Page 27 of Deck the Hauls

I hadn’t been attracted to anyone for years. Not since Kelsey. And look how that had worked out.

My chest tightened. This wasn’t good. Falling for a gorgeous, absolutely out of my league movie star who was only in town for a short time could only end badly for me. And I’d gone through more than enough heartache, as Jake’s visit had reminded me. I’d purposefully steered away from dating. No girlfriends or dogs had been my rule to avoiding any further emotional devastation.

Offering to take Emily ice skating had definitely been a bad idea. We’d had such a nice evening together on Thursday night and I’d gotten a little carried away.

As soon as the door swung shut, Jenny leaned forward, her blue eyes wide. “What was all that about?”

“I helped her practice lines for this scene, that’s all. And I’m going to help teach her how to ice skate later, for another scene.”

Olivia’s eyebrows shot up. “Have you befriended Emily? You should invite her to hang out with us. She seems nice.”

“She is nice.” Too nice. “I don’t think she’ll have time, but if it comes up I’ll ask.”

Although, perhaps that wasn’t the best idea. Given my growing feelings for her, it was probably better to limit contact. Once I’d helped her learn to skate tonight, there’d be no need to see her anymore, and my feelings would surely fade away.

CHAPTER TEN

EMILY

Michael Bublé crooned over the loudspeakers as locals, bundled up in beanies and scarves, skated over the ice. Gold twinkle lights were strung around the sides of the rink, as well as overhead, creating a canopy of warm light, supplemented by some strategically placed floodlights. On one side of the rink, a large Christmas tree covered in silver bulbs and oversized red ornaments added to the holiday vibes.

“This is gorgeous!” I exclaimed, hugging the skates we’d just rented. I was still buzzing from filming the café scene. Having Dana performing her grumpy waitress role on camera had made my day. Not that today’s shoot had been completely smooth-sailing. We’d had to reshoot one scene because I’d stumbled over a line and flinched multiple times at Austin’s touch. It was frustrating that my experience with Phillip was still affecting me in this way.

“It’s very festive,” Dana observed, then pressed her lips together. Her white skates hung in her hand, dangling next to her butt encased in black jeans, her other hand stuffed into the pocket of her black Carhartt jacket.

I bit my lip. “Thanks again for offering to help. I hope this all isn’t too much.”

“I’ll survive,” Dana said with a wry smile, then nodded toward a bench just outside the entrance to the rink, opposite a small stand selling hot chocolate, mulled wine, hot apple cider and pretzels. “Why don’t we head over there and put on our skates.”

On the way, I swerved around a teenager who wasn’t looking where they were going, too fixated on drinking their decadent-looking hot chocolate piled with whipped cream and a skewer of marshmallows. I licked my lips. Damn, that looks good.

Once we were seated, I pulled off my sneakers and wrestled my feet into the stiff skates, tying the laces in droopy bows.

Suddenly, Dana dropped on one knee in front of me. I blinked. What was she doing?

“It’s important to make sure they’re done up tightly enough so you have lots of support, but not so tightly that they completely restrict your ankle movement,” Dana said, wriggling a little closer to me.

“Oh my god!” a woman with graying hair twisted into a bun exclaimed, holding her hands to her chest and beaming at us.

Dana stared at the woman then her eyes widened and she blinked. “Oh! No, I’m not proposing. I’m just retying her skates.”

“Oh, my mistake.” The woman laughed. “Have a lovely evening ladies!”

I let out a nervous giggle. “Well, that was awkward.”

If that had happened in my parents’ neighborhood or if the woman had recognized who I was, I would have been panicking right now. But Sapphire Springs seemed more accepting than the community I’d grown up in, and my beanie and scarf, along with low lighting, gave me a comforting degree of anonymity.

“Clearly I have to be more careful about getting down on one knee.” Dana leaned forward, undid my droopy bows and started working her way up my left skate, tugging the laces tighter as she went.

“There we go. Does that feel okay?” Dana looked up at me, her face glowing from the twinkle lights, her breath visible in the cold night air.

“Much better, thank you,” I said.

My eyes locked with Dana’s, and a shiver shot down my spine. God, she’s stunning.

Dana broke my gaze and rose. “Let’s walk over to the entrance. It’s going to feel a bit strange.”

Ankles stiff and feet heavy, I wobbled over to the rink. The skates threw off my entire center of gravity. We tucked our shoes into the wooden cubbyholes next to the rink.