Page 80 of Just One Kiss

Nothing else had to happen.

Chapter Nineteen

The ice rinkwas next to Jake's store, and they stopped in there to get skates rather than wait in line at the rental counter. She hadn't been in his store before. Everything connected to Jake had been off-limits for the past two years, but now she was impressed. He didn't have a lot of retail space, but it was well laid out, and there was a clear focus on the adventure experiences, which seemed to take up one side of the space. There were lots of posters on the walls, showing off the various adventures and their happy participants. There were also monitors hung around a large circular counter.

"What are the TV monitors for?" she asked.

"I have videos showing our tour offerings. I find that when people can actually see what we're offering, they're more eager to sign up."

"How do you get video of the more extreme adventures?"

"I've hired photographers, and I've also used drones."

She shook her head. "If you need to use a drone to capture the moment, you must be on the highest peaks."

"We go as high as we can," he admitted.

"Is there any place you haven't been able to get to?"

"There are a couple of spots on Victory Peak and Shelter Mountain, but it will happen someday. I just need the right set of conditions in order to make that happen. Now, let's find you some skates."

He led her over to the skate section and pulled out a pair of white boots with a shiny, sharp blade, and her heart skipped a beat.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"They're beautiful." She felt strangely reluctant to take them.

He gave her a quizzical look. "Want to try them on?"

"They'll fit," she said, knowing he'd grabbed the right size. "I just realized I haven't skated since high school, since you and I went out to Baker's Pond."

"Seriously? Not since then?"

"No. But it wasn't because of you," she added quickly.

"Thank goodness. I don't think I could handle being responsible for ending something you loved as much as skating." He paused. "You used to tell me that skating reminded you of your dad. It was bittersweet. But you still seemed to have fun when we did it."

"You made everything fun," she admitted. "After high school, I just stopped thinking about skating, and when I moved to Denver, it got further from my mind. It felt like something from another lifetime."

"But you've been back here for three years. You've never been tempted?"

"A little, but no one pushed me to get back on the ice."

"Good thing I came along."

"Is it a good thing?" she asked with a helpless shrug.

He smiled. "I think so, and hopefully you'll think so, too, at some point."

"Well, I don't need these new skates. I can rent a pair at the rink."

"Think of these as an early Christmas present."

She hesitated.

"Don't say no," he added quickly. "It's just a pair of skates, Hannah. They don't come with strings."

"I'm sure I have my old skates somewhere, and it's not like I'll be needing new skates in the future."

---