I stared mutely at Mr Parker, who luckily didn’t notice because one of his grandchildren chose that moment to beg, “Can we stay another five minutes, pleeeeease?”
“No, sweetheart, it’s time to go home.”
He rounded the children up and ushered them back to the car park, and the lake was suddenly quieter, nearly deserted.There were only the other couple, skating in wide circles, completely absorbed in each other.
Sonny came back to the edge of the lake with a scrape of ice, stopping right at the edge.
“Did you see Mr Parker?” he asked me.
I nodded.
Erik must have noticed that I was having trouble speaking because he said, “Do you know him from when you lived round here?”
“He was our primary school teacher,” Sonny told him. “He’s the one who taught us to skate, with the rest of the class.”
Sonny might have been talking to Erik, but his eyes were fixed on me. There was something odd about his expression. His eyes weren’t alight with joy the way they usually were. The way Sonny was designed to be, always and forever.
I wanted nothing more than to keep that light in his eyes, and my stomach suddenly felt as though a rock had plunged into it.
“Come on.” He held out his hand to Erik. “Get on the ice.”
Erik took Sonny’s hand and, with a last, strange glance over his shoulder at me, Sonny drew him out onto the lake.
Chapter 7
Sonny
Was I crashing Declan and Erik’s date?
I looked out of the corner of my eye to see Declan sitting on the bench, watching the two of us skate in a graceful arc. I couldn’t work it out. Mr Parker had waved to me, but he’d stopped to talk to Declan – since he was nearer – and I was sure I’d heard him say Declan was on a date.Anotherdate.
I felt sick. The possibility that I’d been considering for weeks, that Declan was falling in love withErikand wouldn’t want me any more, was suddenly coming true. Before, it had been a distant worry, something I’d fretted over but not really thought would happen. Now it had happened. Declan had been datingErik.
Was I meant to leave now I’d worked that out? Would it be polite to take myself off and… I don’t know, hide away while they spent the evening together? I couldn’t leave without Declan because I was the driver but I could give him and Erik some space.
I’d almost forgotten Erik was beside me. Through the thick sleeves of my coat, I felt him squeeze my arm.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
No. I really felt sick. Was I going to puke?
“You look pale,” he said, and the horrible thing about that little sentence was that I could hear the genuine concern in his voice. He was actually worried about me. DamnErikfor being sonice.
Why did he have to crashmydate with Declan? Couldn’t he let me have one little date all to myself before he and Declan got married and lived happily ever after without me?
My foot slipped out from under me and I wobbled. I’d have fallen over if it weren’t for Erik’s strong hands supporting me.
He held me up, and I felt his arm wind around my middle to keep me close.
“You okay now?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
I eased myself away from him. Actually, I felt as though I were about to start crying, and there was nobody I wanted to do that in front of less than Erik, the man Declan was falling in love with. I really needed to get away.
“We can slow down,” he suggested.
