Page 9 of Breaking the Ice

“I know what cleaning windows means.” He stares down at me like he’s my overlord and I’m an insignificant serf.

Well, two can play that game, mister. “You have to get my stamp of approval and I’m not going to let you leave any streaks,” I warn.

Troy tries to cover his laughter with a cough but he’s not successful. I’m glad someone is having a good time.

“Ellie,” Zach says calmly, “go finish your class. I’ll be waiting here when you’re done.”

We’re at a standstill. I don’t know how I’m going to get away from this situation. I obviously cannot finish my class because he just now told me to. The only thing I can do now is plot to make Zach’s afternoon of cleaning as miserable as possible. While that sounds like a lot of fun, spending any time near him is sure to be a chore. I’m furious with myself for my reaction—my hands are sweaty, and my heart is pounding like a teenager in love. Being that I’m neither a teenager nor in love, I should be stone-cold indifferent to Zachary Hart.

Troy interrupts my thoughts. “You two should place a wager.”

“On how well I clean windows?” Zach seems appalled by the idea, which makes me a real fan of it.

“If you don’t clean them to my satisfaction, you’ll have to pay an extra month’s rent,” I decide.

“And if I clean them to your standards, I get a free month’s rent?”

“Hardly,” I snap. “If you clean them to my standards then you get to stay there tonight.” I’m going to lose even more respect for Zach if he doesn’t tell me what to do with this bet before storming away.

“Fine.” Zach turns around and sits down on the bleachers. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and starts tapping away. I’ve been dismissed.

“Soooo,” Troy says. “It looks like you’ve got everything under control here …”

“Please tell Kelly I’ll be over tomorrow morning,” I tell Troy before turning around and skating back to my class. Who does Zachary Hart think he is? How dare he force himself into his lease ahead of schedule? And more importantly, why is he so eager to wash windows?

For the next forty minutes, I valiantly try to focus on my aspiring figure skaters. I’m only half successful as my gaze is repeatedly drawn to the bleachers where Zach is sitting. He’s so engrossed in his telephone, he doesn’t look at me once. Which makes me even madder.

For obvious reasons, I’m reluctant to end the lesson, so I keep the kids on the ice until their parents start to come up to get them. I’d keep teaching until midnight if I could, but that doesn’t appear to be an option. There’s a three-day weekend coming up and everyone is trying to get in their last camping adventure of the year. From what I hear, folks have already started setting up their tents by the river.

Once all the kids are off the ice, I sit down on the bench to take off my skates. I wonder if I could feign illness to get out of spending the afternoon with Zachary Hart. Yet the man is so pigheaded he’d probably agree to clean the whole cabin himself.

I’m so engrossed in my task, I don’t realize I’ve been snuck up on until I hear, “You ready to go?”

I don’t have to look up to know who’s doing the asking. I simply hiss, “Yessss.” Then I grab my skates and turn toward the exit. In a slow march, I lead the way like I’m heading to my own execution.

CHAPTER FIVE

Zach

I don’t expect everyone to like me, but Ellie Butler has taken things to a new level. She has the disposition of a startled rattlesnake. In a bid to engage her in safe conversation, I ask, “Have you worked at the rink for long?”

She steps down into the parking lot before answering. “No.”

I try again. “Were you a professional skater at one time?” Come on, lady, give me something.

Ellie scoffs loudly. “Hardly.”

“Why hardly? You seemed pretty good out there to me.” Her elegantly graceful lines made it impossible for me to look away.

She stops walking, causing me to nearly run her over. Stepping back to widen the space between us, she demands, “How many professional figure skaters do you know who are five ten?”

I shrug my shoulders. “None. But I don’t know any professional figure skaters.”

“Maria Sotskova was five eight and that was considered shocking.”

“And she is …”

Ellie rolls her eyes before demanding, “Do you know anything about ice sports?”

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