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Because she would be back. In my gut, I knew it.
* * *
Two Days Later
Liv
This was so stupid.
If I kept showing up day after day, I was only going to encourage Dillon. I’d basically told him in no uncertain terms I wasn’t up for…racing.
Which, let’s face it, we were both adults. We knew that meant sex.
Because he knew I was on vacation, it’s not like he was looking for anything beyond that. A bartender, who looked like him, in a summer tourist town? Short term affairs were probably his bread and butter.
Which was why he backed off so easily when I put up the stop sign.
On to the next tourist.
Some sunburned blonde, with highlights in her hair, would be all over a guy like Dillon.
Ooooh, show me your big muscles? Are you big everywhere? So you used to play hockey? That’s sooooo cool.
Shit. This woman was a made-up fictional character and I was already really annoyed with her. Even worse, I was pissed at him for finding someone like that attractive.
“This is your problem, Liv,” I said out loud in my car so my ears would hear it. “You can’t get out of your own fucking head. He’s just a guy you’ve been spending time with. No. Big. Deal.”
Except getting in my head was my favorite thing to do. And skating next to Dillon these past few days had been nice. I’d forgotten what it felt like to be in sync like that with someone. He certainly wasn’t my former partner Brian.
Brian was all lean muscle and graceful movements. Skating next to Dillon was like skating next to the Hulk. Only he wasn’t green and he was pretty funny and actually sort of good looking in his own way.
He was also fast and he didn’t pull back because I was a girl. He liked to compete and that was my second favorite thing after skating.
Not to mention the allure of him not realizing who I was. The anonymity of just being me, and not a story, was addictive. If he went home and Googled me, would Olivia Tyler-Branch even pop up?
All he knew was Liv and figure skater.
Except now he knew Liv, figure skater and accident.
Figure skater and accident would definitely put me on top of the search. Or maybe not. It was three years ago, but who knew if Dillon was a snooper.
I had some well-meaning friends do some snooping for a blind date I had seven months ago, and they immediately shot him down with a detailed Power Point presentation on every red flag his social media account alluded to.
Needless to say I hadn’t tried that again. The dating thing.
So what was I doing back here at six fifteen am, hoping the bartender/local hockey league guy would show up too?
I got out of my car and headed to the rink determined to just enjoy my morning workout whether anyone joined me or not. Except when I came out of the locker room, Dillon was already on the ice and skating.
It made me happy to see him.
Damn it.
I stepped onto the ice and started warming up my legs, pretending he wasn’t even there when he glided through my peripheral vision.
“Morning, Liv. Bit of a late start today?”
We’d been trying to one up each other on the ice these past few days. Today was a win for him.
