Page 126 of Uniquely in Love

I nodded, hearing the truth in her words. Honestly, I couldn’t deny there was some logic to her point. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have on the phone—if he’d even pick up—and I didn’t want to wait almost two weeks to see him in person.

But there was something I needed to do first.

Something that was just for me.

I looked at the rink,and then back to my ice skates Owen had bought me. They were still in my hands.I could do this.

We’d come to the iceplex a few times over the last few months, ever since he’d brought me here the first time. Still, I’d never gotten back on the ice without him. The anxiety was still there, even after all this time. My chest felt tight, and I wanted to shut down.

My thoughts were filled with Owen.

How soft and tender he was with me.

The way he made love to me.

His face when he’d brought Zamboni home.

The way he’d looked at me when I’d wornhisjersey for the first time.

Every time he’d gotten up early and made breakfast just so we could have time together in the mornings.

The way he believed in me, wholly and completely.

I didn’t deserve him. Not by a long shot. He was everything good and right in the world, and I was hopelessly, desperately in love with him. He was my other half. The Hockey Boy to my Skater Girl.

I thought about how proud of me he’d be if he was here, watching me skate all on my own.

But I wasn’t here for him. I was here for myself. So I sat down on the bench, pulling my boots off and letting them drop to the floor. Lacing up my skates, I took the time to appreciate the smooth white leather. I’d broken them in well enough, but they were still like new.Beautiful.

I walked over to the wall, popping in my earphones and putting on one of my favorite playlists. Putting one foot in front of the other, I stepped onto the ice, employing the breathing methods my therapist had taught me years ago.

Owen’s words rang out in my head.Put one foot in front of the other. Remind yourself that the world isn’t over. Pick yourself up and dust yourself off. Try again.

I would. For him, for me, and for our future, I would try again a million times.

Then, Iskated.Gliding across the ice, I let my muscle memory take over. While running through one of my old routines that I’d always loved, I remembered everything I loved about figure skating. Maybe I couldn’t do a triple axel anymore, and I definitely wouldn’t be attempting any jumps, but the rest of it came back to me like an old friend.

What I missed the most?This. Not the competitions or the insane regimen my coach had me on. The moment I’d walked away from that life, none of it had mattered anymore.

I just missed loving the ice. Feeling the wind whip around me and the ice under my blades. The smell of the rink. It was a smell that would always remind me of Owen.

I remembered what it was like to fall in love with him, slowly, then all at once. Being that five-year-old girl, mesmerized and begging her mom for skates. I remembered being the teenager who couldn’t help but stare at her best friend’s brother. The girl who had him—and lost him.

I stayed out on the ice until my muscles cried, screaming at me to take a break.

The rink had always been where I’d done my best thinking.

It was also where I’d fallen in love with Owen Harper.

And it was time to do just what Maggie said.

I picked up the phone, clicking on the only person in my contacts that I knew could help me.

“Hey, Sophia? I need a favor.”

THIRTY-NINE

Owen

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