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And now it’s just the two of us in here, and I’m finally able to talk to her about this stupid situation I’ve gotten myself into. If I’m being honest, I’m regretting the whole thing. Just goes to show that little lies never stay little.
“They just don’t know. I didn’t want them to.” I pinch the top of my nose because I caused this mess. “It’s complicated.” And I’m already wishing I didn’t start this conversation. “Can you just do this for me?”
“So what’s our backstory?” she asks. “Have we met before? Are we complete strangers?”
She’s wearing a pink skating dress that skims her perfect curves. It’s amazing how much she and mom look alike. I take after my dad with dark hair instead of blonde, and hazel eyes not green.
“Do we need a backstory?” I ask. “It’s just for a couple of days.”
“But I’m staying with you.”
“I know.” She isn’t going to stop until I’ve made up an entire story for her. It reminds me of when we were little, and even though she was the oldest, it was always my job to read us both to sleep. “Okay, we’ve met before. And we’ve been talking a lot on the phone, so we’ve kind of bonded and are going to spend more time together.”
“So we’re like best friends?” she asks. “I love that.”
There’s a weird lump in my throat. “Yes, friends.”
She takes my hand. “I won’t betray you,” she says, and it makes my chest feel strange. “I’ll make them believe me. I’ll give the best performance of my life.”
“You don’t need to do that. Just don’t let the cat out of the bag. Not now.”
“Will you ever tell them?” she asks. And now I’m feeling bad again. I like the guys on the team. It seemed like a good idea to be professional when I first arrived, but now I wish I’d been honest.
Even if I had to pay the price.
“I’ll tell them after this weekend.” When my whole family – entourage and all – have left.
“Isabella?” Somebody knocks on the door. “The cameras are set up and Justin is ready.” They want to record their practice to air clips of onIce Stars, before they do their live performance later in the week.
“Are you coming down to watch?” she asks. “As a friend?”
“Okay. Yes.” I nod. “You go ahead and I’ll be there in a minute.”
She beams at me. “Thank you. I’ll feel much better knowing you’re there.” She grabs her skate bag and checks herself in the mirror the makeup artist brought with her. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck. You’ve got this.” I go to hug her, but she turns away at the last minute, leaving me holding out my arms like a zombie. Pulling them back to my side, I watch as she leaves, before I grab the filming schedule the production person gave me, looking over it.
The morning is starting off with Isabella and Justin doing their dance practice. Then they’ll get the team on the ice for her to teach them some dance moves – I guess that’s the comic relief that will contrast nicely with the testosterone of the hockey game.
Eli’s been a complete sport about moving things around to accommodate Isabella and the cameras. I apologized profusely –again– and he just laughed it off.
It’s only been two days since we left Misty Lakes and I already miss it. I miss the ease of our time together. The way we bared our souls to each other. I miss being real with him, because I now realize I haven’t been real in a long, long time.
Yes, I’ve been successful at work, and that’s been great. But my love life and family life have been a mess.
It’s time to change all that.
By the time I get to the rink, Isabella and Justin have already started practicing. I take a seat halfway up the bleachers, far enough away not to be caught on camera, and watch my sister tame the ice.
She’s so graceful it makes my heart hurt. There’s nothing more beautiful than seeing Isabella execute a perfect triple axel before she lands as soft as a snowflake back on the firm surface of the ice.
I try not to think about my stupid efforts to get across the rink and back without falling over. But then I remember Eli taking his top off for me and I can’t help but smile. It’s okay that I’m not good at this. I’m good at other things.
And my life is better because Eli is in it.
The whole team is watching her from the tunnel. Goran is grinning and saying something to Carter. Then I see Eli watching her and that tightness in my chest increases.
Is he comparing her performance on the ice to mine? I know he would never say it, but maybe he’s wondering how we came from the same parents. I sometimes wonder that myself.
