Page 38 of I'd Never Date my Best Friend's Brother

I’m not just asking her if she trusts me not to let her fall on the ice, but if she trusts me not to hurt her again.

Everything fades away as I wait for Evie to make her decision.

Chapter 19

Evie

I look back to Jamie’s outstretched hand, my heart racing. He’s not just asking me to trust him on the ice but to trust him with my heart. He’s asking for another chance.

My stomach flutters, and I feel like I swallowed a bag of cotton balls.

I glance back up at his slightly widening eyes, and my heart stops. I’m overcome by the emotions I see there: hope, vulnerability, and, most importantly, love. I stretch out my hand toward him but stop short of taking it.

I see a flicker of disappointment flit through his eyes, and my heart aches.

Yes, we need to talk about how he left. He still owes me an explanation. But the truth is, I love him, and I want this second chance, too.

My lips lift at the corners, and I push my hand forward and place it in his. He closes his fingers around mine, and the smile that lights his face makes my stomach swoop. My heart jumps like a Mexican jumping bean.

“You better not let me fall,” I admonish him as he puts his other hand out. I grab that one, too.

“I promise to catch you if you do.” He searches my face with a tenderness that has my body heating and feeling like I’m wearing too many layers. Maybe ice skating was a bad idea, but for a completely different reason.

I nod quickly as the fear of getting on the ice overwhelms me.

“Evie,” Jamie says so softly that if I weren’t standing right next to him, I would’ve thought I imagined it. I look up at him in response. “I will talk you through every step. You just need to do what I say. Okay?”

“Okay,” I push out a squeak.

I watch Jamie turn around and walk backward onto the ice. My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline and my mouth forms an O in surprise as he steps on the ice like he owns it.

“I told you, Sean made me take lessons with him.” He chuckles at my reaction. “Keep holding my hands and just put one foot after another on the ice. Don’t worry about doing anything else but standing.”

I do as he says and give him a shaky smile. I start to feel a little more confident as I step on to the ice. Then, of its own accord, my right foot slips out from under me.

“Oh,” I screech out, but before I’m finished, Jamie wraps his arms around me and holds me up. I can feel his muscles contract as my hands squeeze his biceps.

My heart is pounding against my ribcage like a fist trying to punch a hole through a wall. I look up at Jamie and see a small smile on his lips.

“I told you I wouldn’t let you fall. Are you ready to try again?” I shake my head quickly back and forth, regretting my decision to try this, and I hear him chuckle. “You can do this, Evie. You’re one of the bravest people I know.”

His words have warmth spreading through my chest. I take a deep breath and blow it out. I steady myself on the skates with Jamie’s help.

“Okay. Let me try again.”

He slowly removes his arms around my body, and my hands instinctively tighten, grabbing his coat to keep him from leaving me.

“I’m just repositioning so you can stand more on your own. I promise I’m not letting you go.”

Again, I just nod because words are failing me. The double meaning in all of this, along with my fear, is too much for me to process now. I decide to just focus on the skating and follow his lead. Something else I’m not fully comfortable with.

He slowly moves his arms from around me to gently place his hands on my waist until I am almost standing entirely on my own.

Jamie hasn’t let go, but he’s giving me space to find my balance.

“Good.” He smiles encouragingly at me. “Now try to take one step toward me by pushing your foot out. Don’t lift it off the ice; just push out one foot at a time.”

“Like this?” I ask as I try to do as he says. My body is stiff, and every muscle is shaking, but I try to do what he says.

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