Page 79 of Fake Out Hearts

I’m zoning out to daytime talk TV about an hour later when Theo walks in, still damp from his post-practice shower. Milo barks and bounds off the couch to greet him, jumping up his front and slobbering everywhere. Theo laughs and pets his head.

“Well, hello to you too, boy! Did you miss me?” Milo barks in response. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“How was practice?” I ask from the couch.

“Pretty good. But I was a little distracted because I couldn’t stop wondering about what this little surprise would be.”

“Sorry. It’s nothing major.”

Theo tosses his bag down on the floor, then joins me on the couch in a flop. “I’m teasing you. But I am curious. What’s up?”

I unlock my phone and bring up the screenshot of the park I found online. “I want you to take me here.”

Theo raises an eyebrow at me. “The park? That’s the big surprise?”

“There’s more to it than that. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, of course. This might sound like a weird question, but what should I wear?”

I examine his sweatpants and shirt and shrug. “I think what you’re wearing now should be fine. Might want to bring a coat though.”

“Got it. Anything else I should bring?”

“Yeah. Your skates.”

Theo laughs and nods as the surprise starts to take shape. “Oh, we’re going skating, huh? Cute.”

“Yup. So I’m really hoping you have an extra pair of skates that will fit me.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait a second. You’re telling me a Canadian girl doesn’t own a pair of ice skates?”

“Well, I used to, but I donated them when I moved to LA because I knew I wasn’t going to need them there, and I wasn’t planning on ever going back to Canada.”

“Right, that makes sense.” Theo considers, then grins. “You know what? I think I might have a pair you could wear. I bought them for my mom on one of their visits, but she’s too afraid to get out on the ice these days.”

“Oh. Do you think they’ll fit?”

He shrugs. “Only one way to find out.”

“Okay. Then I guess I’ll try them on and see.”

“Assuming I can find them. Hold on.”

He disappears upstairs, then returns a few moments later with a pair of skates dangling from his finger by their laces.

“Bingo,” he declares triumphantly. “And they look like the right size too.”

He walks them over to me, so I stick out my foot. He sits on the coffee table and puts my foot in his lap, and although it’s innocent, I can’t help noticing the current that passes between us when he puts his hands on me again. He grips me by the ankle and lifts my foot to slip the skate over it.

His eyes drift up to mine, and he grins at me, activating my nervous system all over again. The skate is a little big, but less than a full shoe size. Theo squeezes the top of the skate, checking to see where my toes reach, and shrugs. “It’s not perfect, but it’ll do. You’ll just have to lace them a little tighter.”

“Then we’re in business. Ready to go?”

“I’d go anywhere with you.”

He grins, dropping his head to a kiss the patch of skin between my leggings and the top of the skate, making my breath catch. Then he slips the skate off my foot, ties it back up with the other, and gives them to me. He offers a hand to help me off the couch, then we take turns telling Milo goodbye and head for the car.

“Let me guess, you keep a pair of skates in your car too?” I ask.

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