tonight. I enjoyed spending time with him and getting to know him better. I just hoped that I wasn't starting to fall for him.