Staying with him seemed a logical choice. “Thanks, but I don’t want to mess anything up.”
Elias laughed, and she dreamed of growing old, hearing his laughter day and night. He tapped the tip of her nose. “I don’t care if you’re a slob.”
He always made her smile, and one spread across her face, warming her from the inside. How had she gotten so lucky?
She sent a wave of gratitude to Higgins for making sure they’d met. “I didn’t mean a literal mess. I meant you and me.”
“We’re fine.” He brushed his lips over hers. “But I want you to be comfortable. You give so much. I don’t want you to do anything because you think I want it.”
“I won’t. I can’t. That’s what I did before.” With her family, Drew, Kristen. “I’ve learned my lesson. Thanks for helping me learn that lesson.”
“You helped me, too.”
Which was how it should be. Everything about him…them. “Things are so good right now. I’m happier than I’ve been.”
He leaned his shoulder into hers. “And they’ll keep being good. And we’ll keep being happy. I’m one to talk but relax.”
His confidence soothed her. Still, she half laughed. “I don’t thinkrelaxis in my vocabulary.”
“Something for us to both work on because it wasn’t in mine until I met you.”
Her heart bumped. “I love the sound of us.”
“Same.” Elias extended his arm. “Let’s skate before we get too cold.”
Higgins, his leash secured to the log, sat patiently watching them.
She owed that no-longer-a-foster dog so much. “Higgins likes it out here.”
“He wants to be wherever we are, though I hadn’t planned for him to want to sleep with me each night. I thought once he got adjusted to the house, that would end.”
Joy overflowed. “You’ve gone totally dog dad.”
Heat pooled in his cheeks. “What can I say? But I now get the actual meaning of animal rescue. Higgins has given me so much more than I’ve given him.”
“You rescued each other.”And both of you rescued me. “You were destined to be a foster failure.”
Elias glanced over his shoulder at Higgins. “Sabine gave me afoster failureT-shirt when I signed the adoption papers.”
“She probably ordered one in your size before she dropped off Higgins.” Tasha stepped onto the ice. “The two of you are a perfect match.”
He followed her. “You, Higgins, and I are the perfect match.”
“Isn’t that what I said?” she joked.
Their skate blades carved into the ice—her second favorite sound. First was Elias, whether it was his voice or his laugh.
As she glided across the lake, The cold air hit her face. Skating had always been where she felt free to express herself. But standing in front of an audience waiting for the music to begin had turned into an internal battle. Anticipation could make a performance go either way, but she’d found new confidence—a new her. She believed she could not only skate but do anything she wanted without fear, fear of dealing with Drew’s jealousy and wrath or Mom’s criticism. Elias and the town of Berry Lake had helped her rediscover herself and her joy of skating. Oh, Higgins too. She couldn’t forget him.
After a few laps on their own, snow fell from the sky—a perfect accent to an already spectacular day.
Elias skated up to her. “Stop for a minute.”
She did, tilting her head back to catch a snowflake on her tongue.
He held her hand. “There’s another reason I couldn’t return Higgins.”
“What’s that?” she asked, staring at him.
