Margery felt sixteen-years-old again. She had tried on over a dozen outfits before deciding on the one she was wearing now. The reject outfits lay in a heap on her bed, and she knew she’d need to put those away later, but right now, she gazed in the mirror, turning this way and that.

She was wearing a soft, flowing black shirt that ended at the top of her thighs. It had an off-the-shoulder neckline and long sleeves that flared at her wrists. She had paired it with dark skinny jeans and knee-high black boots. Her flaming red hair flowed freely down her back, but she had pinned back the strands around her face with a jeweled clip.

Margery didn’t often wear much makeup, but she had added a little shimmer to her cheeks and had put on eyeliner, eyeshadow, and mascara—just enough to enhance her features. It had brought out the green specks in her eyes, giving them a sparkle she hadn’t seen in years.

Or maybe Niyol had put that sparkle there. Either way, she was happy with the effect although not too happy about her freckles. She shrugged. There was little she could do about those. They weren’t going anywhere, and since Ainsley had the same ones, Margery had begun to appreciate her own.

Thinking of Ainsley made Margery smile and glance at her nails. It had been a long time since she had painted her nails due to her work at the diner, but last night she had taken a couple of hours to paint her fingernails a dark burgundy color that looked almost black. Ainsley had also wanted her nails painted, so they had made a night of it.

Thankfully, her daughter was too young to notice that her mom was preparing for a date. Margery was fine introducing Niyol to Ainsley, but she didn’t want to tell her they were dating so soon. Margery wasn’t even sure if dating was what they were doing. Niyol had asked her on a date, but that didn’t mean they were dating.

Margery had forgotten how difficult dating was. Sighing, she slipped a silver lariat necklace on over her head and gave herself one last look in the mirror. She would have to do.

A sharp knock on the door carried through her small cottage, and she bounded down the stairs to answer it, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering the whole way.

Niyol waited patiently outside Margery’s front door after knocking a few times. She didn’t have a doorbell, and he hoped she could hear his knock. He really didn’t want to bang on the door.

Not for the first time, he wondered if he was doing the right thing. Margery made him happy, and he loved spending time with her, but Jill’s outburst this morning had brought up a lot of old feelings. He wondered if he deserved to be happy when he had never made Haseya happy enough. Did he deserve happiness when he had failed his wife so completely?

Before he could think on it any more, Niyol heard footsteps approaching on the other side of the door before it swung open to reveal Margery smiling up at him. Her beauty hit him like a punch to the stomach, making it hard to breathe for a few seconds, but he recovered quickly. With a warm smile, he took her hand and pulled her into his arms.

“You look beautiful,” he whispered, cupping her jaw with his hands and trailing his thumbs across her cheeks.

“Thanks,” she purred. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

Smiling, he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her with a hunger that surprised him. Margery responded feverishly, and Niyol forced himself to break the kiss after a few moments because he knew they would never make it out of her house otherwise.

“Ready to go?” he asked, grasping her hand in his and lacing his fingers through hers.

“Hmm?” she asked, still a little dazed.

“Are you ready to go?” he repeated, smirking.

“Oh. Yes,” she said, blinking the lustful haze from her eyes. “I’m ready.”

She turned and grabbed her purse from a small table just inside her door, then closed the door and locked it. Niyol led her over to his car, opening her door for her and helping her up into the passenger seat. As he pulled out of the driveway and turned onto a road leading toward the center of town, his thoughts turned to Jill.

“Is everything okay, Niyol?” Margery asked, noticing the way his brow had creased in concern.

He glanced at her and, sighing, told her about the morning’s events.

“You and Jill only just met, Niyol. It will take a little while for the two of you to build a relationship, but Jill already thinks the world of you. I can tell. Everyone in this town can tell. Finding out you’re carrying twins is not only shocking but scary as hell. Jill is hormonal and scared, but I don’t think for one second she blames you. Give your relationship time and trust her a little. Jill is a level-headed person. She knows you’re trying.”

He smiled at her, feeling a little better about it all. “Thanks,” he murmured.

A few minutes of silence passed while Niyol digested her words.  

“Where are we going?” Margery asked, breaking the silence.

