Page 100 of Shadow of Fear
“One thing’s for sure,” He took her other hand and faced her, “it will be all the sweeter for waiting.”
“That’s so true.”
He lowered his head and kissed her. Not the kind of kiss filled with passion, but a sweet, soft kiss that wouldn’t embarrass either one of them in public. He quickly leaned back.
She searched his face, and his love for her burned in his expression. She was tempted to throw her arms around him and kiss him soundly, but this wasn’t the place or time.
“Now, about that skating,” she said.
He groaned, but dropped one of her hands and started for the rink. He wobbled, even on the carpet. They reached the half-wall surrounding the rink. He let go of her hand and grabbed on to the wall as if his life depended on it.
“That’s not going to help you learn to skate.” She pried one of his hands free and gripped it tightly. “I’ll skate backwards and hold both of your hands. Are you game for that?”
He nodded, but his expression was so pinched that guilt nearly had her stop from taking him onto the rink. But they say you have to face your fears, and there was really nothing to fear here. They could try a few laps around the rink and then get some pizza.
She took his other hand. “Let’s go.”
He looked her deep in the eyes. “I wasn’t kidding when I told you I trust you. Completely. And that includes right now.”
Love for this man nearly overwhelmed her, but she gave a sharp nod, swallowed hard to keep from tearing up, and started moving backward. He flowed along with her, wobbling a few times, but making good progress.
“See?” she said. “You’re doing great. We’re almost halfway around the rink and no falls.”
“Can’t talk,” he said. “Must concentrate.”
They made a complete revolution, and as they approached the middle on their second turn, he pulled back. “I need to go to the middle of the rink for a minute. Get out of the way of other skaters.”
Only a handful of skaters had been on the rink with them, giving them a wide berth. She had no idea why he needed to go to the middle, but he’d faced his fears and done one and a half laps, so she wouldn’t question it. She led him to the black circle painted on the wood floor.
They came to a stop, and he released one of her hands to lift his arm above his head and twirled his hand in a signal.
She glanced around to see what he was doing. “What’s going on?”
“Just wait.”
The music stopped, and soon the soft lyrics of “A Thousand Years” started playing. The song was popular when it was released, and she’d loved it when they played it here for slow skates for couples. Of course she hadn’t been part of a couple, but she still enjoyed sitting and looking at Dev from afar, wishing she could’ve been skating to the song with him.
She met his gaze. “How did you know I love this song?”
“Jada told me,” he said. “Plus, I wanted to skate with you back when they played it here.”
“Me too.” She smiled at him. “We don’t have to wait anymore. We can skate to it now.”
“In just a minute.”
Dev waved his hand again, and Russ came racing over to him on skates. He slid to a stop as if trying to impress everyone.
“What in the world?” Kinsley said. “You said you weren’t going to skate.”
“Gotta help a bro out when he asks for it, even if it means embarrassing yourself.” He took Dev’s hand and helped him kneel without faceplanting on his skates.
“Thanks for the assist, man,” Dev said to his teammate. “I can handle it from here.”
Russ raced off, and Dev reached into his pocket. His hand came out holding a black velvet box.
She gasped.
“Kinsley Pearce, I have loved you for what has felt like a thousand years, just like the song lyrics say. And I’m done waiting. I would like to spend the rest of my life with you. Till death do us part.” He opened the box. “Will you marry me?”
