Page 7 of Hearts on Ice
But he forced himself to turn back to his work, and was grateful when Josh and Lexi arrived. He returned his laptop to the office, locked it, and joined the others on the ice.
Feelinglike a fraud was not new to Colby. She had felt like a fraud most of her skating career, and definitely most of her career in Hollywood.
This time, though, she really was. This job would be her first on this side of the ice. She had choreographed all her routines with Declan, back in the day, but she didn’t have a degree in dance, though she was qualified to coach. She didn’t have Declan’s disposition, either. She watched him run the pair through their paces, almost envied the easy way between them. But as he’d said, he had been their coach for four years. Of course they had rapport.
She told herself she was just watching to see their ability, which, she was glad to see, exceeded her expectations. She had come up with an outline of a routine, but now she saw it was too basic. These two could be meaningful competitors with the right routine.
She was just afraid she wasn’t the one who could create it.
Once the pair was warmed up, they and Declan turned to her.
“Did you have something in mind?” Declan asked.
“What lifts are you able to do? Are they pretty basic?” Josh looked strong, but she wasn’t sure of his balance, or the trust Lexi had in him.
“We’ve been working on an axel lift,” Josh said. “And we’re pretty good on the hand-to-hand lifts.”
“Show me,” Colby said, stepping back, sweeping her hand toward the ice.
Josh nodded, and he and Lexi performed a side by side spin almost casually, like it was too easy for them before they pressed their palms together and he powered her up over his head, both of them facing the same direction, before he lowered her and sent her away from him in a spin, her arms stretching out gracefully.
“How about a toe lasso?”
Josh nodded again, though he was starting to look tired, and he bobbled the hold for a moment, but didn’t drop Lexi, who seemed to have complete faith in him.
“And a throw jump?”
“We have it,” Lexi said, sounding a bit impatient.
“You have to do three lifts in a competition,” Colby reminded them. “You can’t tire out then. Show me.”
“What song do you have in mind?” Lexi asked after the lift, when the pair skated back over.
Colby kept hearing the song she and Declan had skated to in her head, but surely that was just because they were back on the ice again. “I’m torn between something really classic, something that doesn’t go out of date, and something more modern,” Colby admitted. “But until I know what elements you are comfortable with, I can’t settle just yet.”
“Let’s take a break on the lifts for now,” Declan inserted. “Show her your twizzles.”
Twizzles were iconic synchronized spins in ice dancing, and while Josh and Lexi didn’t have them timed out quite right, individually they were well-executed. Their camel spin was a thing of beauty, though, and Colby glanced over to see a grin on Declan’s face as they performed it, Josh’s hands on Lexi’s waist as they spun in unison. And then they switched, her skate to his face, his to hers as they held each other’s legs and spun the opposite direction.
“I expect you to work that in,” Declan said. “It’s one of our favorite moves.”
She nodded, and he stepped closer.
“You know, I looked you up and I don’t see any other skaters who have used you to choreograph their routines.”
“No,” she said, figuring there was no point in fudging the truth. “These will be my first competition skaters.”
He looked from them to her. “Are you sure you’re up to it? I would hate to see them fail because you don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Do you really think I don’t know what I’m doing?” she asked, turning to face him, ignoring the skaters altogether. “I have been in ice skates since I could walk. This was my goal my whole life, to be a professional skater. I think I know what I’m doing.”
“Then why aren’t you?” he asked, bracing his hands on the rail. “Why aren’t you out on tour with an exhibition or something? Why are you coaching? Did you get hurt?”
“I’m not hurt.” But she’d burned some bridges in the skating community. Lord, the biggest bridge was standing right in front of her, and here she was, like a fool, trying to rebuild it. “You know, I think I have what I need to get started. I’ll get back to you by Monday with something worked up.”
He turned sideways, his elbow on the rail. “Running away again, Colby?”
She squared her shoulders, wanting to deny it, but the truth was, she was. She knew there would be questions when she returned, but she—okay, she hadn’t expected this belligerence on his part. He’d always been the kind one, the calm one. She knew she had hurt him, but she never expected him to hurt her in return.
