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“You love my ego.” He smiled over at me, a flash of vulnerability in his gaze.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I’ve never… Shit, Dayna,” he breathed. “I just wanted to say thank you for arranging this. I figured you’d want to go to some fancy restaurant or something.”
“Actually, I thought we could get pizza after this and go sit on the beach.” Aiden finished lacing his skates and dropped to his knees in front of me. “What are you—”
“Let me.” He gently shoved my hands away and took over lacing my skates, the intimate action sending my heart into a tailspin.
“You know, I haven’t been here since…” The unspoken words hung between us.
The rink was one of Dalton’s favorite places growing up. I’d tag along with him and Carson to watch them practice. They always had an audience, even back then. But no matter how girls vied for their attention or how many guys hung around wanting to shoot the shit with them, they never left me out.
Laying one of his hands along the side of my neck, he stared at me. “I can’t pretend to know what it was like to lose your brother, but he’d want you to live, Dayna.”
A ball of emotion lodged in my throat, but I managed a small nod.
“You good?” he asked.
“Yeah, come on.”
Aiden helped me up and led me onto the ice. I was like Bambi at first, wobbling all over the place. But he was patient, helping me find my footing before he kissed me and took off like a rocket, zipping across the ice.
“Show off,” I called, my voice echoing through the small building. Dupont Beach Ice Rink wasn’t much, but it held some of my most treasured memories of Dalton.
Aiden chuckled as he circled me, the grinding of ice filling the frigid air. He was something to behold, cutting across the rink with the grace of a figure skater and the power of a two-hundred-pound hockey player.
I managed to skate to the boards and lean against them to watch him.
“Come on, freckles, get out here,” he said.
“I think I’ll leave it to the pro.”
He came to an abrupt stop in front of me, spraying ice everywhere. His cheeks had the cutest flush, his hair falling in his eyes as he came closer.
Aiden’s love of skating was written all over his face.
“Did you always want to be a hockey player?” I asked.
“Come here.” Aiden positioned me in front of him, his arms wrapping around my waist. “Okay?” I nodded, and he added, “Now, gently.”
The momentum of his big, sturdy body pushed me forward, and we skated gently around the rink.
“My mom bought me skates for my fifth birthday,” he said. “She got them from the thrift store. They were one size too big, so I had to double up on socks. But I was so excited.”
“I bet you were the cutest.”
“I’m not sure about that.” His laughter fanned my cheek. “But I was so fucking stubborn. The lake behind our house used to freeze over in the winter. I spent hours out there, teaching myself to skate. Trying to mimic the moves I saw on television whenever I watched hockey games.
“She worked every second she could to buy me better gear. I joined a local peewee team, and the coach said I was a natural. But I was Dawson Dumfries’ kid, too. And people were wary of me, of what it meant to get close to me.”
“I’m sorry.” I twisted back to look at him, but Aiden captured my lips in a soft kiss.
“Hockey saved me, Dayna. It gave me a purpose, a focus. I was screwed up over my old man, the things I saw and heard about him. Over time, it became this ugly thing inside me. I have a mean temper, and I struggle with authority. But I want to be better. I want to prove to him and myself and everyone else out there that I’m better than him.”
“You are,” I said.
“And if I’m not?” His words made me push back against him slightly, and we came to a stop. I turned in Aiden’s arms, gazing up at him.
