Slipping a glove on me, he laughs. “You don’t need that kind of jump scare.”
“I’m impressed that even hearing the word proposal didn’t send you running.”
My face is cupped and tilted up. His lips press firm to mine in a heated kiss. Just as my lips mold to his, he disappears. “Other hand.”
I huff, holding out my other hand for him to slip a glove on it. The movement I was hearing stops, his breathing even. I stand there and wait, wanting him to have his moment. Whatever is about to happen, I know he’s put time and effort and a whole lot of consideration into surprising me.
The swift cool air drifts across my face when he shifts in front of me, and asks, “Are you ready?”
I can’t wait to see the smile that I hear in his voice. “I’m ready.”
The blindfold is lifted to rest on my forehead. Daniel is always a nice surprise, but he’s blocking my view. When he steps aside, my hands fly to cover my mouth when it drops open. I pivot my gaze back to him, who knows by the smirk on his face that he’s done good. Darn good.
I glance at the box stuffed in an arena seat and see white ice skates still inside. Tears flood my eyes, and even when I tip my head back, I can’t keep them from falling. “You brought me ice-skating?”
“Figured we could skate together since we’re a long way off from preseason.”
He flips a seat down for me to sit. I take in the rink and the arena, the scoreboard, and the large speakers, their penguin mascot painted under layers of ice, and the team’s logos on the sides. “This is where you play?”
He sits next to me to start putting on his skates. “This is where I play.”
The tears should have subsided. I don’t know why, but I feel closer to him than ever, being here. Leaning over, I hug him. “Thank you. Thank you for bringing me here.”
“It’s fun you’re here, Sunshine. So I guess I should have asked. Do you know how to ice-skate?”
Oh boy.“It’s been a while, but I sure do. I was Frosty the Snowman in our school’s production in third grade. It was a live show on ice.”
“I can’t wait to see those moves.”
“Yeah, watch out. Literally.” I laugh just as the crackle of speakers is sharp to the ears. A pop song soon comes through. Removing the blade covers from his skates, he backs onto the ice. I take one off and then the other just as the song changes from upbeat to . . . My heart catches in my throat. “Are you romancing me, Mr. Sutton?”
“May I have this dance?”
I take his hand and step onto the ice. I want to say it’s like riding a bike, but I’m grateful the sides of the skates are reinforced to keep my ankles from breaking.
He asks, “Can you skate backward?”
“No.” I flash a humorless grin. “Absolutely not.”
Moving his hands to my waist, he says, “Hold my shoulders. I got you.”
He’s got me alright. It’s been so long since I skated. With him, I feel like I skate all the time. We spin around the rink, taking it wide. He rarely looks back as if the size is burned into his memory. Our hair is blowing from the speed, our eyes locked together. My mind is concentrating on staying upright, but I have a feeling he skates by instinct. “What do you think?” he asks, not slowing as we take another lap around the rink.
“I think you know how to win a girl’s heart.”
Pulling me closer again, he lifts me into the air, spinning faster with me in his arms. When he lets me slide down so our eyes are equal, he whispers, “I don’t want to be apart from you.”
When the song changes to another melody, I slip lower, my skates landing on the ice again. “I don’t want to be apart from you either.” I look toward the seats, the reminder all around us. Our worlds aren’t the same. “We have time to figure things out.”
He slides his arm around my lower back, holding my hand in the air with the other. “I know but?—”
“No buts. Not yet. Please. I just want to be with you, Daniel, at this moment right now.”
We start skating slowly, our gazes only on each other as we dance across the smooth surface. With his secure hold of me and the wind in our hair, he makes me feel as if I could do this, like I am doing it, soaring across the ice like I could almost fly. Slowing in the center of the rink again, he loosens his arm from around my waist, and I spin slowly like a ballerina. And caught before there’s any possibility of falling.
And when I’m brought into his arms again, he holds me there—my body in his arms, my gaze, and my heart in his hands. “Promise me tomorrow, Summer. Promise me when we leave here, we’ll still have this together.”
I’d like to kiss him, but when the blade slips, he catches me. So I hold onto him, knowing he’s got me just like he said, and whisper, “We’ll still have this. I promise you. Tomorrow is just one of many days ahead. We have forever.”
