Page 86 of Your Sharpest Edge
I must’ve hesitated, or maybe he sensed my anxiety, because Dirks quickly followed up with, “It’s down the hallway to the left.”
I nodded, and Damien scrambled out of my arms. I sat on the benches, watching the rink. Alex was in the corner with the camera crew. He must have been pretty popular since he was being interviewed, which reminded me that maybe it was time I actually googled him.
It wasn’t Alex that captured my attention—it was the rink. The clean, inviting ice, the lines stretching out from the edges. This place held my hopes and dreams. It was my Olympic gold medal, just within reach. I hadn’t seen a rink in over five years, and emotions caught in my throat.
The memories flooded back, overwhelming me. The early mornings I spent practicing, the exhilaration of gliding across the ice, the feel of the cold air against my face. The memories of coming from Russia to the States with Layla burned inside me. Each line etched into the ice seemed to whisper stories of my past, of the triumphs and failures that had shaped me. This rink wasn’t a place; it was a part of me, a piece of my soul I had left behind.
My chest ached. I remembered the roar of the crowd, the adrenaline coursing through my veins as I executed a perfect routine. The sheer joy of landing that jump, of nailing that spin, using the sharpest edge, all of it came rushing back, bringing tears to my eyes. It was as if I had been transported back in time.But even in that space, I was never in control over my life. My coach was, my mother was, and then Dimitri dictated who I was and where I was supposed to go.
The emotions threatened to choke me. I wanted to cry out, to release the pent-up feelings that had been buried for so long. But instead, I swallowed hard, trying to maintain my composure. I couldn’t afford to break down, not here, not now.
Just then, the tall captain came over and sat next to me.
Trying to avoid embarrassing myself by crying over an ice rink, I gestured to where Alex was. “Does he always do this type of press?”
“You really have no idea?” he replied.
I looked up at the bearded man and shook my head.
“He’s fucking amazing. I keep telling him he should be captain one day, he deserves this more than me.”
“Wow.”
“I read about you, may have found you on the internet and looked you up to see if you were good for my boy.”
I laughed. “And?”
“You’re pretty fucking cool. A gold medal at sixteen in partner skating?”
It was a lifetime ago. My knees twitched again, reminding me of all the reasons I didn’t have that life.
“Hey.” Ledger’s voice pulled me from my spiraling thoughts, and my head snapped up to him. “So, I know Alex invited you over to our pool Sunday, but the team kind of commandeered the invite, so a few of us are coming if that’s okay with you?”
“Oh.” That wasn’t where I expected the conversation to go. “Yeah. No. It’s not my place, so for sure—the more the merrier.”
“Anastasia.” I slowly turned to face the ice where Alex had skated over toward the boards.
His strong jawline was so fucking hot, especially when he looked to the side to watch Ledger walk away. His side profilecould have been on the freaking cover of every romance book. His deep green eyes bored into mine. He had gelled his hair since this morning, taming it backward, and he was wearing a Ravens shirt and dark jeans. Was he always this fucking hot? Was I extra horny or too deep in my own shitty life to realize?
“Hey.” I jumped down, approaching the pieces of plywood that separated me from the ice. Instinctively, I looked down at his skates and then back up to his eyes.
“I—” I managed to get out before he leaned over, his lips capturing mine.
“God, malyshka. Today has been the best day of my life. Damien is such a cool, little guy. He was showing me all the shirts you’ve made him. You’re so talented.”
I laughed. “Take a breath, Popov.”
He held my cheeks as I leaned over the big board. They had taken down the glass that separated the stands from the ice for the summer season, so I was right there near the ice. Right. Fucking. There.
“Come skate with me.”
I rolled my eyes. “I have no skates, plus I don’t know if I should.” I looked down at my knees.
“Did your doctor tell you that you couldn’t?”
I shook my head.
“Then come. Skate with me. Stand up, wrap your legs around my waist.”
