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“That was amazing,” Dianna blurted the moment he skidded to a stop in front of them.
He held out his hand toward her and she eyed it with what could only be described as mistrust. He chuckled. “I’m not going to bite.”
Dianna glanced at Mathew. “I don’t think we should leave—”
Thank the stars his son knew what to do in this situation. Mathew nudged her forward. “Dad, teach her a trick.”
“What? No. I’m terrible at—”
“Please?” His quiet word seemed to be the only thing that pushed her to accept his request. “I’ll start you out with something simple.”
Though there was clear hesitation in her eyes, she placed her hand in his and nodded. “Okay.”
“First, we’re going to go around the rink to get a good momentum going.” They started around the edges of the inner circle. “See? The ice here is smoother because most of these skaters are using the outer area.”
She clutched his hand and arm tightly, her fingers digging hard enough he could feel them through his coat.
“You’re going to have to relax.”
She let out a bark of laughter. “You can’t tell me to relax when this isn’t something I’m good at.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be the queen of helping people work through their issues?”
Her features stiffened.
Uh-oh. That was the wrong thing to say. He cleared his throat and tried again. “That is, what I meant to say was that you know all the tricks and ways to get through something when you don’t think you can succeed. Isn’t that right?”
“I guess,” she hedged.
Now would have been the perfect segue into discussing where she was going when he’d caught her trying to make her escape. But something held him back. It didn’t feel right to ask her when he was trying to smooth the feathers that had been ruffled earlier.
“Well, if you were working with Mathew—or another kid—and they were scared to do something, what would you tell them?”
She closed her eyes briefly. “I’d tell them to focus on their breathing or count to their favorite number.”
“Which one works for you?”
Dianna glanced at him, curiosity flickering behind her eyes. “No one has ever asked me that before.”
“I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”
“I guess you’re right.” Her smile returned and her grip relaxed a little. “I prefer to focus on my breathing. There’s something about it that grounds me.”
His mouth quirked up at the ends. “Okay, sobreathe. Relax your body a little more and let me guide you through a few things. We’re going to try to skate backward, and then I’m going to put you into a dip.”
Her eyes widened, and immediately she stiffened in his arms.
Tristan chuckled. “Breathe.”
She nodded sharply and closed her eyes—something that showed a great deal more trust in him than he thought was possible at this point. He moved his mouth closer to her ear and said, “Okay, just stay relaxed and lean on me if you need to. We’re going to shift so that your feet are gliding this way instead.” He moved them into a position where he was propelling her ahead of him while she faced him.
Dianna gasped and her grip tightened once more.
“Don’t worry, you’re doing it.”
Her eyes flew open and she stared around wildly. He nearly lost his momentum, which could have ended catastrophically. He didn’t have professional training, but he knew enough to keep them afloat as long as she didn’t put them in a precarious position.
“Now, we’re going to turn again, but start gliding forward.”
