Page 24 of Hearts on Ice
She drew her leg up on the seat and shifted to face him. She had so many questions, the most pressing of which was who did he mean by “we?” But instead she asked, “You started skiing?”
“Ah, yeah, I started doing a lot of things we didn’t have time for when we were training. The rink took over the time that training didn’t, for a while, but I’ve learned how to delegate, and so for the most part, I have weekends off. I would have more time off if Josh and Lexi weren’t so promising.”
“You almost sound like you wish they weren’t.”
“I’m torn, you know, because they are good and they are driven, and they have a real shot. But at the same time I know I’m pushing them to do things that I know will make them miss out on being a regular teenager, a regular adult.”
“You don’t think we’re regular adults?”
He blew out a short laugh. “I do not. Maybe I am, but you definitely aren’t. The one thing I see they have in their favor is that their mothers are not like ours.”
She grimaced. He was not lying about that. Her mother much more than his had pushed for her to do more, train more, train harder, do better. Colby had used that as an excuse for her rebellion for too long now.
“We might not have been as successful if our parents hadn’t pushed us.”
“No doubt we needed that in the beginning, but I think we pushed ourselves hard enough at the end. And I think if we had learned how to deal with our ambition, we might have ended up in a better place.”
He was talking about her. “How do you learn how to handle your ambition?”
He turned into the parking lot of a diner style restaurant. “There are sports psychologists now. I mean, there probably were when we were skating, too, but we didn’t take the time to check them out.”
“Do Lexi and Josh have one?”
“Not yet. I’m still working on their moms to look into it, though.” He parked and hopped out of the truck, clearly expecting her to follow him.
She wondered, as she did, if she could still benefit from a sports psychologist, and if she could afford one.
Or if she was too far beyond one doing any good.
* * *
What the hellwas he doing? What had compelled him to walk across the parking lot to see what was going on? He’d seen her head down like she was at her wits’ end. And then he’d watched how uneasy she was when he talked about mechanics and tow trucks. He knew her well enough to know she was worried about her budget.
He wondered what happened to her money. Even if she hadn’t invested like he had, she should have made some income in those movies she was in, right? Her equipment was top of the line, but the car was a few years old, needed some new tires. Had she driven here?
Okay, so helping her with her car was one thing, but why had he felt compelled to offer to take her to lunch? He was breaking his own contract by inviting her to eat with him, because they weren’t going to be able to just talk about skating.
Yeah, what the hell was he doing?
But he was sitting across from her now in the booth, and trying not to think about how pretty she was.
She’d hurt him worse than anyone in his life, and he was still drawn to her. What kind of idiot was he?
“So you staying with your mom?”
She shook her head. “She moved to San Diego a few years ago. I was at a motel for a few days but now I’m staying at my stepdad Archie’s house.”
He frowned. “You didn’t like Archie.” He had been particularly strict with Colby, and Declan had gotten the idea that he resented all the money Colby’s training had cost. He’d been a wealthy man, but had counted every penny spent, especially on Colby.
“He’s not living there. It’s a place he rents out during the season, but he’s letting me stay there right now.”
That still didn’t explain why she’d come back here when she could have gone anywhere. Had she come back to torment him?
“Did they split up? Your mom and Archie?” Their marriage had always been troubled, because her mother was hardheaded, just as Colby was. She would do as she pleased, then fight with Archie about it afterward. More than once, Declan had witnessed the unpleasantness firsthand. He had to admit, he’d always kind of sympathized with Archie. The man had let his feelings be known. Colby’s mom just hadn’t given a damn.
“Yes, she’s remarried. A Navy guy.”
Her fourth marriage.
