“What if he’s not?”
We were so close now that I could feel the warmth of her breath. I saw the exact moment her gaze dropped to my lips.
Kiss her, my brain demanded.Just kiss her and stop overthinking everything.
CHAPTER 19
INA
For one perfect moment, I was absolutely certain Dane was going to kiss me.
It was the moment I always imagined in my fantasies about falling hard and fast in love.
The snow was falling around us like we were inside a snow globe someone had just shaken. His eyes were locked on mine with an intensity that made my breath catch, and he was leaning in.
My body was practically vibrating with anticipation.
I could see the wheels turning in his head. He was trying to decide if he was going to kiss me or run.
Please kiss me.
I leaned in with my heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat. The space between us got smaller and smaller until?—
He reached down and adjusted my hat.
I had borrowed it from his car from his hockey bag in the trunk, which apparently lived alongside a golf bag and a tennis racket. His car was a moving gym locker.
“You’re freezing,” he said, his voice rough. “We should get you home.”
I blinked, trying to process the whiplash of the moment. “Oh. Right. Yes.”
We skated back to the edge of the rink in silence. I told myself I completely imagined the almost-kiss. I misread the moment. The intensity in his eyes had been about something else entirely. My romantic girly side got caught up in a fantasy.
Except I was certain I had not imagined the way he looked at me.
No way.
Yes, I could be a little silly and I did like to spin pretty fantasies in my mind, but that look in his eyes had been real. I felt it like I felt the snow falling on my face.
We changed back into our regular shoes, packed up our skates, and walked to his car in silence. The drive back to my apartment was quiet too, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
When he pulled up in front of my building, I expected him to just let me out. Instead, he turned off the engine.
“I’ll walk you up,” he said.
“It’s five flights of stairs.”
“I’m well aware.”
Before I could argue, he came around to open my door, and we climbed the stairs together. On the third-floor landing, where the handrail was still loose, he put his hand in the small of my back. I loved when he did that. It was sweet and polite and I was certain it meant he cared just a little.
When we reached my door, I turned to face him, suddenly very aware that we were alone in a dimly lit hallway and that my roommate probably wasn’t home yet and that if I invited him in we would be alone.
“Thank you,” I said quickly, before I could do something stupid like ask if he wanted to come inside. “For tonight. I needed it more than you know.”
I looked into his eyes and swore I could see the internal struggle. Or maybe I was just seeing my own conflicting desires reflected there.
And then I realized he was probably trying to figure out how to ask me for his hat back.
