Page 58 of One Good Puck
Abby chuckles. “It’s a whole new world of kids’ birthday parties these days.”
I shake my head and laugh. “I guess so.”
The three of us head to the ice. “Hold my hand when we get on the ice, okay?” I say to Emma.
“Okay!”
I catch Abby looking between the two of us, smiling.
“So, have you ever gone ice skating before?” I ask Abby.
“Yeah, a few times. It’s been a few years,” she says.
“If you need to hold my other hand, feel free.”
Judging by her smile, she picks up on the teasing lilt in my voice.
It’s been a week since we hashed out the aftermath of our almost-kiss at Bella and Blomdahl’s engagement party, and thankfully, things haven’t been awkward between us. We’ve seen each other at home a few times, and everything is normal, not weird at all.
As disappointed as I was that we didn’t end up kissing, Abby was right about not crossing that line as friends. Just the thought of things being so awkward between us that she’d want to move out upsets me. I like having her and Emma around. The house feels a million times more like a home with them there, and I’d hate for them to leave.
But they’re going to move out someday, remember?
A disappointed feeling settles in my chest. I don’t want to think about that, not right now.
We hit the ice, and I go slowly while I hold Emma’s hand and carefully lead her by my side. She takes smallsteps, slipping a little here and there, but her balance is good overall.
“Wow. You’re a natural, Emma,” I say.
She smiles up at me. “I am?”
“Yeah. You’re doing way better than I did the first time I ever went ice skating.”
Her smile widens, and I can’t help but grin too.
“Want me to hold your other hand, honey?” Abby asks.
“Nope,” Emma says confidently.
“Very independent,” I say.
Abby chuckles as she skates on the other side of Emma. We make it around the rink once, then Emma asks if she can skate on her own.
“As long as that’s okay with your mom,” I say. I turn to Abby. “I think she’d be okay to try on her own.”
She hesitates for a moment before flashing a nervous smile at Emma. “Okay. But not too fast. You need to stay close to Gavin and me.”
“Okay!”
I let go of Emma’s hand, and she skates ahead of us a couple of feet. She transitions from steps to short strides on the ice.
I watch her, impressed. “I wasn’t kidding when I said she’s a natural,” I say to Abby. “She’s picking up on this really fast.”
She beams at her daughter, then looks at me. “You think?”
“Definitely. She has great coordination for her age. Have you thought about getting her into sports?”
Abby shakes her head. “She hasn’t been interested, but that’s a good idea. Maybe it would be fun to get her into figure skating or something.”
