Page 81 of Hearts on Ice
“We have to be up in about four hours,” he pointed out.
“Oh.” She dropped back to the mattress and tossed to her other side. “If that’s what you want.”
She grinned when he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and buried his face in her neck.
“What the hell. Sleep is overrated.”
EPILOGUE
Colby didn’t think she’d been this nervous when she’d been the one getting ready to go out on the ice. But this competition was Josh and Lexi’s first step toward the Winter Games, first time publicly performing her routine at the competition in Henderson, Nevada. And she couldn’t breathe.
She couldn’t let the kids see, though. When she glanced at Declan, he appeared as if he was going to throw up as they waited for the kids’ names to be called.
She had to laugh, just a little rough exhalation that sounded almost like a sob. He looked over at her sharply.
“What?”
“We did this all the time. What are we worried about right now?”
“When we did it, we were in charge of what happened out there,” he said. “Now we have to let go.”
“What?” Josh leaned in to ask over the sound of the music of their competition.
“Don’t let go,” Colby and Declan said together, just as the couple on the ice skated to a close.
Colby moved into Declan as Josh and Lexi skated out onto the ice. Colby admitted she hadn’t paid much attention to the previous skaters, but the music had been uninspired, and their scores made her think the routine had been, as well.
The music started soft and slow, romantic, and Declan braced his hands on the rail in front of him, on either side of Colby as the two on the ice came to life in dreamy movements before Josh skated backward, drawing Lexi with him, pulling her into an effortless lift, then tossing her away from him. She did three tight rotations in midair before landing on one skate, reaching back to him.
“One rotation,” Declan said into her ear. “When we do it for the video.”
“One rotation,” she agreed.
“Or maybe half.”
“Ah, come on, you can give me enough momentum for a full rotation.”
He nestled a little closer to her and she smiled, but she knew his attention was on the kids, his will was out there on the ice as they moved through the twizzles, the camel spin that they so loved to do, then the shoulder lift, where Lexi sat on Josh’s shoulder for a few moments before flipping backwards onto the ice.
She landed perfectly and they moved into the most driving part of the song, the passion between them on the ice matching the ringing guitars and drums as they circled, then skated away from each other only to meet at the far end of the ice.
Josh drew Lexi back against him, holding her hands, lifting them over her head and spinning her to face him. They took a waltz pose and skated, bending low on the edges of their blades.
“You can’t hold your breath through the whole song,”Colby said, glancing over her shoulder at him.
“Watch me,” he said.
She laughed and turned her attention back to the ice, where Josh and Lexi were going into the last lift, the one Lexi had been reluctant to do, a two-handed lift. Lexi arched her back over Josh’s head, drew one leg up, knee bent, while she held the other in a graceful curve, as Josh spun them both around.
Now Colby was holding her breath as well, because they had fumbled this dismount so many times in practice.
But no, Lexi landed perfectly, caught Josh’s hand. He drew her back across the ice, his hold more intimate, his hand at the small of her back, his head bent to hers, their bodies aligned as they pivoted to a graceful stop right on the last beat.
The crowd went wild, on their feet as Josh and Lexi left the ice among flowers being tossed on the rink. Colby and Declan hurried to meet them, embracing the smiling, thrilled couple and guiding them back to the area where they’d wait for the scores.
“I don’t think we made one mistake!” Josh exclaimed as they sat and one of the volunteers handed them each a bottle of water. He twisted the top off of his and chugged, eyes glued to the screen overhead.
“No, I made a couple. Wrong foot, wrong edge, and I stumbled,” Lexi said.
