FOURTEEN
She had no idea what Jae was up to, but the fact he’d gone through all this trouble just for her made her feel damn special.
“Hello, Michael. I’m glad you could meet us here tonight.” Jae winked at her. It was a playful side she hadn’t seen before and it took her breath away. “Tonight’s really special.”
“Happy to oblige, sir. As requested, the rink is all yours.” Michael turned to Avery. “Please, have a seat.”
She sat on one of the cushioned benches.
“I have some skates for you. I hope they fit.” Michael turned and went behind the desk, brought out a box and put it in front of her.
She glanced up at Jae. “What did you do?”
Another wink was his only response. Jae went behind the desk and took a box out of there, more skates. Those were his skates. They weren’t old, but she could tell they had been used a few times. The quality of the skates and the fact they looked nothing like the ones lining the walls told her they belonged to Jae.
She put on the skates. They fit perfectly. A bit weird but they were her size. She tried to stand on the carpet and was surprised she could. Her legs felt wobbly, and she was scared to take a step.
Once he was done, Jae got up and offered her his hand. She eyed him warily. He was sure on those skates. Like he walked around in them all the time. She took his hand and allowed him to lead her out onto the ice.
Standing on the carpet was one thing. Slippery ice was quite another. She gripped the wood railing surrounding the rink. Jae came up beside her.
“Come on, sweetheart.”
She shook her head, gripping that railing harder. “This is really nice, Jae, but I’m scared half to death. My feet want to go two different ways.”
He chuckled and grabbed her by the waist. “Relax, love.” He held her up or else she would have fallen on her ass. But he was so strong that his hand around her waist was enough to allow her to find her footing.
“You’re doing great,” he whispered into her ear with encouragement.
She glanced up into his eyes with a smile. “That’s because you’re holding me. The minute you let go, I will fall on my face.”
“Is that so bad?” He lowered her to where she had more of her weight on her feet. “People fall all the time learning to skate. Children fall learning to walk. Why are you scared?”
She frowned and realized she was doing most of the skating on her own. He still had her by her arm, but the hand around her waist had moved. Her glides weren’t as slick and pretty as his, but she was still on her feet.
“Oh my god!” She squealed. “I’m skating.”
He nodded, pulling her along in a giant circle around the rink. “You are. And you look beautiful doing it.”
He’d gotten her to do something she had always been too afraid to try. Most of her childhood and high school friends had invited her at one time or another to go ice skating and she’d always declined. She’d been too afraid to fall and make a fool of herself.
“When did you learn to skate?” she asked.
“My parents had a house in Norway. We had a lot of frozen rivers there. My brothers and I played ice hockey a lot.”
“How many brothers do you have?” She liked holding his hand. His warmth somehow kept her from feeling the cold around them.
“Three. Tor, Clacher, and Ker.”
“You mentioned Ker before. That he would stay with Hannah. Are he and Hannah…a couple?”
“No.”
Fuck. “Why are you protecting her?”
He slowed down as they came back by the entrance to the rink. “She’s a Drachen mate. Bad people will try to kill her if we don’t protect her until she mates.”
She had no idea what that meant, but she felt as though he didn’t really want to discuss that subject any longer. She waddled into the room where they’d put the skates on and sat down with a sigh.
“Jesus. Nobody ever told me this would make my feet hurt so much.”
He dropped down to his knees and proceeded to remove the skates off her feet. “How bad does it hurt?”
She waved his concern away. “It’s not a big deal. I think I’m just not used to it and I was tense for a long time before I started relaxing. I think it took a toll on me.”
Once she had her snow boots back on, he took her hand. Michael was at the entrance, waiting on them. He opened the door for them to leave the room and head into the main shop section.
They walked to a set of glass doors not far from the rink. Sea life had been stained into the glass. A woman in a different uniform met them at the door.
“Good evening,” she said with a smile. “My name is Karen and I’ll be your server tonight.” She motioned toward a different elevator. “If you’ll follow me, your table is ready.”
They got inside and went up to the sixty-ninth floor, a number that wasn’t lost on her, and got out. She watched in awe as they walked through the empty restaurant and to a table overlooking the city. It’d started to snow so she saw the twinkling lights of Manhattan and the snow-covered buildings and sidewalks. She loved New York City in winter, so this was especially beautiful to see.
The table had been set with beautiful gold china and a menu sat atop the plates. More than the table setting, décor and location, she was highly impressed when Jae pulled her seat for her. No man had ever done that. Not even Darren.
Once they were seated, Karen, the waitress, rolled an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne next to them. It was strange to know they were being served champagne but she didn’t know why.
Once their glasses had been filled, Jae picked up his and she did the same.
“What are we celebrating?” she asked.
He stared at her for a long moment before replying. “Finally finding you.”
How could she argue with those words? She might not know Jae like she’d known Darren, but she felt a heck of a lot more for Jae than she had in all her years with Darren. That scared her a little, but there wasn’t time for that. Her heart was telling her to live in the here and now. She’d lost Darren while taking things easy and waiting for the right time to get married. Maybe it was time to stop waiting and just enjoy whatever there was. Jae was the here and now.
They drank champagne and one after another plates were placed before them. No huge portions, but enough that by the fourth plate, she was wondering when it would all end.
“Why haven’t you dated in two years?”
It was the question she’d been dreading and the one she’d wanted to get over with. For that, she’d need a heck of a lot more than just champagne.