Page 56 of The Recovery Coach
“Ew, don’t refer to your car as a she.”
“Isn’t your car named after the Grim Reaper?”Valentine poked Olivia’s arm.
She swatted him away and laughed.“Yes, but that’s different.”
“How is it different?”
Olivia didn’t know.Itfeltdifferent, but she could be biased.She gave a one-shouldered shrug and asked, “Where can a girl find some skates around here?”
A few minutes later, they were heading onto the ice.Valentine held his hands out to steady Olivia, but she placed a hand on his chest to shove him out of the way.As he slid backward, she stepped onto the ice with sure feet, muscle memory taking over.
She tested the skates with long strokes against the ice that sent her flying around the rink.She heard Valentine approaching and flipped around to face him.It transitioned her into a backward skate, and he grinned at her.
“Where did you learn to skate like this?”he asked.
“I grew up with Connor.”
Valentine laughed.“Fair point.You’re pretty good.Want to race?”
Olivia had a fierce competitive spirit, but she refused to play games she couldn’t win.
“Do I want to race an NHL winger on ice skates when I haven’t stepped foot in a rink for over a decade?Uh.No.I do not want to do that.”
“Aw, c’mon,” he said.“I’m not that fast.”
Olivia tested some crossovers, loving being on the ice.Her cheeks ached from smiling.
“You’re one of the fastest skaters in the league.And I haven’t done cardio in a year.”
Valentine skated a circle around her.“What if I go backward?”
“I still have no chance.”
“Give yourself some credit; you’re a natural.”
“Ah, yes.A natural.Couldn’t be the years I spent keeping up with our bestie.”
“Well, it’s definitely that too.”Valentine circled her again, laughing.
He skated toward her, forcing her backward toward the end of the rink.
“What if we made it a bet?”he asked.
Olivia rolled her eyes but let herself be herded.“That’s even worse.No way am I winning.”
“It would be a win-win bet.”
“Oh yeah?What’s your win-win proposal then?”
His gaze focused on something over her shoulder.When Olivia moved to look, he captured her chin with his hand.Her heart skipped a beat, and she tried to lean into the feeling.To feel attraction to someone other than Connor or Lance.It had been so long since she’d had the freedom to appreciate a beautiful man.And Valentine fit the bill.His boyishness starkly contrasted with Connor, who had turned all man in the few years they’d been separated.Boyishness aside, he was still worth ogling.She placed a hand on his chest to push him away, but his thumb grazing her bottom lip made her pause.
He leaned in, putting them almost nose-to-nose.“You’re going to race me from goal line to goal line.You go forward, I’ll skate backward.Winner gets to choose where we’re getting dinner Saturday night.”
Her breath caught in her throat.“Connor and I are leaving Friday night for Christmas with the Hales.”
His face melted into a charming grin.“When you get home then.”
Olivia, realizing his thumb was dangerously close to going into her mouth, shook herself out of her reverie and pulled his arm away from her face.“Good luck getting Connor to agree.He’s picky as fuck.”But she skated toward the red line, some compulsory part of her unwilling to back away from a challenge.
