Page 39 of Can't Take Moore
He jerked his chin toward the ice. “Look at her out there. Of course, I’m going to ask her to do more sessions with my players. Not only is Vienna an amazing skater, but she’s also great with them. No way in hell am I going to pass up the chance to tap her as a resource for the team. Not even if it makes things awkward as fuck with you.”
I wanted what was best for Vienna, and that included having her do whatever made her happy. Being around Jack was a small price to pay for the huge grin she had beamed my way the last time she’d zoomed past me on the ice. “I’ll try to let it go. Eventually.”
“I guess that’ll have to do.” He rocked back and forth on his heels as we watched Vienna run through a drill with his team. “But I’m going to say this now to get it out there. I get why you’re different with her. You’re a lucky guy.”
Although a thread of envy was in his tone, there was also acceptance, and it helped soothe the green-eyed monster inside me that only came out for Vienna. “Like you said…she’s something else.”
“Yup.” He flashed me a grin. “And I have a feeling you’re going to regret how she has you tied around her little finger in three…two…one…”
There was a tap on the glass, and I found Vienna standing in front of us with a huge grin on her gorgeous face. Her brown eyes were lit with joy as she pointed at the nearest door. Circling the rink, I yanked it open to ask, “Everything okay? Do you need something?”
“Uh-huh.” Her smile widened as she nodded. “I need you.”
“You need…me?” I took an instinctive step back. “On the ice?”
“C’mon, Mr. Moore,” one of the boys called, dragging my attention away from her. “Coach Vienna is going to race us, but we need a way to even up the odds. We’re going to do a two-person relay, and she said we could pick anyone to be her partner.”
“I meant any of them, but they took me literally.”
I blinked slowly as I absorbed her explanation. “And they picked me?”
She nodded. “Yup.”
“But I don’t have any skates.”
Jack joined us and offered, “I have the key to the skate shop. I can easily grab you a pair of rental skates. What size are you?”
I leveled him with a glare. “You’re seriously making me regret calling you to set this up.”
He shrugged. “Sorry, man, but I’d pay good money to see you out there.”
When Vienna pressed her hands together and widened her pretty brown eyes, I knew that I wasn't going to be able to get out of this, no matter how much I might have wanted to. Giving in as gracefully as I could, I answered, “I’m a size twelve shoe.”
“Perfect. I know they have size eleven hockey skates available to rent.” My brow wrinkled in confusion, and he explained, “Hockey skates are not the same size as street shoes. You'll want a pair that’s about a size smaller than what you normally wear.”
“Ah, gotcha.” I crossed my arms against my chest and shook my head. “I wonder if that's where I went wrong in high school.”
“I guess we're gonna find out.” Her giggle drifted across the ice as she raced away before I could react to her teasing.
“You're definitely in for a hell of a ride with that one,” Jack murmured before heading toward the skate shop. I reluctantly followed him and was disappointed to discover that he was right. They did have rental skates in my size.
Five minutes later, my legs were wobbly as I joined Vienna on the ice. Seeing how uncomfortable I was, several of the hockey players high-fived each other and made comments about how they were sure to beat us. Slipping her arm around my back, Vienna whispered, “Don't worry, all I need for you to do is stay on your feet. I called it a two-person relay, but I didn't give them any details about the rules. If they can find a loophole in picking my partner, then I can do the same when it comes to how I conduct the race.”
I wished I felt as certain as she sounded, but I didn't see how we could possibly win when I needed to hold her just to stay upright. However, she seemed convinced that she’d prove us all wrong when she blew the whistle and announced, “Dean and I only need five minutes, and then we will be ready to race.”
The team captain offered, “Take as long as you need, we’ll be ready whenever you are.”
One of the other boys mumbled, “Yeah, you're gonna need it.”
The boys’ certainty that they were going to beat us didn't seem to bother Vienna. Moving to stand in front of me, she glanced over her shoulder and instructed, “Bend your knees a little bit and hold my waist. I’m going to start slowly so you get more comfortable on your skates. All you have to do is glide. Let the ice do most of the work for you.”
“Whatever you say, princess. You're the expert here.”
She flashed me a grin before facing forward again. Then she started to skate. Doing as she told me, I was surprised to find that she was easily able to move from one end of the rink to the other without me falling. “That wasn't so bad.”
“Good job. Let's do it again.” Dropping her hands over mine where they were gripping her waist, she steadied me as we slowly did a one-eighty. Once we were facing the other way, she skated across the rink again with me gliding behind her. By the time she’d repeated the process there and back again, I was feeling a little better about our odds…as long as she didn’t expect me to skate by myself. I was nowhere ready for that.
Proving that great minds think alike, she called the boys over. After two of them lined up next to us, she pointed toward the other end of the ice. “Whoever’s going to be the anchor will want to head over to the opposite red line. Unless you’d like to pair up for the race the same way as Dean and me.”
