No more thinking about him.
Tasha parked on a quiet street lined with tall trees, quaint houses decorated with lights, and inflatable Santa figures on snow-covered front yards. Okay, she wasn’t into Christmas this year, but everything about Berry Lake was better than she’d imagined. And she’d imagined a lot.
“I feel like I’m in a movie, and I haven’t even seen Main Street yet.”
She touched the spot over her heart. The beat against her palm was solid and steady. Exactly how she wanted it to be.
Tasha slid out of the car and hit the key fob to lock the doors.
She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the crisp, chilly air. The sharp pine—a smell like outside the cottage—tickled her nose and reminded her of past Christmases with her family when they had a live tree, but no homesickness followed.
The temperature had dropped since she’d skated earlier. Tasha tugged her beanie lower over her ears and adjusted the scarf around her neck.
Arrow-shaped signs with poles decorated with garland and red ribbon pointed in the direction of the ice rink.
As she entered the park, Christmas carols and laughter increased in volume with each step she took. Lights hung in trees, giving the place a theme park feel. More lights lined the trailer with skate rentals and along the edges of a tent where Santa sat in a sleigh and elves took photographs of kids visiting him.
Tasha spun to take in all the sights. The atmosphere screamed holiday, and a weight pressed against her heart. Ice rinks and arenas filled towns and cities across the globe, yet she longed for hers—well, Mom and Dad’s. Actually not even theirs anymore. But she hadn’t come to Berry Lake to mope. The setup gave her ideas for Wishing Bay if the new owners demolished the old rink. See, going there was the right decision.
People of all ages skated. A little boy dressed in a multicolored-striped snowsuit pushed a skate trainer on the ice. An older couple holding lidded cups, their shoulders pressed against each other, sat on a bench. Two teenaged boys zigged in front of a family of four. Three girls around twelve, clinging to each other with their ankles turning in, skated with beaming faces. Enthusiasm made up for what they lacked in skills.
“Hey, Tasha,” a man called.
Her pulse sped up as if attempting a quad. She knew who that was.
A practiced smile slid into place. A smile not even her family could tell was fake. More than one person had suggested Tasha become an actress. Little did they know, she’d been acting her entire life.
She turned to greet Elias, who wore the same pants as before, but he’d added a parka, gloves, hat, and boots. His eyes were gorgeous up close. Butterflies unleashed in her stomach. Nope. She needed them to return to their cocoons.
Now.
Tasha released the breath she’d been holding. “Hi.”
“Checking out the rink?”
“You piqued my curiosity.”
Standing taller—and dare she say prouder—Elias motioned to the ice. “What’s the verdict?”
Her opinion had formed a nanosecond after arriving, but she didn't answer. Instead, she watched him shift his weight from foot to foot like an impatient kid. It was all sorts of adorable.
Time to put him out of his misery. “It’s wonderful. Magical.”
His grin lit up his face brighter than all the colored lights on the rink’s sideboards. “I’m happy you think so.”
“The rink is a nice size. Not as big as the one in Bryant Park, but Berry Lake isn’t New York City.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You’ve skated at Bryant Park?”
She’d not only skated there but also performed. Rockefeller Center too. “It was a while ago.”
Not a lie. Three years wasn’t that recent.
He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and then removed them. “I haven’t skated since I was a teenager.”
“What’s stopping you now?” she asked.
“No idea. Especially with the money going to a good cause.”
