Page 52 of Snowflakes and Ice Skates

Lane’s jaw dropped like he was offended, and he turned his body, going into the running man.

I held up my hands and covered my eyes. “It’s so bad.”

When I peeked through my fingers, Milly was cheering him on. Lane bowed to the crowd that had gathered and moved to stand next to me.

“That was quite the entrance,” I teased.

“I had to make up for being late. I had to finish a project and lost track of time.”

I appreciated that he acknowledged he was late and was glad to know it wasn’t normal for him.

“I’m just glad you’re here.” I surprised myself with my honesty, but I realized I had a hard time holding back around him.

“Me too.” He smiled, gazing at me like there were words he was holding back.

Eight

It was surprising that everyone we invited showed up. The apartment was packed, but people seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“Can I get you anything?” I had to nearly shout to be heard over the music Milly had turned up.

Lane nodded and followed me through the packed living room to where the food and drinks were set up. He picked up a flute of cider and drank it in a few gulps.

I laughed. “Thirsty?”

“I gave it all I had out there.”

“Those were impressive moves. I wasn’t aware you were a dancer.”

He narrowed his eyes at me before chuckling. I looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Cora talking to Hayden. Her alternate guy hadn’t shown up still, but she didn’t seem all that disappointed about the printer guy missing.

I nodded in their direction. “Do you think that could work?”

Lane glanced at them again, before turning back and nodding. “I don’t know Cora very well, but Hayden’s a really good guy.”

“I got that vibe. She needs someone who will treat her well.”

“Then Hayden is a good choice. I’ve known him for a few years, and he’s someone I really respect.” He paused. “We’ll have to see what happens.”

“Want to bet they kiss at midnight?”

He laughed. “No way. I know I’ll lose if I bet against that.”

I was glad to know he thought Hayden was someone Cora should pursue. I wanted to test the waters though. “You don’t think it’s weird that they work together?”

Lane shook his head. “No, they’re in different departments, and the company policy just states superiors can’t date people they manage directly, so there’s no problem.”

I smiled and tried to hide my relief at his words. So he wouldn’t think it was weird if I told him about my crush. I wanted to shout it out for the whole room to hear just to get it off my chest, but that would be humiliating for both of us. Especially if he didn’t feel the same.

This was when I wished there was an obvious neon sign that flashed when a person also had feelings for you. Like ‘it’s a match!’ That would be perfect.

“That’s a good point.” It also meant he’d looked up the rule...or did he just know our company’s dating policy off the top of his head? I could stand here and analyze that tiny bit of information all night. Instead, I felt brave. “Did you look that up recently?”

His eyes darted to mine before looking back at the group. “Um, Hayden checked.”

It was a fair explanation, but something told me he wasn’t giving me the full story. My heart raced at the thought of him checking because he was interested in me.

Don’t get ahead of yourself.