“I’m not asking her to change anything about her life.”
“No, which is good. But Leo, change will have to happen. From one or both of you, if this reconnection is going to be anything permanent anyway. Have you even tried a grand gesture? Have you thought about changing your life? Considered moving to New York to be with her?”
Leo rubbed the back of his neck. The idea had crossed his mind. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to pick up his life and go to New York, but he hadn’t wanted to put that kind of pressure on Isabella. Were they even at that point yet?
“Look, I’ve let her know how I feel. I’m all-in on this. But I’m also giving her air to breathe.”
Norah adjusted her scarf around her neck. “I think that’s a mistake.”
“Isabella needs time, and to see on her own that I’m the best choice.”
“And what if she doesn’t? What if she makes the wrong decision?”
He shrugged and stepped back. “I appreciate your concern, but I gotta get back to my shopping.”
Leo bought the magnet and returned to the cold night, trying to shake off Norah’s concerns. He had enough of his own without her help. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t scared out of his mind that he’d have to sit back and watch the woman he loved get on a plane in a few days. Just the thought of being apart from her again caused his stomach to ache.
But Norah was right. One or both of them would have to make a change if he and Isabella had any hope of a future together. Deciding to go to New York—if even for a visit, was huge. It would be a risk. They had no idea if what they’d rekindled since her returning to Pineridge would last if they were in New York.
Moving there sounded even more terrifying. It would mean uprooting his business, leaving Dad and Landon, and the only place he knew of as home. The only place where he felt even a smidge of his mom’s presence remaining. He was comfortable in Pineridge. His friends were here. His whole life was here.
Except it wasn’t. Because Isabella wasn’t here.
Leo’s body felt heavy, the confliction tight in his chest. He needed to go somewhere to think. He wanted Isabella to come with him, so he sent her a text and waited inside his truck, cranking the heater.
Isabella hopped into the passenger’s side a few moments later. “Hey, everything okay?” She breathed warmth into her cupped hands.
“Just peachy.” He smirked. “I just needed to get outta there. Thought you might wanna come with?” He raised his brows.
She smiled and nodded, buckling her seatbelt.
Leo parked the truck at the elementary school rink, dragged a large black bag from the back, and sat on the cold metal bleachers. Isabella sat next to him, staying quiet. He slipped his feet into his skates, giving his chest a sense of peace.
“You know hockey has always been the best therapy for me.” Lacing his skates had been a focused practice he’d grown accustomed to, a methodical process giving him comfort
“So…what’s on your mind?” She fiddled with her scarf.
“Just thinking…about us…and our future.”
“Yeah?” She gave him an uneasy smile.
He shrugged. “A lot to think about.”
Leo tapped a finger to the tip of her nose before he pushed off the bench and skated out onto the ice. He lined up a puck with an imaginary net at the end of the rink and swung the stick, sending the puck flying over the ice.
Isabella clapped from the bleachers.
“Why don’t you come out here with me and give it a try?”
She gestured at her boots. “I don’t have skates.”
“Are you backing down from a competition, Isabella Whitley?”
She stood and shuffled her fancy boots against the ice, resembling a baby penguin. “Never. I do believe I proved that this morning.”
He grinned, waiting for her to reach him in the middle of the rink.
“You sure everything’s okay?”
