“I’m not sure I follow?—”
“You have a brother. And you aren’t going to waste any more time. You’re buying him a gift.”
I swallow, trying not to choke past the lump in my throat. “Okay,” I say. Because looking into the bright green eyes of this woman who I more than like, who lost her brother too soon, I realize something: I can’t deny her anything.
“Okay?” she asks, one brow quirked up.
“Okay.” I nod with my entire upper torso and squeeze her fingers in mine. “Let’s buy Mason a Christmas gift.”
We look at everything.
In the end, I realize I know absolutely nothing about my brother. I’ve had everything from a play farm to a blow-up bounce house boxed up in my cart.
Stella talks me into a soccer ball—simple and me. I’ll have my team sign it and send it off to the kid. If he hates it, at least I won’t know about it. At least until my father decides to tell me. No doubt he will.
And while I am completely unsure about the gift, it’sStella’s words and conviction that make me want to buy Mason something.No time wasted.
Currently, I have wasted the entire four years of the boy’s life. We’ve never met. And while I may not be ready to face my father yet, I’m going to send something to Mason and let him know at least that I exist. That I think about him. That he has a brother.
Forty-One
The Everlys always loved Christmas.They always made it special. I’m grateful the season has just begun. That I have time to think of more festive events to coordinate for my wife. Because so far, I’m failing at holiday happenings.
I cut her down a tree—after making her cry. And we decorated said tree. Now, with her prodding, we’ve Christmas shopped. The end.
Pathetic.
“And now, we’re ice skating?” she asks after we leave the Tesoro shopping center. She bobbles her head. “I mean, of course we’re ice skating, you bought me skates. I’m guessing you don’t plan to go dancing in ice skates.”
A chuckle rumbles in my chest, and I reach over, lacing my fingers through Stella’s. She’s nervous—her ramblings say as much. The thing is, I don’t want Stella to ever be anxious around me. I want to be a calming place. I want to be where she goes when the world is chaos.
“Yes, skating. Do you skate?”
“Not really. You?” Her fingers tighten in mine. She already sounds steadier, and I only hope it’s the pressure of my hand in hers.
“I do … but maybe don’t tell my coach that.”
She turns on me. “You aren’t supposed to skate?”
I give a small shrug. “Not without permission.” Is that how my contract states it?The Player agrees not to engage in any activity that risks injury without prior consent.“We’re a minor team, but we still have restrictions. We’re still being paid to play.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be doing this,” she says, just as I pull into the parking lot of the Silver Pine Lodge.
Every Christmas since I’ve lived in Tesoro, the lodge gets strung with lights, top to bottom. The trees around the pond are all lit and decorated too. Every year I visit, wanting to skate here. But I don’t.
Stella chokes down her next comment as the lights come into view.
“If I was willing to commit fraud for you, what gives you the idea that I’m worried about a little skating?” I say.
She titters out a nervous laugh as I pull into a parking space. “But Roman?—”
“No buts. I’m taking my girl skating,” I say. I lean across the console and press a kiss to her cheek.
Stella’s face blooms pink, and I’m so tempted to plant a kiss to her lips just to see what color her face would turn.
I lead Stella to the park benches surrounding the frozen pond. We sit and pull out our skates.
“This is a man-made pond,” I tell her.
