Page 37 of Center Ice

Once I finished everything that could be done for the day, I headed to my room. Tomorrow was going to be hectic, so I planned on relaxing tonight and avoiding Robbie.

I turned the corner to the hall and froze. A figure was leaning against my door. His face was covered by the shadows, and I took cautious steps toward him until he moved forward. It took me a second to register his face and tell my body it didn’t need to go into fight or flight mode.

“Jake.” I exhaled his name and put a hand over my heart.

He scanned my face. “Are you okay?”

“You scared me half to death. What are you doing here?” I forgot I pointed out my room when I was showing him around the employee areas.

“Sorry.” He cringed. “I know you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow, but I wanted to see if you’d maybe like to get dessert or something?” He sounded so unsure of himself. Like he was expecting me to decline.

I thought of my bed, just on the other side of the wall, waiting for me. He was leaving soon too. Did I want to spend as much time with him as possible or put distance between us before it was too late? Both options led to heartbreak.

“Never mind, you’re probably busy.” His smile turned uneasy and shoulders slumped. He interpreted my silence as a rejection.

“No, I’d like that.” I reached out and touched his arm. It was the truth. Even if I regretted it later, I wanted to soak up as much of him as I could.

This was dangerous territory. I was breaking my own rules. Don’t engage with guests. They’re here for a vacation. What happens here, stays here. But not for me. This was my real life.

But Jake was … different. It was so easy to talk to him, even if we clashed on certain topics. We’d had misunderstandings, but instead of walking away as we should have, we continued to come back to each other. We were drawn together, despite everything rooting against us.

It sounded stupid and delusional, even to me, but I couldn’t help it.

“Let’s go.”

He smiled and took my hand in his.

13

Jake

We ended up at one of the few restaurants that were still open and ordered a slice of chocolate cake to share. There were only a handful of other tables with guests, which was rare to find here. It was quiet enough to hear the low music playing in the background, which combined with the dimmed lights provided a romantic atmosphere I’d have to thank the staff for later.

“One of the guys said something yesterday that I haven’t been able to get out of my head.”

She glanced up and held my eyes. “Oh, really?”

“He said all marriages end in either death or divorce.”

She scrunched her nose, then laughed. “Morbid, but true. I guess I never thought of it that way.”

I smiled. “Neither had I. He also told me the important thing was remembering to enjoy the time in between.”

She nodded. “That is the best part.”

“It made me think about my mom. Did she ever regret being with my dad? Was their time together worth the pain?”

“I think you know the answer to that,” she said in a gentle tone.

I shook my head. “I don’t.”

“I’m sure at one point your parents loved each other very much, and she probably cherished those memories, but she had you because of that relationship, Jake. She never would have regretted that.”

Her words hit hard. I’d spent all this thinking about what my mom would say to me, and Dani nailed it perfectly.

“You’re right.”

She grinned. “I know.”