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He sucked in a deep breath. ‘That’s what I want to talk about.’
Her skin prickled as if a cool breeze had swept over her skin. She wasn’t quite sure where this was heading. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Steps. I’m not sure what comes next with...my family.’ He stumbled over the last words. ‘But all that stuff—finding my real parents, then losing them—has given me a chance to re-evaluate my life. To look at what I want. To decide what I want to do with it.’
His words were coming out quicker. He was getting more excited.
Anissa’s mouth was dry. ‘What do you want to do with it?’
He took her other hand. ‘It’s more about who I want to do it with.’
She could almost swear her heart stopped beating.
Her voice was barely audible. ‘Wh-what?’
Leo’s eyes were sparkling and his smile wide. He closed both hands over hers. ‘I want to do it with you, Anissa. Stay with me. Stay with me in New York. Have a clean break from your past life and take your time to decide what you want to do. You’ve been different these last few days. It’s like the shadows have lifted from your eyes and you’ve come out from under a cloud.’
Her heart twisted at those words—partly because they might be true—but Leo kept talking, his enthusiasm brimming over.
‘Stay with me. Take some time. Decide what you want to do and where you want to be. We both know that you might not make it back to gold-medal level again. But you’re brilliant, Anissa. There’s a world of opportunities out there for you. You just need to decide which one you want. So take your time. Stay with me. Get away from the slopes. New York could give you the time and space you need to make some plans for the future.’
She bristled at those words. He’d said her fear out loud. He’d said that she likely wouldn’t get back to the standard she needed to get the gold medal. It had played on her mind constantly for the last year—everyone had spoken with their silent disappearance from her life—but Leo was the first person to actually say the words to her face. And she didn’t like them.
Leo reached up and touched her cheek. ‘Please tell me you’ll stay, Anissa. Now I’ve found you, I don’t want to lose you. I love you.’
Her heart burned in her chest. Part of her wanted to shout out in joy and part of her wanted to burst into tears.
She’d met someone she’d connected with. Someone who, with one glance, could set her pulse racing. She’d seen into his pain, into his feelings of inadequacy, and completely understood. What’s more, she’d wanted to help. She hated that this wonderful, caring man felt like that.
Maybe she should be laughing. Maybe she should be throwing her arms around his neck and telling him that she loved him too.
Because she did.
But she just couldn’t. Not now. Not here. Not when he’d just said those other words.
It didn’t matter that it was the most romantic setting. It didn’t matter that most of other women in room would think she was crazy.
She wasn’t ready to give up on her dreams. It just seemed too much. Those slow feelings of being overwhelmed that had developed in the last few days were now gathering speed like snow tumbling down a mountain in an avalanche.
She could almost hear a ringing in her ears. The tightness across her chest had spread. Although she could breathe in, she was struggling to get it back out. Her head started to swim.
She stepped back. Out of his reach, out of the smell of his deep woody aftershave and away from the heat emanating from his body.
She needed space. She needed time.
His eyes widened as if he’d finally realised something was wrong.
‘Anissa?’
She pulled her hands back against her chest and shook her head.
There was noise behind them. An ornamental clock striking midnight.
It was like the spur she needed.
She shook her head and gathered her skirts in her hands. ‘No, Leo.’ The words choked halfway in her throat. ‘I’m sorry.’
As she headed to the stairs she stumbled and tripped, leaving one of her silver jewelled sandals behind. For a second she hesitated, wondering if she should pick it up. But Leo was still staring at her, his face a picture of confusion.
She couldn’t take the chance he would come after her—would try to persuade her to stay.
Tears clouded her vision. She had to get away before the pressure in her chest became too much. She turned and fled down the stairs as the last strike of midnight sounded.
* * *
Leo was stunned. What had just happened?
One second he was inviting the woman that he loved to stay with him. The next second she was crying and running away.
For a few seconds he was frozen to the spot, wondering how he could have got things so wrong. Wondering if he’d completely misread where he and Anissa could go.
The pain in his chest was sharp. A woman next to him coughed loudly, giving him a disapproving stare as if he’d just done something terrible.
He took a deep breath and started pushing his way through the crowd towards the stairs. What had he said? What had he done?
He stopped and picked up the silver sandal lying on one side. His insides coiled. She’d been so anxious to get out of there she’d actually left a sandal behind.
He’d thought offering her the chance to move somewhere new and make a fresh start would be just what she needed—and just what she would want.
But he’d obviously got it wrong. Badly wrong.
Or maybe the thing he’d got wrong was that fact that he’d told her he loved her. He couldn’t deny how he felt. But it was clear Anissa didn’t feel the same way.
He reached the top of the stairs and stopped for a second as the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. Maybe she’d felt pressured by what he’d said. If Anissa didn’t feel the same way, how must his declaration of love have felt?
Had he imagined the sparks and electricity between them—was he really that out of touch? He grabbed the banister to steady himself.
He’d been happy. He’d been caught up in the atmosphere of the night, the beauty of the woman in front of him and his own raw emotions.
He loved her. He loved her. He wanted her to be happy. He’d thought his offer of staying here and not worrying about training any more would
have been a relief to her.
How wrong he’d been.
When she’d mentioned the other job he’d assumed she’d been considering it. She’d just been so much brighter and happier since they’d reached New York.
But it seemed she hadn’t quite realised that yet.
He hurried out into the foyer and glanced from side to side, the elegant silver sandal in his hand. Surely she couldn’t have gone anywhere without it?
The irony gripped him. He’d called her Ice Princess, but the truth was she was his Cinderella.
And she’d slipped right through his grasp.
CHAPTER TEN
SHE’D PANICKED. SHE’D run straight out of the main entrance of the hotel into the snow-covered streets and flagged down the first taxi that she’d seen.
The cab driver had looked a little bewildered at the girl with one shoe, a silver purse hanging from her wrist, and a pile of skirts in her hands, but—being New York—he’d probably seen a whole lot more.
But when he’d asked her for an address her brain had frozen.
He gave a nod and started the cab, driving a few blocks and pulling over again. ‘Okay, girl?’ His question was quiet. There was concern on his face.
Her brain snapped back into focus. She knew what she must look like. He must be wondering if something had happened.
She nodded her head quickly. ‘I’m sorry. I’m okay.’ He raised his eyebrows a little and she nodded again. ‘I promise.’
The kindness of strangers. It brought a tear to her eye. She wondered what else this taxi driver had seen over the years. She rattled off the first address that sprang to mind. Jules. The only other person she knew in New York. She thought about pulling out her phone and checking to see if Jules was in. But the truth was, whether Jules was in or not, she’d no place else she felt she could go.
If Jules wasn’t in she could always just wait outside.
