Page 81 of Virgin Skin

“You did all this for me?”

Piston shrugs, but I can see his cheeks turning a light shade of pink at my awed reaction.

“Here.” He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a pair of gloves for me. “Come on.”

I follow him over to the small table and chairs he set up next to the rink. He pours two cups of hot chocolate from a thermos on the table and then produces a pair of ice skates for me to put on.

“This is so cute.” I sit down and kick off my shoes, trading them for the skates in between slurps of the rich, creamy cocoa that tastes like a melted chocolate bar.

“You like it?” He smiles hopefully and sits down to put on his skates too.

“Iloveit.” I lean over the table and kiss his cheek, his stubble rough against my lips in a way that’s really growing on me. I get up on my feet again, awkwardly flailing my arms to get my balance. I wiggle my toes inside the skates and shift my weight around for a second to get the feel of them before I trudge over to the rink. “Did I ever tell you about the winter I wasobsessedwith figure skating?”

I step onto the ice and after a few wobbly movements finding my balance and activating my muscle memory, I skate backward a few paces and then do a simple twirl.

Piston wobbles to his feet looking stunned.

“Great, I was hoping we would both be clumsy assholes out here together,” he grumbles, and I laugh.

I pick up speed and start to find my rhythm. Theschick, schick, schickof my skates gliding along the ice activates a thousand memories of too many hours spent picking myself up and dusting myself off, just to start all over again. I move backward and forward in figure eights with a shit-eating grin while he steps cautiously onto the rink, windmilling his arms to keep from falling over.

“Even better, I can show off and save my precious ass for later.” I wink, skating over to offer him a hand.

“There’s that silver lining again.”

“Always.”

Piston really is adorably clumsy, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. We laugh and hold hands while I do my best to keep him upright, and, yes, show off from time to time with a few more simple twirls. The cold air nips at my nose and ears, and eventually a few snowflakes start to fall around us.

I tilt my head back and open my mouth to catch one on my tongue.

“Remind you of anything?” I waggle my eyebrows again and Piston’s expression darkens with hunger.

“You’re trouble, Mi.”

“You like it.” I skate backward slowly, holding his hands and smiling at him.

“I love it,” he corrects, and my heart flutters.

“I was thinking…” I bite my lip. “Do you think it would be silly for me to shadow at Porter’s vet clinic to see if I might like working there?”

“Why would that be silly? I think working with animals would be a great job for you.”

“Really?” I don’t know why it feels so embarrassing to admit that I might be interested in the job. Maybe because I’ve had too many passions fizzle out before they’ve even really started and I always feel like my mom every time I have to admit that the new job, new hobby, new life plan isn’t what I thought it would be. “What if I hate it?”

Piston shrugs. “Then you’ll move on to something else. Not everyone has to stay at one job forever.” His smile fades and his eyes tighten. “And if you decide you don’t want to be in Fall Crosse anymore, that’ll be a bigger challenge since I have the shop and everything, but we can cross that bridge when we get there too. I’m willing to figure it out with you, Mi. I want this, whatever it ends up looking like. I want a life with you.”

My heart thuds and my throat constricts. I must have done something right in this life to deserve a man like Piston, I just don’t have the first clue what it was. Maybe it’s pre-karma for good shit I still have left to do. If that’s the case, I have a hell of a lot to pay forward. Maybe helping animals is a good first step.

“I fucking love you.” I fling myself into his arms, which, in hindsight, isn’t the best choice when he’s already struggling to stay upright on the ice.

We go down with a muttered “Oomph,” from Piston and laughter from me. I land on top of him, the frigid cold of the ice seeping through my jeans to chill my knees.

“I love you,” I murmur again. “And for the record, I want to stay here. I like Fall Crosse, I feel like I’m making friends, and I would never take you away from Ink Slingers.”

He reaches up and runs his fingers through my hair, holding my gaze with so much love and affection in his eyes I forget how to breathe for a second.

“I love you too. We’ll figure out the rest as it comes. Deal?”

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