Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
She beams, doing a little dance. “It’s my favorite thing to cook.”
“It’s delicious. Thanks for cooking.” Fable draws her bottom lip between her teeth, and I love how pleased she is. My favorite thing about her is her confidence, and while it radiates on the ice, it’s not all that present off it. I wish she could see herself through my eyes, see how perfect I think she is.
After taking a few swigs of my beer, I ask, “Have you talked to your parents?”
Her face scrunches up as she shakes her head. “No. It’s been so nice. They call all the damn time, but I’m ignoring them. Kitty says they are highly upset, but I don’t care.”
“Good.”
“I do have to go to a benefit for Mom’s charity thing at the end of the month, though. Kitty thinks it’ll be good for networking.”
I nod. I was invited but didn’t plan on going. “In Gatlinburg, right?”
“Yeah,” she says, her fork hanging by her mouth. She bites on the tines and then meets my gaze. “Would you want to go together?” I can’t hide the surprise on my face. “It’s okay if you don’t—”
“No, I do,” I insist, meeting her gaze. “I’d love to go with you.”
Her eyes are as bright as her smile before she digs back in. Around a bite, she says, “It’ll be overnight.”
She looks up at me through her lashes, and I waggle my brows. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, princess. Having you on my arm at a ritzy event and then going back to a hotel room with you? Yeah, that sounds like heaven.”
Her eyes are teasing as she says, “Who says we’re sharing a room?”
I slide my hand to her thigh, her warm skin scalding my palm as I hold her gaze. “The puck is in your zone, Fable, but my intentions are clear. I’ll stand beside the goal and watch you score, princess.”
She bites her lip, her lashes fluttering as her cheeks turn that adorable rosy color. She looks away as I continue to stroke her thigh. I watch her lips curve, and she nods. “We’ll see, okay?”
I nod, hoping like hell it works out for us. “Okay.”
Her eyes burn with gratitude as we go back to eating. We discuss some of the things that are going on around the rink. After we have updated the west rink, I’d like to do the same in the south, but that may be after peak travel team season. We discuss some of the skating coaches she’s been talking with and seeing if she can get them to come work here. Not everyone wants to live in such a small town, but thankfully, the commute from Knoxville isn’t too bad. She suggests doing a mileage program, and I agree because it’ll help get the right people to the Thistle. The conversation is easy, carefree, and even when we’re not speaking, the silence doesn’t seem to bother us. Beside me, Fable’s leg isn’t bouncing. She does wiggle a bit in her seat and clink her fork to her teeth while I talk, but she seems settled.
And I hope it’s because of me.
My eyes fall to her lips as she talks about one girl who skates up in Gatlinburg during Christmas. I love how plump her top lip is compared to her bottom. Her teeth are so straight, white, and it drives me wild how her tongue peeks out practically every other word to wet her lips. She talks so animatedly, and that is unique to her. She doesn’t talk with her hands, but her entire face is involved with each word she speaks. Her eyes spark, and her grin takes up her whole mouth. It’s refreshing to see her like this, when, before, it was only on the ice where I saw the real Fable.
Now, she’s sitting beside me.
Before I know it, we’re done with dinner. After cleaning up, we end up on the couch with our phones in our hands. I already made a playlist of songs I want to do, and from the looks of it, Fable also tried to make her own. I watch as she goes through all the playlists she’s made, naming them with numbers, and it cracks me up to see over twenty.
“Are we doing this on her birthday?”
She doesn’t look up from her phone as she nods. “It’s on a Friday.” Her eyes then meet mine, a little shyness in them. “I thought we could make it a whole thing.”
“I thought we were.”
“No, I wanted it to be like a showcase. The rink will be done by then, and I thought we could let my classes do a new little number and then my solo skaters. Then, as a surprise, we skate.”
“Sneaky. I love it,” I say with a smirk. “She won’t see it coming.”