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“How’s hockey going?”
“What do you think of this strange weather?”
“Are there any famous people in this restaurant?”She asks that last one in case there’s someone she doesn’t recognize. And at one point she even asks my views on climate change.
But when she asks me what it feels like to ice skate, I freeze as excitement fills my chest. This could get interesting.
“You’ve never been on the ice before?” I ask, trying to keep the shock out of my voice.
Willow rests back against her chair and glares my way, folding her arms across her chest. “Why is that so hard to believe? Did you see anywhere to skate in Hepburn? We can ski, but there’s no skating.”
“True, but I ran a clinic in a hockey rink less than an hour from your town. You never went there?”
She laughs like I’m crazy, but I fail to see why it’s not a valid point.
“No, I never went to theice skating rinkin the next town,” she says, putting extra emphasis on “ice skating” instead of hockey, making me chuckle. “Like I said, I’ve never been.”
“Well, we can’t have that, can we. I’ll take you out before I have to leave tomorrow. You’ll be skating in no time.”
Willow’s jaw drops before she panics. “What? Noooo. Not happening. I’m content to have missed out on that particular activity. Plus, I’m heading home in the morning.”
“What?”This is all I get? I need more time.“Ah okay, of course. Are you planning to visit Pippa any time soon?”
“I honestly don’t know. I can’t just keep playing hooky from my responsibilities, but I’m not backpedaling. We’ll find time to hang out.”
Hang out. Goddammit. This woman…
“Okay, sure. Have you finished? I promised you some touristy shit,” I grumble, unable to keep the disappointment out of my voice. I feel like I’m losing her all over again.
“I love the enthusiasm.” Willow smiles and it actually looks real until she adds, “Technically, you didn’t promise me anything, so you don’t have to.”
Oh, I have to, otherwise who knows when I’ll see her again.
“We’re going.” I grunt, finishing off the last of my drink. “Come on.”
Willow neatly folds her napkin, placing it on her plate before standing up at the same time I do, a smile on her face.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” she says quietly, so I sit back down. “I’ll be back.”
As she walks away, I swear she whispers something about “grumpy Jesse being back” but I ignore her and focus on getting the attention of our server.
Of course, that Jesse’s back. You’re leaving!
It’s busy, so the server doesn’t arrive until Willow’s on her way back, and when she sees him, she rushes over. Since I know what’s coming, I cut her off before she speaks. “I’m paying! No arguments.”
The server raises his eyebrows as I hand him my card, and I swear I see a spark of something in his eyes.Weird.And when I turn to Willow, she’s trying to hide the same look. I clench my fist thinking they’re having a moment, until the server mumbles, “That was hot,” as he walks away, making me wonder if Willow was thinking the same. I can be that grumpy guy if she needs me to be.
God, who am I? This woman drives me crazy.
Ignoring my thoughts, I set off with Willow following behind me. Hollywood Boulevard is only a short distance from the restaurant, so we leave the car and make our way by foot.
We’re both silent as Willow checks out the Walk of Fame before slowing down at the hands and footprints, spending extra time on some celebrities, skipping over others. As for me, I couldn’t tell you any of the names. I’m more focused on her. Watching her small smile when she recognizes someone, taking in her giggles at the size of the hands, measuring them against her own.
It makes me want to do the same thing, to grabherhand and check the difference, before curling our fingers together and never letting go.
We’ve been wandering around for about thirty minutes when her phone buzzes, and she stiffens before reaching into her purse. She sees the screen and her body relaxes before she smiles my way. “All good, it’s just Pippa. I’ll get back to her later.”
It may beall good,but I don’t like the way she reacted to getting a text.Is something going on?
