“Tim, I need you to know that in the last few weeks, I’ve never been happier.” Gemma reached out and placed a hand on his knee. “You make me feel so special. You’re not just my boyfriend, but you’re a true friend too?.?.?. Don’t tell Frankie I said this, but you’ve kind of replaced her as being my person.”
“Your person?”
“Uh-huh. You’re the one person I can depend on through thick and thin. Good times and bad. You’re the first person I call if I need advice, to vent, or if I need comfort. Talking to you is my reward at the end of a hard day.”
His throat constricted and he squeezed her hand back. “You know what? You’re my person too.”
“Tim, it hurts me to think that you believed I’d toss you aside. I’ve done my best these past couple of weeks to try and show you how much I care about you, but now I feel like a failure. I didn’t do enough to—”
“Gemma, you’renota failure. The problem is me.” He stood and placed his hands on top of his head, staring out the window.
She gave him a moment, then stood beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Through the thin fabric of his shirt, she could feel the tension he carried there. The muscles moved as he breathed deeply and placed a hand on top of hers.
“Since my last relationship, I’ve been afraid to let anything go too far. I didn’t want to risk falling in love ever again. Love is messy and painful.” He winced. “But then I met you and decided that maybe it was time I broke my own rules. I was so tired of being alone.”
She inhaled sharply. “What happened?”
“My last girlfriend was a kindergarten teacher. We met at a teaching conference and hit it off. At least I thought we did. We dated for a year. On the night I took her out to celebrate our anniversary, she dumped me.”
A look of anguish crossed his face. “That’s when I found out that the only reason she’d agreed to date me in the first place was to get back at her ex. She’d never meant to let the ruse go so far. She’d never held any feelings for me. Everything I enjoyed, like comics, was too childish and nerdy for her. She wanted a more mature man.”
Gently turning him so he faced her, Gemma wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. Speaking into his shirt, she said, “How could anyone be so cruel?”
Tim stood still for a moment, then slowly brought his own arms around Gemma. “I don’t know, but it hurt. I can handle physical pain fine, but emotional pain is ten times worse. I felt like my heart had been thrown into a paper shredder and ripped apart. For a long time, I wondered what was wrong with me.”
Gemma listened to the constant beating of Tim’s heart. She wanted to personally go and find his ex and show her what the sharp edge of a toe pick felt like. Nobody deserved to be treated like rubbish. “How long ago was this?”
“Five years, give or take?”
Gemma did the mental math. “Is that right when you started teaching?”
He nodded.
Tim must have thrown all his energy into teaching. It’s no wonder he’s the type of enthusiastic teacher he is.
Breaking their hug, Gemma cupped his cheeks. “Tim, I promise you’ll never have to go through an experience like that ever again. You have me, and I have enough love in my heart to make up for five, ten, or maybe even a hundred of your rotten exes.”
“You mean you’re still willing to keep me as your boyfriend? If not, I understand. All that I ask is that you give me the chance to prove myself to you.”
“No, you don’t need to prove yourself to me. I already know you have a heart of gold.” She placed a hand on his lips. “I didn’t mean what I said when I told you to go ahead and leave. I didn’t want you to. I was mad.” She took a step closer to him. “You’re the man that I’ve fallen for. I love you.”
“You love me?”
“Uh-huh. I do.”
Tim pulled Gemma into his body and up against his chest. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “I love you too, Gemma-rella.”
Chapter 21
On Thanksgiving Day, Gemma removed the plastic skate guards protecting her blades and set them on the boards by the entry to the ice. Slowly gliding along, she tested her legs on the surface. Her toes felt as if they were on pins and needles. The arch of her foot was cramping.
As she bent her knees, the tongue of her skating boot rubbed against the tender skin of her shins and heels. She smiled widely as a blast of icy air numbed her face. Although her feet would ache later, she didn’t care. She was back on the ice.
Warming up with some three turns, counters, brackets, and other footwork, Gemma was relieved that it felt as if she’d never taken any time off. Her blades let out ripping noises as they dug into the ice. Her knees rose and fell onto deep inside and outside edges.
“Looking good, Gem.” Charlie grinned from the ice’s door.
She came to a stop in front of him, breathing heavily. “I missed this so much.”
