Frankie perked up with interest. “Do you mean that, Charlie?”
“Yup. In fact, why should we wait until Wednesday? Let’s go tomorrow. There’s a ranch on the far side of the lake that does half-day rentals. I’ll give them a call now and see if we can reserve two horses.”
Gemma and Frankie giggled as he disappeared into his man cave.
“Charlie is so adorable when he’s jealous. I would’ve said something about Tim earlier if I’d known it meant he would take me horseback riding.”
“Now you know.”
They giggled again.
“You look so happy, Gem. I’m thrilled things are going well with Tim. Does this mean you’re going to pass upCupid’s Arrowif they call you again? You’re supposed to hear back from the producers soon if you make it, right?”
“They said around Thanksgiving if I was successful.” Gemma wrinkled her nose. “That’s still more than a week and a half away. I’m not going to even worry about it because we both know it’s not going to happen.” Changing the subject, she asked, “What time are you guys heading back to the rink for your second training session today?”
“Not until one. We both figured that having a midmorning break in the schedule is the best way for us to unwind. We need time to do things outside of skating and coaching. The morning gets eaten up by the gym, coaching, and our first training session. By the time we get home at six, all we have time for is dinner, a shower, and bed.”
Gemma nodded in understanding.
“We miss you around the rink. Just because you’re not supposed to skate doesn’t mean you can’t come and hang out. The kids, especially Richelle, have been asking about you.”
She gripped her mug of hot chocolate tightly. “I’d love to see the kids, but I still need a little bit more time and space. Maybe next week.”
“After your visit with Dr. Zhang?” Frankie asked, lowering her voice.
Gemma nodded. “I had a scan done this morning, and now it’s just a waiting game until I see him this afternoon.”
“Why did you decide to pick him as your doctor?”
“A gut instinct. He seems like a person who I can trust and knows a lot about figure skaters.”
“Uh huh. Dr. Zhang is one of the good ones.” Frankie agreed. “How is your hip feeling? Better without the skating?”
“It’s better, but still achy. What’s frustrating is that I’ll wake up some mornings and feel like a million pounds, but then out of nowhere, it’ll start to hurt again with a vengeance. It’s so unpredictable.”
Her bestie looked at her with sympathy. “Hopefully we’ll have some answers soon. When Dad was recovering from his hip surgery, he found that hot baths made a huge difference.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Charlie reentered the room with a cocky swagger in his step. “I snagged the last pair of horses. We’re all set for tomorrow.”
Frankie smiled as she walked over and kissed him. “Thank you.”
I wonder what Tim’s up to right now. Is he sitting at his desk munching on his lunch? Reading a comic book? He mentioned he had big plans for us this weekend. How can he possibly top the butterflies?
Gemma pictured herself standing under the canopy of trees again with Tim’s strong arms wrapped around her.
“Earth to Gemma?.?.?.” Charlie cleared his throat.
“Er?.?.?. yes?”
“Suzy just sent a text over reminding Charlie to find out if you wanted to join us for Thanksgiving,” Frankie said, resting her head on his chest.
“Oh, I’m invited?”
Frankie’s eyes widened. “Gem, why would you even think you wouldn’t be invited to join us?”
“I’d hoped I was, but I didn’t want to assume. It’s your first Thanksgiving being with Charlie and your dad with Suzy.” Her body warmed. “What if you wanted it to only be family?”
