I handed his stick back to him, and he stared down at it, his expression unreadable. When he raised his head again, the corners of his mouth were definitely tilted up.Almost a smile.
“What?” I asked.
“You ever skate?”
“Uh, no. That’s always been my brother’s thing, not mine. The one and only time I tried it, I spent most of the session falling over.” I grimaced, remembering the bruises I’d been covered in.
“How old were you?”
I racked my brain, trying to think. “Six? Maybe seven?”
He nodded, as if I’d confirmed something, and then his gaze dropped to my feet. His eyes narrowed.
“Wait here,” he said. Then, he disappeared into the locker room, leaving me staring after him. What the fuck?
When he returned, his helmet was gone, and he had an extra pair of skates in his hand.
“Cody…”
“I think we’re a similar size. Put these on.”
“Uhhh. Did you hear the part where I said I can’t skate? And my agent would kill me if he knew I’d gone on the ice. I’m not supposed to do anything that could endanger my fitness. My hamstring’s better now, but?—”
“Come on. I won’t let you fall.”
How was I supposed to resist when this gorgeous, brooding hockey god was holding out his hand to me, his gaze so fucking hopeful as he waited for me to join him on the ice?
“Fine. But if I break my leg and end my football career, I’m telling my agent it was your fault.”
When I had the skates on—only a tiny bit too big—I gingerly eased myself onto the ice, keeping a tight hold of the boards. My legs wobbled, one of my feet going out from under me. Fuckfuckfuck, I was falling, I was?—
Arms came around me, steadying me on the ice. Cody’s body was a solid presence against my back, holding me still.
His head dipped to my ear. “You okay?” I’d expected him to be amused, but instead, he had that same patient, encouraging tone that he’d used with Marcus.
I huffed out a laugh. “Told you I couldn’t skate.”
“Come on. I’ll show you the basics.”
He did. He broke everything down in exactly the same way as in his coaching session, and somehow, I got it. We’d lapped therink twice, Cody holding on to me, when I decided that yes, I had a natural talent for skating that Cody had magically managed to unearth.
“Stand in the middle of the rink, and I’ll skate to you on my own.”
A voice in my head that sounded a lot like my agent’s was telling me I wasn’t ready, but I ignored it. I could do this.
His brows rose. “You sure?”
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
“You—”
“Don’t ask me if I’m sure again. I am.” I pushed at his chest to get him to move.
Giving me a final, sceptical glance, he skated into the centre of the rink, turning to face me. I swallowed hard. Come on. I was sure-footed. You had to be to play professional football. And my brother could skate, so it had to be a family trait or something. I’d just done two laps of the rink, for fuck’s sake.
Pushing away from the boards, I aimed for Cody?—
The ice disappeared from beneath my feet.
