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I peered at her, watching for a clue about her mood. “Have you been feeling like you’re under pressure lately? You know this competition in Dellville is very low-key. Even if something goes wrong, it won’t affect your career at all.”
Lou shrugged, but I caught a flicker of uneasiness in her eyes. “Oh, you know, it’s hard not to be a little nervous when it’s my first time performing for an audience.”
“Of course. Is there anything else on your mind? You can talk to me about whatever you want, you know.”
She gave me a gentle smile that lit me up just as much as Jasper’s could. “I know, Niko. Really, I’m fine.”
I didn’t believe her, but I couldn’t see how to push any further without becoming obnoxious. I wasn’t her keeper—I wasn’t even officially her coach.
She’d share her concerns with me when she felt ready to. I could respect her need for privacy, as much as I wanted to smooth out any strain she was feeling.
A hint of mischief tugged at her lips. “And you didn’t figure Jasper needed this pep talk too?”
I raised my eyebrows. “He’s been through dozens of competitions much more intense than tomorrow’s. It’ll be good for him to just get back out there again and remember how much he loves it, but I can’t imagine there’s anything I could tell him that he doesn’t already know.”
He did love it—being on the ice. I’d been able to see it in every performance during his high period. That was one of the things that’d drawn me to him to begin with.
“Maybe not about competition prep,” Lou said, arching her eyebrows right back at me. “But about other things… You obviously care about him a lot if you came all the way here and put up with all his grumbling just to get him back into competitions. No way did you go to all that trouble just because you felt guilty about a kiss that couldn’t have lasted more than a minute.”
My throat constricted. “I wouldn’t have kissed him if I hadn’t already liked and respected him quite a bit.”
“Like? Respect?” Lou shook her head in apparent exasperation. “Come on, Niko. He’s more than that, right? You’ve got a thing for him, that for some reason you’ve been keeping ever so quiet about.”
A flush of heat crept up my neck. “It didn’t seem… relevant. Jasper’s never acted as if he—”
“Jasper can barely seem to figure out whathe’sreally feeling half of the time through all his hang-ups,” Lou interrupted, the insult tempered by the obvious affection in her voice. “How the heck was he supposed to know that you’re interested when he hadn’t even seen you for more than a year after that one kiss? Did you really expecthimto make the first move?”
I grimaced. “Well, I—I didn’t want to impose on him.”
“Has he ever said anything that made it seem like he’s upset about what happened between you two? I didn’t see any sign that he was bothered about the kiss today.”
“No, we’ve never even talked about it until now.”
She tossed her hands in the air. “Why not? Why don’t you go for it to see what could happen?”
I grappled for an answer, my feelings in such a muddle it was hard to tell what was actually accurate. “It’s complicated. I’m here to coach him—I didn’t want to confuse things. Or upset him again.”
“He’s obviously not getting upset about it. And I think he was a hell of a lot more confused by younotsaying how you felt.”
Lou tapped me on the chest. “And you’re not technically his coach any more than you are mine. There’s nothing official tying you together that’d make it hard for him to walk away if he wanted to, right?”
I didn’t know whether I should be pleased or frustrated that I couldn’t brush off her arguments. “I guess there isn’t.”
“There you go. That’s my pep talk for you. Get out ofyourhead, take a deep breath, and tell him everything. I’m not making that part of the confession for you.”
I shot her a baleful look, and Lou grinned back so sunnily that I couldn’t take any offense. The sight of her gorgeous face sent a strange wobble through my pulse.
My feelings and Jasper’s weren’t the only ones that mattered.
“You wouldn’t have any problem with it if—if something more happened between him and me?” I had to ask.
Lou’s snort doused all my worries in an instant. “Of course not. You haven’t minded sharing me with him—why should I mind sharing him with you?” Her smile turned coy. “I’d get to see my two new favorite guys find a little more happiness. Sounds good to me.”
A swell of affection rose up through my chest and propelled me toward her. I touched her cheek and captured her lips with mine, hoping she could feel just how much I meant the tenderness of the kiss.
“Thank you,” I said after, running my fingers over her soft hair. “Apparently I did need a pep talk too.”
Lou beamed at me. “Glad to be of service.”
