When I return, I hold up a set of matching red flannel PJs with little snowflakes.
His brows lift. “What are those?”
“For Christmas at my father’s house,” I chirp.
Rhys glances at the calendar again.
“Oh. Right.” He doesn’t sound thrilled.
Then he checks his watch, jaw settling back into business mode. “We should go. Before it gets too crowded.”
I nod eagerly at his efficiency.
With winter-white clouds blanketing the sky above, the air nips at my cheeks as we step onto the ice. Or it could be my short white fur skirt. My pink leggings aren’t thermal, and my fuzzy pink jacket and earmuffs are more for aesthetics than warmth.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Rhys says. “But you look like a feral snow bunny. And you know what?” He drags me closer. “I love it.”
“Is it too loud?” I smooth my skirt, suddenly realizing I might be drawing attention to Rhys. He’s always dressed in black like a shadow.
“No. This is all you. I don’t want you to change anything for me.” He takes my hand.
“Good.” I let him steer me further away from the rink’s wall. “Hey, did you know this rink was built in 1950?” I cling to Rhys’s hand. “They finished it in just four months. Four! It was supposed to be permanent, then it meltedbecause they used a natural freezing method that didn’t work, so they had to rebuild it and— Whoa!”
My blade skids, but Rhys’s arm darts around my waist, steadying me.
“Fascinating,” he murmurs, lips curved.
“You’re just saying that to be a good boyfriend.”
“I’m new here to New York. Spill all the factoids you want. I have a passion for details.” He pushes backward effortlessly, pulling me with him.
My eyes go wide. “You can skate backward?”
“I played ice hockey,” he says casually. “Local youth group team.”
“Let me guess. Were you the enforcer?”
“No. Goalie.” He twirls me in a slow spin, then dips me low until my hair brushes the ice.
“Rhys!” I shriek-laugh, flailing, and he pulls me up like I weigh nothing.
“I’ll show you. It’s easy.”
He spends the next hour showing me how to skate backward, his hands firm at my hips as he glides close behind me.
“Trust your edges,” he says.
“My what?”
“Lean into the inside of your blade.”
I tilt, shriek, and he catches me again. My balance wobbles, but I never fall. He doesn’t let me.
“You got this. You’re amazing, Fal,” he says, whispering near my earmuff.
I can’t believe this is happening, how close we’re getting all of a sudden.
After touching my face, he frowns. “You’re freezing, feral bunny.”
