“You don’t. It’s not a big deal,” Isla says again with a shrug.
Fuck it. That seals it for me. I take a deep breath, letting the air out slowly to calm my jackhammering heart.
“For the record, I always thought you were beautiful.”
I don’t wait to register her reaction before rolling up the window and heading toward the exit. At the stop sign, I glance in my rearview mirror. She’s still standing in the same spot, watching me drive away.
It takes every bit of discipline I can muster not to turn back.
Chapter 13
Isla
“Let’sgoagain!”CoachLinden’s booming voice carries across the ice to where I sit on my ass after landing awkwardly out of a triple throw jump.
Spencer reaches down, offering me a hand. “You all right?”
“Fine,” I say, taking his hand and allowing him to pull me vertical as if I weigh nothing. “But I’m starting to hate her.”
He laughs, letting go of my hand once I’m standing solidly on my skates. “You won’t when we’re on the podium with gold medals around our necks. Trust me.”
I nod, ignoring the sting still vibrating my skin. Spencer knows what it takes to win. We might have gotten connected through friends, but he chose me for my skill and determination. He took a gamble on me, ignoring the narrative that developed after my incident at Skate America and the dramatic collapse of my last partnership. I will not let him down.
“What’s going on?” He taps the side of my forehead, arching abrown eyebrow.
I place my hands on my hips and bend my neck forward until all I can see are my skates and the ice beneath them. “I don’t know,” I say, shaking my head. “But I’ll figure it out.”
Spencer skates beside me until he bumps my shoulder. “We’llfigure it out.”
I look up to see that silly boyish grin on his face, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. My skating career has never included someone sorelaxed. Competitive, but balanced.
“This is all new to me.”
“Skating? You’re a natural.”
I sigh overdramatically, tilting my head to give him a look.
“Tell me,” he encourages softly.
My hands land on my hips again. “My last partner got unhinged during practices when our timing was off. He blamed me, yelling any time I didn’t land a jump. I couldn’t talk to him.”
Spencer shakes his head. “You can talk to me about anything, Isla. I’m your partner. I’ve got your back no matter what. You’ve got mine?”
I nod decisively. “Of course.”
“Spencer!” The sharp yell comes from the bench that hockey teams use during games.
He holds up his hand to Linden. “Give us a few. We need a reset.”
She huffs out an exaggerated sigh, but says nothing else. The benefits that gold medals bring you. There’s also something about Spencer Davidson that makes a person want to say yes to him. Blame his boy-next-door looks or his persistently sunny demeanor, but having spent the last two weeks with him, I think it’s deeper thanthat. Goodness radiates from him, and it doesn’t fall away when he faces an obstacle or an inconvenience.
“I also have a family dinner next week,” I blurt out, admitting the rest of the reason I’ve been distracted all morning.
I have no clue how they discovered I’m in town, but my mother threatened Brooks that they’ll find ways to see me if I don’t come to family dinner. I don’t want them showing up unexpectedly, so I agreed to go.I can get through one night.
“Let me guess, it’s not something you’re looking forward to.”
I stub the front of my skate into the ice. “I’d rather smash into the ice another hundred times.” I let out a long and heavy sigh. “I have a feeling my ex-husband will be there.”
