Page 47 of Puck King
I smiled at Alison. “It wasn’t Everleigh. And who cares if she’s okay with the pictures? Pictures are pictures.” I shrugged. “And, we’re about to get some good ones.”
Alison raised her eyebrows. “I thought we had to get back to the city.”
“Not for a few hours. And don’t forget, we don’t have to worry about traffic.”
She tilted her head. “What else is on the list? We have photos of us outside the coffee shop; inside Cheesesteak Shoppe; outside Central Park; and some from last night’s dinner.”
“They’re going to love the pizza shot.” We had hooked our arms around each other, but instead of sipping from wine glasses like a cheesy movie, we had used pizza slices instead.
“I don’t think that one is going to make the Everleigh cut. But seriously, what else is on the list?”
“Skating in Central Park.” I had already led Alison to the entryway closet that held all of my outdoor gear.
“Colton, wouldn’t that require skates and…Central Park?” She put her hands on her hips. She had looked like a goddess the night before in her silky green dress, but today, in my baggy sweatpants that pooled at her ankles, she somehow looked even better.
I handed her a puffy down coat and a wool hat with the Thunder logo. “We’re making our own rules. Changing the agreement – what do they call that?”
“Amending it.” She held the coat in her hands. “To what?”
The walk-in closet was meticulously organized, with sports gear for every season. I took a pair of hockey skates and piled them on top of the coat in Alison’s arms.
“Colton, I know that I have big feet, but I don’t think five pairs of socks are going to make those skates fit.”
I pushed aside some coats and found Everleigh’s skates. “Have a seat. Let’s give these a whirl.”
Alison set the coat and skates on the bench seat beside her, and I loosened the laces on Everleigh’s hockey skates. Alison was a few inches taller than my sister, but Everleigh’s feet were big enough that she’d been teased about them as a teen – by me. I felt guilty about it for a split second, but then remembered that teasing each other was our ‘thing’.
Kneeling on the floor in front of Alison, I wrapped my hands around her ankle and slipped her foot into the skate. “Cinderella?” I smiled as they fit perfectly.
“That tracks.” Alison gave me a smile. “An evil stepsister and Prince Charming…” She seemed like she wanted to say more, but stopped.
I patted the side of the skate. “And? Are you the one who left her slipper at the ball?”
“It looks like I am.” Ali smiled. “But I was hoping that Everleigh’s skates wouldn’t fit.” She brushed my hand aside and undid the laces. “I can’t skate.”
“What do you mean?” I’d never met anyone who couldn’t skate, but then again, my life revolved around hockey and nothing but hockey. “Sorry.” I took the skates from her feet and sat next to her on the bench. “It’s just, I guess I’ve only ever hung out with people who have the same interests as me.”
“All of your past girlfriends could skate?”
“No idea.” I stood. “I never wanted to take them skating. Come on. We’re going to Jake McManus’s cottage and I’m going to teach you how to skate. You’re an athlete. You’ll be skating laps around me in no time.”
It took a minute for Alison to show any emotion, but then a smile spread across her face, which turned into a big grin. “I’ve always wanted to learn. But I’ve got one condition.”
“You name it.” I picked up the coat and held it, so Alison could slip into its arms. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on her shoulder as she zipped it up. She turned in place and put her hands on each side of my face. “You’re getting back on the horse. Literally.”
I gulped.
“You said, ‘you name it’,” she whispered and then kissed me. My heart was pumping, both from the softness of her lips and from what I had unwittingly agreed to. The two things I had been afraid of – falling for a woman and riding a horse – were back in my life.
I couldn’t wait for the first thing, but the second – I shivered at the thought. “If there’s anyone who can get me back in the saddle, Alison, it’s you.”
Twenty-Two
Alison
Jake McManus’scottage was way bigger than Colton’s. The retired hockey star owned an entire island on Lake Casper.
On the chopper ride across the channel, Colton regaled me with stories of Jake McManus’s career as the biggest star in the New York Thunder’s history. The man was retired in his thirties, and now owned a hockey team in the Northern Professional League called the Otters.
