The music surrounded us, almost painfully intimate, all long notes and slow rhythm, and suddenly skating itself felt different, sensual in a way it never could be under arena lights. I lost myself in long edges, slow glides, our bodies aligning perfectly through movement.
Dean’s thumb shifted once against my side, a tiny movement that sent a shock through me far more effectively than the near fall.
Then the music stopped, and the spell was broken.
We skated together, easy strokes down the length of the rink while cold air rushed around us and blades whispered against the ice.
My heart struggled to find its natural rhythm.
Outside, the winter light slowly began fading toward evening. I glanced toward the darkening windows and sighed.
“We should go.”
Yet again, neither of us moved.
Reality waited beyond the walls of the rink.
Tomorrow waited too. I would step back into the spotlight, under scrutiny in the careful world that had shaped me for years.
Except now I was no longer the same person who entered Milan.
Both Dean and I understood there was no undoing that.
We lingered outside, waiting for the car that would take us back to the Village. Cold air curled around us while the city glowed gold in the distance.
I stepped closer to Dean until our foreheads rested together.
“They’ll be looking for signs now.”
“Let them.”
I expected the familiar knot of dread.
It never arrived.
Little by little, the tension in my shoulders seeped from me. Dean tucked two fingers under my chin, tilting my face toward his.
“You okay?”
I kissed Dean on the mouth. “Better than okay,” I whispered against his lips. “I’m not afraid anymore.”
His arms tightening around me was the perfect response.
“It’s still Valentine’s.” He pressed his lips to my forehead. “We could go into the city and find a cozy little bistro, candlelight, wine…”
I chuckled. “I love the idea, but… not tonight.”
“There’s always the alternative.” I looked up at him, and he grinned. “Pizza, my room? And I’ll bet Noah could find us a bottle of wine. He seems to have no problem doing that.” Another gentle kiss. “You don’t skate until gone eight o’clock tomorrow night. You know your program like the back of your hand.”
I tried to give him a stern look. “You are a temptation, Dean Foster.”
He grinned. “Ooh, that sounds as if I’m wearing you down. So let me sweeten the pot with something you’llneverget in Milan.” His breath tickled my ear. “Naked pizza.”
I laughed. “Okay, you win. I concede defeat.”
“And for dessert…” His lips were on my throat. “We could cross something else off your list.”
I cupped his cheek, gazing into his eyes. “Just you, inside me. Loving me.”
