Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 113072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
“Right,” I say bravely. “I can’t get fired before the pedicures.”
My pulse feels thready as I follow Darcy past several groups of office cubicles, including my own. There’s a name tag in Legends blue on my desk: Zoe Carson, Skating Coach.
Will I still have a desk an hour from now? Chase would be justified in blaming me for this disaster.
I got him in trouble once. Now it’s his turn to get even. And I deserve it, right? This might be the shortest tenure of a coach in Legends history.
What a reversal of fortune. I came here looking for an apology from Chase, and now I owe him an apology instead.
“It could still turn out okay,” Darcy says, reading my thoughts. “You’ll explain what happened and why Chase doesn’t deserve a fine or a suspension by the team. They might ask you to make a public statement.”
“Oh god.”
“Breathe,” she reminds me. “And look on the bright side—I haven’t seen your name on the internet yet. It was only Sailor who ID’d you.”
“For now,” I mutter. “Where are we headed?”
“The war room,” she says. “It’s that one with the big conference table.”
“Can’t they just call it a conference room?”
She shakes her head as the room in question comes into view. “There’s too much testosterone in this building for that. Now go on in there. And stop by after the meeting, okay? We’ll debrief over coffee.”
“Okay. But if I get fired, you have to buy.”
She gives me a worried smile. “It’s a deal. Now go.”
Darcy walks away, but I pause outside the door to the “war room.” It has glass walls, like all the other offices in this place, so I can see two people inside. There’s Chase, plus a red-haired woman who must be his agent. They’re seated side by side at the conference table, but she’s leaning toward him and speaking with fervent hand gestures. I can’t hear everything she’s saying, but I don’t exactly need to. His tight mouth makes it pretty clear she’s chewing him out.
Then the pitch of her voice rises slightly, and I hear something that makes me hesitate on the threshold. “Chase, I got five calls from your sponsors today. Five. You know what it means if you start losing sponsors, right?”
A chill rolls down my spine.
Chapter 14
Nine and a Half Years Ago
The pairs clinics with Martina quickly become Chase’s favorite thing about camp. Skating with Zoe is super fun. And they’re so compatible that Martina has them demonstrate everything. That means touching Zoe. Holding her hand as they circle the ice. And jumping together, too.
His jumps still suck, but they suck a little less when she’s at his side.
Inevitably, after the demonstration, Chase does the rounds in the class, partnering other girls for the same exercises. He learns how to do a litany of holds, tricks, and lifts.
The rest of the girls are basically clamoring to skate with him, too. It should be fun, except somehow partnering people who aren’t Zoe is exhausting. He skates with girl after girl until they all blur together, but it’s work to match their strides. And none of the jumps work right on the first try. Not a single one.
“Okay, class,” Martina says one afternoon, blowing a light tap on her whistle. “Let’s review the waltz hold. Zoe and Chase, I need you facing each other, please. Chase, your right hand is on Zoe’s shoulder blade. Zoe, your left is at his shoulder. Clasp your free hands.”
Every time they join hands, he feels electricity crackle throughout his body. The waltz hold is face-to-face, too. There’s nowhere to look except right into Zoe’s wide brown eyes.
Martina prompts them to move around the ice, with Chase skating forward and Zoe backward. Good thing it’s stupidly easy—with their strides syncing up just as soon as Chase figures out how much pressure to apply to her hand.
He isn’t even listening to Martina’s patter. “Good. Keep it steady. Chase, you must feel Zoe’s balance, don’t overpower. Zoe, trust Chase’s lead, but keep your core strong. This is about harmony. One fluid motion,” Martina is saying in the background. “Note the way their bodies are aligned.”
Aligned. That’s exactly how he feels. Their strides aren’t the only thing that’s matching right now. As his heart thumps, Chase can see the same rhythm in the flutter of Zoe’s pulse at her throat. He wants to kiss her right there. Preferably soon.
Skating with Zoe is so easy that Chase accelerates just a hair. Zoe follows as smoothly as if he’d counted the rhythm aloud. They practically fly around the ice this way. He can’t believe it when they’ve made a full rotation and it’s time to glide to a stop.
Martina regards them for a thoughtful moment, her mouth quirking into something like approval. “Well done. You’re working together, not against each other. Remember that feeling.”