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“So, we’re going to be competing. When do we get to pick out costumes?”
Her enthusiasm brought back my smile. “Normally I don’t think about costumes until at least the basics of the routine are sorted out. So I can make sure it all fits together. But, ah, I wouldn’t generally be picking them out.”
The second the words had left my mouth, I kicked myself. I never talked about this part of my approach.
But Lou was eyeing me with nothing but eager curiosity. “What do you mean?”
I’d put it out there now. She was going to find out soon enough anyway, wasn’t she?
I drained the last of the cider and set the bottle on the coffee table, nearly falling off the narrow cushion as I did. This sofa was not made for someone my size.
“I sew them myself. The costumes. I could never find anything that fit my vision perfectly off the rack, so I just… taught myself.”
Lou’s eyes widened. “Holy shit. No kidding? That’s amazing. I never would have guessed—you obviously taught yourself well.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“Why don’t the reporters ever talk about that? It’s such a cool part of your story.”
I ducked my head. “I don’t usually bring it up. Always assumed people would think it was more weird than cool, I guess. It’s just something that kind of happened.”
Lou snorted. “I could almost say that about skating in general for me. Went to see one of those stars on ice shows when I was five years old, begged my mom for a pair of skates and lessons, and the dream just kept getting bigger all on its own.”
A momentary melancholy crossed her face, and my stomach clenched at the memory of her comments about her unsupportive mom. Not all of her associations with her skating career were happy ones.
“You want to talk about uncool,” she added, springing up. “You should see—”
She darted over to where her equipment bag was resting by the wall and dug into one of the side pockets. Then she sank down onto the sofa—closer this time, just a few inches away from where I was leaning my arm across the back.
My awareness of her nearness tingled over my skin, but I pulled my attention to the scrap of fabric clutched in her hands.
“One of the laces from my very first pair of skates,” she said, stroking her thumb over the fraying strip of woven material. “I like to have it with me to remind me of how far I’ve come, even when it didn’t seem like I’d come anywhere near far enough. My good luck charm.”
She grinned at me, but I hadn’t missed the dash of pain in her statement. As hard as it was for me to wrap my head around it, this woman hadn’t believed she was good enough for an awfully long time.
My voice dropped lower of its own accord. Somehow my hand ended up coming to rest on her shoulder with a tentative graze of my fingertips.
“Having seen you skate, I find it hard to imagine there’s any limit on how far you’ll take it.”
Lou met my gaze, her dark eyes shimmering with enough emotion to flood me with heat. “And here I thought that to you I was just a punk who barged in on your practice time.”
The heat rose to my face at that remark. God, I really had been a prick to her, hadn’t I?
“That’s just… me,” I muttered. “I don’t do people very well.”
The light dancing in Lou’s eyes turned sly. She teased her fingers over my own shoulder, watching my reaction. “Hmm. I’d like to believe you just haven’t had enough experience with the right people. But we can keep working on that.”
My throat had gotten abruptly rough. “On the ice?”
“Or maybe…”
She set the old lace down on the coffee table and rose up onto her knees on the sofa. Just the right height to touch my cheek and lower her mouth to mine.
The press of her lips sent a shock of total bliss straight through my body. I’d wanted this so much, but I’d tried to ignore that desire so determinedly that having it made real left my mind reeling.
My hands rose of their own accord, delving into her silky waves. Lou tussled my hair in turn, drawing sparks over my scalp with her fingertips.
She deepened the kiss with a flick of her tongue across my lips, and I parted them to welcome her in. My tongue swept over hers, tangling them together in a very different sort of partnership than we’d attempted before.