Niyol smiled and grasped her hand in his again. He didn’t know why, but when she was near him, he had to be touching her or he felt lost. “Ice skating at the local rink.”

Margery’s face paled a little.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know how to skate,” she croaked.

“How do you not know how to skate when you were born and raised in Utah?” Niyol asked incredulously.

“I had an… incident when I was little and was too terrified to learn after that. I never bothered to learn as an adult. Mitchell was a good skater, but he didn’t have the patience to teach me.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Niyol muttered darkly. “What was the incident?”

“My older brother took me skating on a pond with a bunch of other kids. He was supposed to be teaching me, but he got distracted by his friends, and I fell through the ice. I probably would have drowned if Rose hadn’t jumped in after me. She saved my life, but I refused to go back out on the ice again.”

“We can do something different,” Niyol offered, squeezing her hand.

“It’s okay,” Margery said. “If we’re going to the public rink, there’s no risk of me falling in. Now, falling down is a whole other matter.”

“I played hockey when I was younger,” Niyol said, chuckling. “I have enough experience for the both of us, and I won’t let you fall.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Margery said. “But I thought you grew up in Arizona.”

“Oh, I did. They had an indoor rink near the reservation, and I got to play for a few years when I was younger before the rink closed down.”

“So, I take it you liked playing?”

He nodded. “It was and is my favorite sport.”

They pulled up to the town skating rink a few minutes later and rented skates, and Niyol helped Margery put hers on. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her to her feet, steadying her when she wobbled. They scrambled over to the edge of the rink, and Niyol stepped onto the ice and skated a few feet before gliding back around and extending his hand to Margery. She hesitantly took it, and he pulled her onto the ice. She flailed a little before falling forward, but he caught her in his arms and pulled her upright. He wrapped one arm around her waist, resting his hand at her hip. He used his other hand to grasp her arm.

“Now, watch my feet and copy me,” he breathed into her ear, taking the chance to inhale her sweet floral scent.

Margery studied his feet and did her best to copy his movements. She wobbled and flailed a lot, but Niyol kept her upright.

He put on a little more speed, pulling her with him. Her hair flew back from her face and the wind bit at her nose, but she didn’t care. She was skating, and it felt wonderful. Laughter bubbled up and out of her as she clutched Niyol’s arm. Joining in with her laughter, he removed his arm from her waist, grasped both of her hands with his, and skated backward.

Margery laughed harder and squealed as he twirled her around. It was almost like dancing, and her heart sped up with excitement and adrenaline. Niyol was incredibly graceful on the ice. He looked weightless as he flew around her, his hands never leaving her body as he held her up and kept her from falling. She felt as if she was flying through the sky with him, and as long as he was touching her, she wouldn’t fall back down to earth. As long as he held her, she would be safe.

Niyol twirled her around him again before pulling her into his arms and doing a complicated spin while holding her close. The world around them blurred with the speed of the spin so that the only clear thing was his handsome face smiling down at her.

His eyes drew her into their fiery depths, hypnotizing her with a promise she couldn’t put a name to. She barely noticed their bodies slowing down as his head lowered toward hers, his mouth ready to capture hers in a passionate kiss.

Margery closed her eyes and tilted her face toward his. As his lips brushed hers, explosions danced behind her eyelids. She surrendered herself to him, allowing him to possess her, giving in to the need pulsing through her body. Niyol kissed her like no one else had kissed her before, exploring every corner of her mouth, claiming it for his own. Her heart skipped as the world fell away and she forgot where she was.

But then, her foot slipped out from under her, and she fell toward the ice. Niyol yanked her back but lost his own balance in doing so. At the last second, he rolled himself under her, taking the brunt of the fall as she landed on his chest. His breath left him in a soft oof.

“Are you okay?” she asked, reaching up to touch his face.

He grabbed her fingers and kissed them. “I’ll live,” he said, smiling.

She returned his smile. “I thought you weren’t going to let me fall,” she teased.

“Technically, I didn’t. I caught you before you hit the ice.”

Margery rolled her eyes as he scrambled up. He reached down and pulled her up easily laughing at the shriek she let out when he twirled her around again.