Page 34 of Better Watch Out
Next to her, a small group of boys was practically jumping out of their coats, they were so excited.
“What do you think? It’s not ice skating but it looks fun. And if you really want to skate, I can take you to Rockefeller.”
There was something kind of hopeful in Andrew’s voice and there was no denying the way his eyes tracked the riders with restrained boyish excitement. He wanted to do this probably as much as the boys in front of them.
“Let’s do it.”
The smile on Andrew’s face made her heart flutter. They queued up in line for their turn behind the boys, leaning their arms on the rink’s wall as they watched the bumper tubes ping-pong back and forth on the ice. She tried really hard not to think about the way her insides were reacting to Andrew’s closeness. Or the awareness that it had been a long time since she’d had these skittish feelings around a man.
She rubbed her gloved hands together. It was frigid outside and the layers of clothing she wore didn’t seem to be cutting the chill—or helping with her self-confidence. Hard to feel pretty when there were extra inches of thick clothing rounding out her frame.
Not that there was a particular reason she wanted to feel pretty. After grabbing a bowl of soup, the cheapest thing on the restaurant menu at the hotel, Frannie forced herself to recognize that the strange way Andrew made her pulse race was likely due to several complicated factors. The first being, she’d just been dumped. Heartbroken and single were a recipe for a disastrous rebound. Second, the feelings were probably spurred on by the fact that he’d basically rescued her and that kind of heroism led to relationships that only worked in the movies. And lastly—she gave him a sideways glance—he was her brother’s friend. Definitely off-limits territory.
Icy wet droplets splattered her face. She looked down to find the boys in front of them swiping their hands against the snow accumulated on the railing, sending it flying at each other. A boy in a red knit cap looked back at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes until they rounded on something behind her.
“You’re …” The boy hit his friend to get his attention.
Frannie turned and saw Andrew standing there, wiping snow off his nose and giving the boys one of those looks that should’ve been intimidating … if not for the tiny flakes of snow sitting on his eyelashes.
She might’ve made a smart comment about his frosted look if the boys, once in front of them, weren’t now surrounding … Andrew?
The boy in the red hat pointed. “You’re Andrew Bishop!”
Andrew flashed an appreciative smile at the boys now chanting his name but Frannie saw discomfort as he glanced around at the attention turning in his direction.
“He’s The Beast.” A boy in a yellow jacket elbowed the first boy. “Andrew ‘The Beast’ Bishop, right?”
“Hey, guys.” Andrew gave the boys high-fives and handshakes. “Keeping your chiclets in place?”
The boys gave him toothy smiles. Frannie eyed Andrew and he gave her an awkward shrug. Who was this guy? A personal bodyguard wouldn’t warrant this kind of attention, especially from kids.And what are chiclets?
“Can you sign my jacket?” A boy with red cheeks and nose held up his arm. He was wearing a knit cap with a patch that readRangers. “My mom might be mad but my dad will think it’s cool.”
“How about I find some paper and sign that for you”—the boys erupted into cheers—“afterour turn on the ice?”
Ahead of them, the line moved and while there was some mumbling, the boys seemed agreeable to the terms and skipped ahead, handing their tickets to the staff member, chatting excitedly aboutThe Beast.
“Okay, explain, Mr. Beast.”
Andrew walked Frannie forward. “I used to play for the Bandits.”
Frannie shrugged. “I have no idea who they are.”
Andrew chuckled, handing their tickets over. “It’s an NHL team.”
Her eyes moved across his broad shoulders, remembering the strength she’d felt against her body the day before. All hard muscle … except for the soft touch of his hand on her forehead. His gaze locked on hers at that moment and she quickly turned her attention to finding an empty bumper tube.
Andrew reached for her hand and pointed her toward two near the rink wall. He carefully led her across the ice and helped her into her tube.
“We’re coming for you, Beast!” The boy in the red hat pointed at his eyes and then at Andrew.
“You’re going down, Freckles.” Andrew pointed back at him, laughing as the kid bragged to his friends about the Beast giving him a nickname. “I knew that kid was going to be trouble.”
Frannie laughed and read the instructions for the controls to operate her tube. Andrew climbed into his and, after a quick seatbelt check, the staff member gave the go. She thrust her joystick forward but her tube began spinning, pressing her body into her seat like she was on the Tilt-A-Whirl at the county fair. She giggled, unable to control the joy bubbling inside of her.
Releasing the joystick, she caught her breath and let her tube come to a stop so she could reorient herself. Andrew was in front of her and waving just as a little girl bumped into his tube. It barely moved him but he crumpled to the side in an act that made the girl laugh.
He started toward her when she caught sight of three tubes aiming for him.
