“Answer me.”
She arches a brow.
“Harley, do you trust me?”
“I do.”
I grab her around the waist and lift her up in my arms.
She shrieks.
“Wrap your legs around my waist. Careful with the blades.”
She does as she’s told.
“We’re going to skate together.”
Her arms snake around my neck. This close, the floral scent of her shampoo tickles my nostrils.
“Why didn’t you suggest this from the beginning?”
“I’m not going to torture you any further, but I do want you to experience this.” I hold her gaze. “Since I retired, the charityis my way to keep skating at the level that made me who I was as an athlete. I don’t expect you to turn pro overnight, but I want you to leave here understanding a little bit more of who I am.”
Her eyes are misty. “Okay, Number 22. Show me what you got.”
“Hold on tight,” I say.
Her legs squeeze my waist. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
With my hands on her ass, I haul her further up. “Here we go.”
I skate at a moderate pace, zigzagging through kids and parents who stare at us with excitement flashing in their eyes.
“How is it so far?”
“We’re not at heaven’s door yet, so I’d say, you’re doing okay.” I speed up.
She intakes a sharp breath.
I whip around a group of four girls, and they all giggle.
I flip around and skate backward.
Harley pulls her head back and opens her arms out. “I’m flying. I’m Rose and you’re Jack and this is Titanic on ice.”
“Nana loved that movie.” A pang of sadness hits me like it does every time I think of her.
“Your grandmother had great taste.”
I can only manage to nod. “Do you want me to go faster?”
Her arms tighten around me. “Hell, no. This is enough excitement for me. If you go any faster, we’ll crash into an iceberg, you’ll die, and I’ll end up being a one-hundred-year-old woman, retelling the story of how the love of her life refused to get on the damn door with her—even though there was plenty of room—and robbed her of her happy ever after.”
She’s a dichotomy. She’s all sunshine, but sometimes, there’s a dark, ominous cloud looming over her head.
My forehead touches her helmet. “Thanks for trusting me.”
“I feel safe when I’m with you.”
