Colleen tottered in her rented skates, Eric’s hold on her arm the only thing keeping her from doing a face-plant.
“Bend your knees more,” Eric encouraged. Colleen grimaced. He was holding her hands and skating backward with effortless ease. It was clear that his years of playing hockey had turned him into an excellent skater. He made skating backward look as easy as breathing. His movements were graceful, but not elegant like a figure skater’s. He was brawny strength set into effortless motion. Colleen had a hard time focusing on her own awkward movements; she was so busy admiring him.
She wavered and almost fell before Eric steadied her. “The blade is too skinny,” she protested, frowning at the six-year-olds who flew past her like bullets. “I have no balance whatsoever.”
Eric suspected she hadn’t tied her skates tight enough and pulled her over to a bench, Colleen’s ankles wiggling like two pieces of cooked spaghetti the whole time. He knelt before her and efficiently relaced and retied her skates. “Better?” he asked a moment later, wrapping both her calves in his gloved hands.
“We’ll see,” she said, warmed by his gaze and massaging palms.
She noticed him grinning a few minutes later.
“Now you’re getting it,” he said in a complimentary tone, referring to her skating.
Colleen thought he might be right. She was starting to learn the required motion to propel herself forward while maintaining a tricky balance. Eric casually turned directions and dropped one of her hands, skating next to her instead of in front.
“Show-off,” she muttered, grinning.
She ended up having a ball. It was refreshing, good exercise, and Eric was excellent company. They skated and drank hot chocolate and skated again. For the first hour or so, the temperature hovered aroun
d the freezing point and there was little wind, making her unaware of the cold. Besides, Eric kept her warm with his flashing grins and effortless athletic grace.
At one point, however, Eric yanked gently on her hand and brought her to a halt, pulling her to the side, away from the zooming skaters. He brushed several snowflakes out of her unbound hair and off her cheeks. He frowned when a tremor went through her.
“You’re shaking again,” he murmured. “It’s getting colder. We should go.”
“Maybe you’re right,” she said a little regretfully. “I really am shivering from the cold this time.”
His eyebrows arched at that, as if he’d recalled what else made her tremble. He leaned down and covered her mouth was his. His kiss made her wonder if he’d transformed the snowflakes on her lips from ice straight to steam.
After they left the skating rink, they went to a movie at the local theatre. It was beyond nice to rest her cheek on Eric’s chest while his arm encircled her, eating popcorn and soaking up his heat. The movie was forgettable.
The moment wasn’t.
“You made a lot of progress on your dating karma,” she murmured later as they drove back to his house. Eric had taken her out for an intimate, delicious dinner at a local seafood restaurant. Colleen was feeling drowsy and content.
“Still work to be done, though?” he asked, taking her hand in his. “Don’t worry. I’ve got plenty more where that came from.”
She chuckled and gazed out the window lazily. “I don’t know how much more courting you’re going to get in. A big storm is predicted over the weekend.”
“All the better. Indoor activities are my specialty.”
Colleen grinned wryly, but she didn’t refute him. He had a point.
When they returned to his house, she made some tea while Eric built a fire. While they were separated, she experienced an urge to clarify his intentions about getting involved with her. She quashed the idea almost as soon as she had it. She despised the needy female stereotype. Just what is it, exactly, that we’re doing here?
Just thinking about the predictable phrase featured in dozens of chick flicks and romantic comedies made her cringe. Why did men have to be the only ones who were supremely comfortable not questioning motives at the beginning of relationships and just taking things as they came?
No, she assured herself. She would not turn into a simpering idiot just because she liked a man. She’d take this one step at a time, like Eric was doing. Just because she was a novice in the world of sex and dating didn’t mean she was naive. Experience and knowledge were two different things, and she’d racked up years of knowledge being a professional counselor.
“Do you want to work on Lucy tomorrow?” she asked him once she’d brought out the tea and they were sipping it on the couch before the fire.
“Sure, if you do.”
“The wedding is only two weeks away. I can’t believe it. I still haven’t gotten them a wedding present,” she murmured, setting her cup on the coffee table. She leaned back and snuggled against Eric’s side. He put his arm around her. The heat from the fire warmed her cheeks.
“We’ll say Lucy is from all of us.”
Colleen lifted her head, blushing. “No…I didn’t mean anything like that—”