Page 79 of Follow My Heart

Faith gave me a look. “You own a store, and you create your own flavors. I think it’s cool.”

“That’s high praise.” Especially after the letdown from the conversation with my mother. “What did you want to do tonight?” I looked from Faith to Ryder, who stood with his hands in his pockets.

Ryder’s gaze met mine. “I thought we’d go ice skating. There’s an outdoor rink nearby.”

“That sounds fun,” I said as I caught Faith’s grin.

“Let’s get going then. The lights should be on since it will be dark by the time we get there.” I rode with Ryder, pleased to be part of his time with Faith. I was lucky she wanted to spend time with me. Especially since she wasn’t a fan of Phil.

I wondered if things got more serious between me and Ryder, if she’d have issues with it then. Would she not want her dad to have more kids? I definitely wanted them, and I wasn’t sure where Ryder stood on that issue.

When we got there, lights were strung over the rink and trees were placed around it, decorated with more lights and ornaments. We stood in line to get skates, then put them on.

As soon as Faith tied her laces, she went to the opening for the rink and pushed off.

“She can skate,” I said, a little worried about how I was going to fare.

“I’ve been taking her since she was little. It’s always been our thing. It gave Stacy time to Christmas shop or go to the spa, whatever she needed to do.”

“That’s sweet.”

“I didn’t spend as much time with Faith as I wanted to. I wish I’d had more traditions like this throughout the year, not just at the holidays.”

“I’m glad you included me in them.”

We stood, and I rocked a bit on the blades.

“Have you ice skated before?” Ryder steadied me with a hand on my elbow.

I huffed out a laugh. “I grew up in Florida. We went to the beach.”

Ryder chuckled softly, and somehow it made him more attractive. “This is going to be fun.”

He said it without any derision. He was excited to show me something new.

Anticipation unfurled in my stomach. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

Faith had already done several laps of the ice by the time I slowly made my way to the outer edge of the rink. Ryder hovered nearby, his hand a steadying presence on my elbow.

“Just push off with your skates. Short motions to start.” He gestured at the kids flying by us, making it look effortless.

He let go of my arm, stepping onto the ice. He glided away, then executed a simple turn and grinned at me. I could tell he was excited to be here with me.

I let out the breath I’d been holding. I could do this.

He skated toward me, holding his hand out to me. “Violet who makes amazing ice cream. Surely, you’re the queen of the ice.”

I laughed. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

He came closer, his arm around my back and my hand in his. “Take one step. You’ve got this.”

Every muscle in my body was tense, but with Ryder surrounding me, I knew he’d catch me if I fell. I took one wobbly step. Then two. I was standing on the ice.

It felt like an accomplishment until Faith flew past us and, with a flash of ice, stopped in front of us. “Come on, Violet. You can do it.”

She was smiling at me, and it made me feel like I could do anything. I bit my lip and tried to mimic the gliding motion Ryder showed me. I took small, short strides. I wasn’t skating, but I wasn’t falling either.

“Just like that.” Ryder’s voice rumbled through my body, reassuring me that I was doing it right.

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