Brody comes skating over, tugging an empty water bottle from his jacket. He cracks the lid, tips it, but nothing comes out.
I hand him my cup. “It’s hot, but it’s wet.”
He takes a sip, hands it back, and wipes his mouth with the back of his glove. “Hey Nikki,” he says. “Nice to finally meet you.”
“You too,” she says, and Brody looks back at me. He drops to his knees and bites the tip of his gloves to remove them.
“You can’t go back out there with this untied.” He puts my foot on his lap and takes my laces into his big hands. Even though it’s an innocent gesture, everything in what he’s doing sends warmth surging through me, and it’s weird, because even though there’s nothing intimate in tying my laces, it feels far more intimate than that last kiss, creating a new kind of comfort and closeness between us. Nikki chuckles. I turn to her as she sits there staring at me, a wildly wicked grin on her face.
“I actually wasn’t planning on going back out there,” I manage to say to Brody. “I’m happy to sit here and watch you guys play.”
“You sure?” Blue eyes meet mine, and my traitorous body ignites. He leans into me, his lips close, the scent of hot chocolate on his breath. “You want to sit it out?”
“I’m perfectly happy right here.”
He moves closer, and my heart beats a little faster as his lips close over mine. He gives me a fast kiss, like it’s the most natural thing in the world, like it’s something we do all the time, and when he breaks it, I can’t quite seem to fill my lungs.
“Just let me go score one more goal and I’ll be back.” He touches my face, gently runs his thumb over my cheek, and my body ignites.
I try to sound normal, unaffected, but fail miserably. “They’re kids, Brody. For God’s sake, let one of them score.”
He rubs his knuckles over his head. “Every single one of those knuckleheads gave me a knuckle sandwich.” His indignant attitude—fake as it is—combined with his childlike enthusiasm, pulls a laugh from Nikki and me. “Now they’re going to get what they have coming to them.”
“My God, he’s funny,” Nikki says when he skates away, and I can’t seem to tear my gaze away. I sit there grinning, like the village idiot no doubt, my insides a hot mess from that kiss and his adorable playfulness.
Nikki gives me a little nudge. “You know, you two make a cute couple.”
“We’re not…” I let my words fall off. We’re not a real couple, we’re just pretending to be one. Sure, our chemistry is off the charts, and now suddenly he’s kissing me every chance he gets. We might be faking it, yet I can’t help but think there is more going on here. As I consider that, something inside me shifts, softens, allows me to entertain the idea of us being a real couple. An incredible warmth goes through me, melting my darkest corners. Was he right when he said my late husband would have wanted me to move on, to be happy? I never wanted to, never had the urge to until Brody. I’ve kept myself so closed off, life just passing me by, but Brody has given me a taste of what it’s like to live again…feel again.
Out on the ice, Brody scores and his cheers are louder than anyone’s, and the kids are loving it. So are the adults. I don’t miss the way the single ladies, not to mention a few of the married ones, are admiring him. A sudden burst of jealousy moves through me, but I have no right to feel it. He isn’t mine and I’m not his.
“Yeah, you’re not a couple at all,” Nikki says, and I turn to her to find her grinning, like she knows something I don’t.
“We’re friends,” I clarify. “Like you and Declan.”
She exhales and nods, “Yeah, like me and Declan.” She looks down and there’s a deep sadness about her when she adds, “But unlike me and Declan, he just kissed you. Or did I just imagine that?”
My hand flies to my lips. “We’re just pretending.” I can tell myself that all I like, but there was nothing fake about Brody’s kiss. It was sweet and passionate and natural and easy. It felt…right. I wait for the guilt to hit, and it does, just not as hard as the first couple of times.
“The last time I saw a pretend kiss like that was at a wedding, right after the couple said, ‘I do.’”
“I…wait…what?”
She leans into me. “None of this is my business, but you should try to be honest with yourself. We don’t always get second chances at love, and I’d hate to see you let something slip out of your hands.” With that, she pushes to her feet and makes her way to the rink. She skates over to the guys, and Brody turns to me. His smile turns me inside out, and I know I’m in real trouble here.
He comes over to me. “Want to head back, see if the tree’s been delivered?”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say, and wave to my friend Mabel as she glides onto the ice. A sense of place and family comes over me. All these people took me in when I was lost, and they’ve made this town a home for me. Now it’s time for me to make my loft a home too, and as I take in Brody’s smile, I realize there isn’t anyone I’d rather decorate my tree with today.
Does that mean I’m ready for a second chance at love?
My heart thumps a little harder and the air whips at my face as we make the short trek back to my place on foot, and when we reach the back door, and find our gorgeous tree is leaning against the house, I squeal a little. “It’s here!”
“Get the door for me, and I’ll carry it up.”
I open the door and let him go first. At the landing, I slip around him, our bodies touching, sending heat
arching through me, and I open the loft door. Mabel is right there, greeting us with a wagging tail.