AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Effortlessly drifting backwards around the ice, she almost forgot where she was. She closed her eyes as her muscle memory took over. It was as if she had never stopped skating, as she glided and turned on the ice. That was, until she bumped into a hard body. She opened her eyes to Noah wrapping his strong arms around her, as they both spun around and she slowly came to a stop.
Where had he even come from? And why was he here?
“You good?” he asked.
“Yeah, uh, sorry about that.” Jordan looked around, avoiding his stare, and moved out of his hold.
Noah smirked. “You have some impressive moves.”
Jordan shrugged, even though his grin had caused butterflies to dance in her stomach. “Until I almost took you out.”
Her sister had locked arms with her husband and was doing her best to stay upright. Donna had never been a great skater.
Ignoring her comment, Noah asked, “How long have you been skating?”
“Um…” She met his gaze for a second. She was used to standing while he was seated. But now Noah was a large, muscular presence standing very close to her. She had to fight her knees from shaking under the weight of his dark smolder. She gulped in a breath of air. “I’ve been skating since I was little. My mom enjoyed ice skating, so she’d always take us. I was a natural, whereas Donna, not so much.”
He eyed her suspiciously. “You skate like a professional.”
“Noah Rodgers?” Levi asked excitedly, as he skated by.
Noah was caught up with Levi for the moment, so Jordan took off around the ice. Watching Levi interact with Harrison and Noah was heartwarming.
Suddenly, Tyler Kidd, Sam Morris, and Kaden O’Conner were there on the ice with them.
Jordan watched her nephew light up, as Harrison, Tyler, Sam, Noah, and Kaden fawned over him, giving him high fives and talking hockey. Harrison had really outdone himself with this meet and greet.
The guys ran through some skating drills with Levi, and he held his own.
“Donna, where did he get his skating skills from? It surely wasn’t you,” Jordan teased.
“No kidding! From Mom, apparently.” Donna laughed. “I mean, look at him, Jordan. The kid is skating almost as well as the guys. That little boy will never stop amazing me.”
“Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?” Bill complained. “I have some pretty sweet skating skills.”
“You’re right, honey,” Donna grabbed on to her husband and said to satisfy him.
Jordan watched her nephew in wonder. Watching him interact with the men made her realize just how much he’d grown. He’d gotten big so fast, and she felt guilty that she’d missed so much.
For the first time, she envied her sister. Donna had a husband and a son. Jordan had long since stopped giving any thought to those things being in her future, and this wistful sadness was unfamiliar and uncomfortable. She just had to shake off the feeling and enjoy the rest of the day with her friends and family.
CHAPTER SIX
Noah
Noah watched Jordan race around the ice with Levi, her attention focused on her nephew. A natural grin filled her face. He hadn’t been trying to flatter her when he said she skated like a professional. He was no expert on figure skating, but her moves were graceful, and he’d already seen her do a couple of more difficult jumps and spins. Skating obviously made her genuinely happy, and he enjoyed seeing the way she sweetly interacted with her nephew.
He’d never thought of her as a child person. The entire length of time he’d known her, she’d always seemed married to her job, and all business. He saw nothing wrong with that, because so was he. But seeing her with Levi was exciting, as though he’d glimpsed something new behind her mask.
“Noah!” Levi called. “Race you!”
Levi sped past him with a giggle.
Noah hurried to catch up with the young boy, but he held back just enough to ensure Levi won. Next up was Tyler. Levi giggled as he won that race as well.
Noah had never had much to do with kids, so it was peculiar that since being in Pittsburgh, he’d really had fun hanging out with Sam’s kids, and now Levi.
Noah turned to watch Levi show off how he could stop and spray ice, and he caught sight of Jordan skating away from them to the opposite end of the rink. He did his best to give Levi all his attention, but his focus kept moving to Jordan. She moved so gracefully on the ice. It was hard to look away.
