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"Even when you aren't playing in the games?"
He slanted a smile at her. "Yeah, even when I'm not in the games. There are regulars who've been coming to the bar for forty years. There's shuffleboard and pool, plus some video games we added a couple years back. Mom and Dad are always there working behind the bar. The customers love them. Now that he's in high school my brother comes in and buses tables on the weekends. I used to do that, too, when I was in high school. Whenever I wasn't playing hockey."
"I do like sports. And bars. And your family sounds amazing."
"They're pretty cool."
"It's very unlike my family."
"In what way?"
"Obviously your family does things together. They hang out together. They own a business together. My father is always at work. I can't remember ever hanging out at the office with my dad."
Will raised a brow. "So you've never seen where he works?"
"Obviously I know where he works, but no, I've never spent any time there. I've been to the dance studio often with my mother, of course, since I've taken dance lessons from the time I was three. Jazz helped with my endurance and with the artistic part of my program. Ballet helped my flexibility and was a benefit to skating."
"I could see that, I guess. I really don't know anything about dance, but I'd bet you look hot doing it."
She smiled. "Anyway, my parents' two careers don't really mesh. I don't know. I guess I just don't see my family as a traditional family unit."
"What's a traditional family unit these days, Amber? Every family is different."
She shrugged. "I know. I mean, mine has been . . . unusual. Since I often traveled, that meant I was on the road a lot, either with my mother or with Yegor and Valeria--they're my coach and my trainer."
"Are you close to them?"
"Very. They're like my second set of parents."
"That's nice to have."
"It is."
"But you've done things with your parents, right? Vacations and things?"
She shook her head. "No. My parents took a trip to Italy two years ago. I'm pretty sure that's the first vacation they'd had in--" She thought about it. "As long as I can remember. And my father complained about having to take time off work. But my mother insisted. In the end, they went, and they both seemed happy when they got back."
"But you didn't go?"
"No. I was in the middle of working up my new performance routines for the games, so I didn't go with them. Which at the time I thought was a good thing, because they needed some time alone together."
"Ah. A second honeymoon kind of thing, right?"
She nodded.
"When they came back, they both told me they had a great time. And within a week they'd gone their separate ways again, Dad to spend hours at his office and Mom to the dance studio, and life at home went back to normal."
"Define normal," Will said.
"Strained silences at dinner where Dad stares at his laptop while he eats and Mom works crossword puzzles and quizzes me about my practice that day."
"That sounds so fun. So you still live at home."
She nodded. "Since I work nonstop at skating, I have like . . . zero income. That's going to change after the games. I have to get out of there."
"Making you a little crazy?"
She laughed. "More than a little."
"So you've made a plan to get a job and relocate?"
"Not exactly. My only goal right now is to win gold. After that, I'll figure it out."
"One step at a time, right?"
"You got it."
"I think it's a good plan."
"You do? It's like . . . no plan at all."
"Look. You gotta focus on winning the gold first. You've spent the past four years doing that. You already know you want to get out of your parents' house, and you want to do something to make money, so you have a long-range plan."
"I . . . guess. But it's not like I have something lined up."
He shrugged. "The other stuff will fall into place after that. You don't wanna clutter up your head with 'what am I gonna do after Vancouver' nonsense. Focus on your skating and worry about the rest of it later. It's not like your parents are gonna evict you after the games, right?"
"No, they won't."
"I mean, it makes sense for it to be tucked into the back of your mind. It is your future, after all. But front and center? Gotta be skating for a medal. That's your focus right now."
It wasn't often that her opinion was even considered, let alone thought of as valid. "Thanks."
"For what?"
"For thinking I have decent ideas."
"I think you have a lot of good ideas, Amber. I can't wait to hear all about your plans for your life after the games. I also can't wait to watch you skate."
Just the thought of skating for a medal fueled her. "Thank you. I'm so excited. We both start tomorrow, don't we?"
He nodded. "Tomorrow's our first game."
"And I have the team competition beginning tomorrow."
"What time?" he asked.
"For me? I skate at noon."
"We're at three tomorrow afternoon."
"Excellent," she said. "I'll be there."
"I won't get to watch you," he said, giving her a disappointed look. "I have to report to the hockey arena at noon."
She laid her hand on his arm. "It's okay. You know we're going to have some overlap."
"But I like watching you skate."
"There will be other opportunities. And this is the short program. If I'm good enough--which I will be--the US team will move on to the finals for the team event. Then hopefully you'll be able to watch the long program. Which you'll be able to see again anyway, when I perform it in the individual medal event."
He grinned at her.
"What?"
"I love how confident you are."
"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't sure I'd win."
"But there's no ego in it, no arrogance. You just know you have the skills."
She felt her cheeks go warm. "Thank you. You always say the nicest things."
"Nah. Just the truth. You ready to get out of here?"
"Yes. I'd love to get some fresh air."
They put on their coats and hats and went outside. It was cold, b
ut there was no wind. The sun was still out which meant the day was perfect.
Will took her hand. "Come on. Let's go play."
She arched a brow. "Play? Where are we going to play?"
"Up the hill some."
He walked them up a fairly steep hill to the top. There was thick snow up here, but she was wearing tall snow boots so she didn't mind sinking in.
"Lots of snow here," Will said. "It's perfect."
She cast a sideways glance at him. "For?"
"Building a snowman, of course."
She stared at him. "You're serious."
"I'm dead serious about my snowmen. Come on."
He sank to his knees and started rolling snow into a ball. She hadn't moved yet, because she was still unable to believe he was actually doing this.
"You're really building a snowman?"
He cast a look at her over his shoulder. "I'm not frying bacon up here. You gonna join me or what?"
She walked bent over to get closer to him. "You do realize you aren't eight years old, right?"
Before she knew it, she had been flipped onto her back, buried in the snow, and Will was looming over her, his body covering hers. "We're always eight years old, Amber. Where's your sense of fun?"
"It's hard to have a sense of fun when your ass is freezing in the snow."
He laughed, jumped up and grabbed her hands, hauling her up. "Come on. Snowman time."
"Just so you know, I've never built a snowman in my life."
He paused. "You're lying."
She shook her head. "Not lying."
"You get plenty of snow in New York."
"Of course I do. But I was always at practice, either skating or ballet. And then there was school."
"Come on. You had to have been allowed to play."
"Play was structured. Reading time, piano lessons, educational films."
He wrinkled his nose. "That's not play. I mean, reading is fun, as long as you get to choose what to read." He stared at her.
She stared back.
He rolled his eyes. "We'll talk about that later. But how about playing outside in the snow? Climbing on the playground equipment, running around with your friends?"
She didn't answer him, because there was no point. Most people didn't understand the way she was raised.
"Okay, then. Today is building a snowman day."
She appreciated that he didn't press her about her screwed-up childhood. The less she had to delve deep into her past and think about it, the better it was for her own emotional health.
So instead, she knelt on the ground and rolled snow into a giant ball with Will. Turned out, building a snowman was some serious work. And also serious fun. They argued over how big his bottom half should be.
"We're not building the Bigfoot of snowmen here, Amber," Will said. "Let's keep his proportions reasonable."
