Page 18 of Back On Ice

“1976,” he and Sophie say at the same time, then both chuckle.

George puts his pen at the top of his clipboard and looks between the two of us, rubbing his jaw in thought. “We’re tearing down the building to rebuild, right?”

I’m just about to nod my agreement when a small sound comes from Sophie. Her expression stops me cold. Furrowed brows, a down turned mouth, and eyes full of despair meet me. George noticed her face as well and quickly backpedals. “Or, we could preserve it. Use the foundation and rebuild what needs to be while modernizing it. I’ll draw up the bid and email it to you, Mr. Williams.”

“You’ll have to send those suggestions to Sophie.” I nod my head towards her, “Per Mr. Scott, she gets the final say on everything.”

“Thank you for your deference, Mr. Williams,” Sophie says, an undertone of venom in her voice. “I honestly thought your ego would have a hard time accepting Mr. Benson’s words on that.”

Mr. Henderson shakes his head. “I’ll just send it to both of you so everyone’s on the same page. I’ll follow up in a couple of days.”

With that, he exits out the front doors, wishing us a pleasant rest of our evening. Without another look at me, Sophie follows after him.

“Sophie, come on. I feel like we could do really great things for the rink if we work together, but that’s impossible if you won’t talk to me.” My words have a tired, desperate edge to them, and she turns around. I think maybe she’ll finally listen.

“You’re right.” She sighs, running a hand through her hair. “If we’re going to work together, we should establish some boundaries.”

Boundaries? She wants more ways to keep us apart?

“We don’t need boundaries, Soph, we need to fix what’s between us.”

“How can you even say that, Carter?!” Her eyes are hard as steel, but I see the fucking tortured look behind them. “You have the gall to demand we fix it, fix ‘us,’ when you’re the one who broke it? Broke me?” Dammit. She’s not even wrong, but how can I explain to her what happened?

“Sophie, I swear, I never meant to do any of that.”

“You’re the only one in control of your actions.” She shakes her head. “You could have called. Gotten whatever was on your mind out into the open. Broken up with me and let me know where we went wrong. But no, you just… left me on read. Even after you got a new phone. You barely answered me on anything, and strung me along, making me worry about you! When clearly you were doing just fine without me.”

My hands shake, trying to hold back from pulling her into my arms and apologizing for every hurt I’ve ever caused her. Because I can’t even tell her it didn’t happen like that, or that she’s wrong. “I?—”

She doesn’t let me speak. It’s like a dam’s been broken and all of her words are tumbling out so quickly she can’t stop them.

“I finally moved on. I have a life, Carter. It may not be perfect, but it’s mine and I love it. Then you come back to town swinging, getting involved in the rec center, the place that we loved?—”

“I still love it!” My voice comes out louder than I intended. “I’m only doing what needs to be done?—”

“You just waltzed in here, throwing money at everything, thinking that gives you the right to take over and make all the decisions! If I weren’t here, you would have agreed to tear the building down!” Her face is twisted up in rage.

“I’m just trying to fucking saving it, Soph! Why can’t you see that?”

“Because I don’t believe that you care! You fucking left, Carter! You decided you didn’t want this town. That you didn’t want… me.” Her voice breaks at the last word, and just when I think I’m going to jump in and explain everything, she keeps going. “You wanted something new and exciting, so you left. Fuck everyone else and their feelings. Nobody heard from you for years. You became a damn ghost.”

I didn’t want to leave. I told her my dad made me the day it happened. “What the hell are you talking about?!” My voice echoes in the empty rink. “I didn’t leave because I fucking wanted to, you know that! Now I’m here and I want to help.”

What can I tell her to convince her I’m not here to destroy anything? That she’s been doing a damn good job managing the rink with what she has, but we’re past the point of tape and glue on this place?

“Sophie, there are things that you don’t?—”

She shakes her head, throwing her arms up. “No, I’m done. I’m an idiot for ever thinking what we had was real.”

Fuck that, I’m done with her shutting me down. She thinks I wanted to leave? That I didn’t want her anymore? That anything besides the threat of her safety could keep me from her? She couldn’t be more wrong. There’s only one way to show her.

She’s about to turn away from me again when I grab her by the back of the neck and slam my lips on hers.

Chapter Nine

SOPHIE

My words,now forgotten, die in my throat. The kiss burns, and I’m not even in control of my hands as they fist the front of his shirt, pulling him impossibly closer to me. His hand is hot on the back of my neck, his grip firm but gentle as his thumb presses right under my ear.

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