“Suddenly cowboylovesice skating.” I poke him in the ribs, a stream of white gusting in front of me as I laugh. “What a mystery as to why the rapid change of tune.”
“Since your pride was a little bruised… I thought I should kiss it better.” Mia exhales, hearts in her eyes as they draw apart. Taking him by the hand, they make their way to follow me onto the ice.
“Careful,ma petite chérie.” I help to steady her as she finds her balance on the skates on the frozen surface.
“Oh my god, don’t let go. You can’t let me face plant,” she gasps, but there’s excitement lighting her face as we start to glide gently. “A broken nose is not on my bingo card for this year.”
“Never. I won’t let you fall.”
“Don’t see you offering to hold my hand out here.” Reid chuckles. “Am I not pretty enough to deserve a private lesson?”
I give him a wink. “I’ll save you a dance for later,mon big.”
Gliding backward, I hold both of Mia’s hands in my own and tow her along as I move. She concentrates hard, biting her lip, the further we head onto the ice.
“Show off.” She pokes her tongue out at me.
Pretty soon, our girl finds a little of her rhythm and balance. Keeping one hand wrapped in mine, her other now reaches for Reid—who doesn’t hesitate to fit her tiny palm inside his own. And it’s the best feeling seeing the smile light her face, hearing her laughter whenever she loses her balance slightly, and the way she’s playful with Reid is everything.
It’s particularly satisfying to watch her expression, to see her shoulders straighten, whenever we skate past her ex and the fiancée. I’m pretty sure they’ve spent the entire time complaining about something or other, with the way the other is skating too fast or too slow, and their hands are waving around comically.
It’s in stark contrast to the way Mia hasn’t stopped beaming, and Reid has a boyish grin plastered on his face. Indeed, he’s a whole lot more eager for ice skating than I’ve ever seen before. No surprises there.
And as I turn around and skate backward again, I see that the douchebag ex has already decided to call it quits and leave the ice. His fiancée is going along unsteadily by herself, a frown etched on her face, when I hear her words drift over. Something to the effect ofWhy does that girl get two people to help?Followed by a muttering that has me changing our plans real fast.What’s so special about her anyway?
Oh, if only this woman knew that Mia is truly one of a kind.
“Ready to make a scene?” I skate faster, grabbing her by the waist. Mia lets out a squeal as I propel her along with more speed.
Reid keeps up with us, but I can tell he’s already disapproving of whatever I’m planning on doing next.
“I don’t think I can skate this fa—AHHHH.” Her green eyes nearly pop out of her head when I whip us around in a circle. Attention is on us from all sides, which is exactly what I wanted, and that’s when I strike.
“Don’t you dare…” Reid barks at me, but he knows I’m always going to look for ways to bend the rules until they’re ready to snap.
Doing my best to hide my smirk, I loop my arm around the small of Mia’s back, then dip her. I’m not gonna drop her… but she doesn’t know that. The screech that echoes around the frozen lake is real enough, as she tips off balance, clutching at my jacket. It’s the perfect fake fall to go with thefakedate.
My hands cradle her, ensuring she doesn’t actually hit the ice… something resembling a controlled glide to the smooth, cold surface beneath us.
“Henri. Oh my god.” She glares up at me, lying on her back, and gives me a soft thump on the front of my chest. Right above the spot where my heart has been feeling extremely full ever since she arrived on our doorstep. “You did that on purpose. I was skating justfinebefore you tripped me up.”
Mia huffs and scolds me, with flushed lips, and loose tendrils of hair framing her beautiful features.
“Someone is making it his business to be busy watching you. We want to make sure he knows just how much attention you’regetting on this vacation.” I poke my tongue against the side of my cheek.
Reid goes down on one knee on the other side of her. “Are you done messing around?” His focus narrows on me.
“I’m alright.” Mia shakes her head, with eyelashes fluttering for a moment. “The view from down here is rather spectacular, actually.” She gives us a salacious grin.
That makes our cowboy shut up real quick. He’s a sucker for a compliment, even if he pretends not to be.
“Now, you get to make a fuss of your girl.” I give him a little shove on his shoulder. “You can thank me later.”
“Oh, can I now?” He slips his hand beneath Mia’s head to help lift her up, eyeing me as he does so.
“Mmhmmm. With that mouth.”
Mia chokes on her laughter, hiding her face in her glove as she sits upright. “You two are naughty.” She glances between us both as we all get back to a standing position. “But thank you for making today the best Christmas Eve I think I’ve ever had.”
