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“That’s not what I heard…”
“Can you just leave it alone, already, Brooke? For the first time in my life, I’m really happy. And I’d like to stay that way.”
“I’m just trying to protect you.” She shrugs, turning from me and setting her bag on the bench on the other side of the room.
“Well, thank you, but you can stop now because what we have is for real.”
As I do my warmup, skating in long, easy circles around the ice, a feeling of dread comes over me. What if she’s right? What if I am just his Games Girl? What if he dumps me as soon as he gets home? I try to push those thoughts out of my brain, but they’re stuck in there now. The rest of the pra
ctice doesn’t go nearly as smoothly as the last ones have. I find myself distracted, then I mess up. By the time my ice time is over, I’m a ball of frustration. Brooke gives me an ‘I told you so’ look as I skate past her to the bench.
“What’s wrong with you today?” Pierre asks.
“What? Nothing. Just something got into my head.”
“Well, whatever it is, get it out of your head. You’ve been skating better than I’ve ever seen you until today. Now, you’re like a rookie out there.”
I sigh and hang my head. “I know. I’ll get it under control. I promise.”
“You better. I didn’t come all this way to watch you lose. If you don’t pull it together, you can find yourself a new coach.”
“It’s fine, Pierre. I’m fine, and I’m going to be on that podium. I promise.” I stalk off down the hall, which is tricky to do in skates.
After I shower and dress, I have a look at my phone. There’s a message from Clint. I hope you gave ‘em hell out there. See you tonight, Kitty.
I smile as I run a finger over his words and all my tension melts away. Brooke doesn’t know what she’s talking about, and I’m an idiot to listen to her.
Ten
Clint
“What’s wrong?” I ask as I pull her in for a long hug. I can tell that something’s been bothering her since she got here this evening. She picked at her food and barely said a word the entire dinner or while we did dishes together.
Danika shrugs. “Nothing. I just had a bit of a rough skate this morning.”
“Really? But you have felt so good lately. What changed?” I lean back against the kitchen counter and hold her close, rubbing my hand up and down her back.
Shaking her head, Danika says, “It’s stupid. But that gossipy girl from my team managed to get into my head this morning. She said I was just your Games Girl and that as soon as we get back home you won’t be interested in me anymore.”
I press my lips to her forehead for a moment and then tilt her chin up with one hand so she can look me in the eye. “Did you tell her that I’m wildly in love with you?”
A smile slowly spreads across her face.
“Because I am. I thought I was coming to South Korea to win a gold for the US, when really I came here to find you. But if we’re going to be together, you’re going to have to ignore all the gossips of the world, and there are going to be plenty of them. People love a good scandal and that’s not going to change, even after we’re married.”
“Married?” Her head whips back and her mouth drops open.
“That’s where this is headed, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. I mean…I guess I was hoping, but…”
“But, what? You didn’t think I had that on my mind? Don’t underestimate me, Dani. I’m serious about you. You’re it for me. I can feel it in my bones.” I kiss her long and hard and deep, only stopping when I feel her body relax into my arms.
When I’m done, I pull back and say, “But, if we’re going to build a life together, you’ve got to trust me. It’s the only way that this is going to work. You trust me and I’ll always prove that I’m worthy of your trust.”
“Okay, Clint.”
“Is that a deal?”
