After the night sky filled with a crescendo of colors and noise, Amelia squeezed his hand and turned onto her side to face him.
“That was stunning. Absolutely beautiful. I know you didn’t plan it yourself, but thank you.”
Ben shifted to face her more fully. There was just enough illumination cast by the lights on the boat for him to see her features.
“I’m so glad for this time with you, Lia,” Ben said, his voice soft.
Luca hadn’t started the engine again yet, so the motor wasn’t noisy in the background.
“I know that you have reservations about us dating again.”
“It’s been ten years,” she said.
“I know. I know. And I thought I’d moved on. I thought it was in the past, but no one has ever made me feel the way you have.” He paused, emotion choking him for a moment. “I’ve missed you.”
There was a long stretch of silence, broken only by the sound of the water lapping at the boat.
“I’ve missed you too,” Amelia murmured. “I didn’t realize how much I would until after I broke up with you. I hadn’t expected…”
“What?” he prompted. “What hadn’t you expected?”
“That I’d never see you again.”
“I thought that’s what you wanted,” he said, clasping her hand with both of his. “I thought I was a distraction to you, and I didn’t want to be that.”
“I was… wrong.”
The breath whooshed from Ben’s lungs. “Wrong?”
“Every time I achieved a goal, all I could think was how much better it would have been if you’d been there to celebrate with me.”
“Oh, Lia,” Ben whispered. “I was there for your first Olympic bronze medal.”
“You were?”
“Yes. Mom and I travelled there to see you skate. I was so proud of you.”
His eyes met hers in the dim light, and Ben couldn't resist any longer. He leaned forward, closing the distance between them, and gently pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was soft, tentative, asking a question rather than making a demand.
Amelia froze for just a moment, then her lips softened beneath his. Her hand trembled slightly in his grasp as she returned the pressure, the gesture achingly sweet and familiar, yet somehow entirely new.
It lasted only seconds, but Ben felt as if the world had shifted beneath him. When he pulled back, her eyes remained closed for a moment.
Ben held his breath, waiting for her reaction. When her lips curved into a small smile, relief flooded him, quickly replaced by all the emotions he held in his heart for her. He kept the words inside, however.
He wasn’t sure that they were at the place in their friendship for them just yet.
It was his hope that that evening—that wonderfully perfect evening—was the start, though. And that soon there would be a moment when he could share how he felt with her.
Hopefully, she’d feel the same way in return.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Amelia parked her car in the hotel resort’s parking lot, then exhaled heavily. Her stomach was a mess of nerves, and for a moment, she wished that she had asked someone to come with her.
Since she had arrived a bit early, she sat in the car for a few minutes. They weren’t meeting until eight-thirty.
As she sat there, she replayed several scenarios in her head in an attempt to prepare herself for whatever Dr. Donner was going to tell her.
