“You okay?”I ask, looking up into his face.His brows are drawn together, and his jaw is clenched.
“Hmm…”
“Let’s step outside,” I say, taking his hand and leading him out the door.
“It’s cold, Phoebe.”
The saucy wink I throw over my shoulder lifts a corner of his lips, so that’s a win.“You’ll have to keep me warm then, Ollie.”
He gives my hand a gentle squeeze.Hand in hand, we walk along the brick walkway past the quaint shops.It is cold, and a shiver runs through me.
“If I had a jacket, I’d give it to you,” he says.
Leading us into a gazebo along the bank of the lake in the middle of the Village, I sit on the bench, and Ollie sits next to me, wrapping his arm around me.
“You’re so warm,” I say, snuggling into him.“What’s wrong?”
“I’m pissed off,” he says in a voice so low it’s more like a grumble.
Stiffening, my mind goes blank.He’s done with me, with us.Swallowing the lump in my throat, I gather my courage.
“Why?”I ask.
“You didn’t wake me up to drive you to work!”
“What?It’s only ten minutes.I walk it all the time, I need the exercise.Today was a late day.”
His arm around me tightens, and I don’t think he realizes it because his whole body is tightening.
“So you’re out walking in the dark?Phoebe, no!You can’t do that!It’s not safe.”
It’s my turn to stiffen.“Are you forbidding me?”
As much as I want to be loved and cherished, I don’t want to be restricted.I’m a grown, independent woman, and I’m not giving that up to be with a man.Not even Ollie.
The man proves how smart he is by thinking before he responds.
“No,” he says, sighing.“I’m requesting you don’t because it scared the shit out of me to realize you walked here alone so early.I was driving myself crazy, worrying that something had happened to you.I couldn’t relax until I saw you behind the counter, but then I got pissed.”
He’s blinking rapidly behind his glasses.OMG, he’s got tears in his eyes.That breaks my heart.
“Easier to be pissed than scared?”I feel all the tension leave his body.
“Yeah.If anything happened to you, Phoebe, I couldn’t take it.I lo—need you to be careful.”
My breath catches.Did I imagine he almost said he loved me?Is it wishful thinking?
“O…okay.But you gotta be careful too.I love watching you play, but it scares me.You all zip around so fast and hit each other, and the skates are so sharp.I’ve seen the videos where things go horribly wrong.”I swallow thickly.“I can’t lose you,” I whisper.
He wraps both arms around me and the cold completely disappears.“You will never lose me, Phoebe.I’m yours.I…”
Gobble!Gobble!Honk!
It comes from directly behind us, causing us both to jump.We turn to look over the rail of the gazebo, and there’s not only a giant male wild turkey, but a Canada goose too.Staring at us like we challenged them to a duel or something.Wings start flapping like they’re going to fly over the rail and attack us.Have they unionized?
Jumping up, we rush from the gazebo and away from the birds.I hate how our moment was ruined, but I must get back to work.
Ollie looks over his shoulder and then down at me.
