Page 39 of Wild Hearts

"Maybe." Her lips twitched.

"Would you at least consider it?" I asked her, not sure why I picked tonight to take this stance. Probably because ice-skating brought back so many memories of her being mine. I wanted to feel that again. Except this time, I wouldn't take our relationship for granted. I was older and more experienced. Now I knew what we had was special. That I couldn't find this with someone else.

Dakota skated by more confidently than I'd ever seen her. "What are you doing? Come on!"

"We're being summoned," Addison said with a smile.

"I'm not done with this."

Addison held out her hand, and I took it, allowing her to draw me onto the ice. We skated together.

When we took a break, I gave Dakota money to get drinks with her friend.

"My feet hurt. I haven't done this in so long."

"Now that we have a rink at the resort, you'll have to come more often. Say, every Friday night?"

Addison laughed. "You're relentless when you decide you want something."

"At first, I was focused on Dakota. I wanted to do right by her. But she's settling in just fine, and she doesn't need me by her side every second. Besides she's the one who encouraged me to talk to you."

"She's just a kid. She doesn't know what happened between us."

"I told her enough. I had wanted to prove myself, and I thought I shouldn't bring you along for the ride. I'd stupidly thought I could find another girl who'd make me feel the same way. That wasn't the case. You're the one for me. The older I get, the more confident I am about that."

Addison pursed her lips. "I don't know."

"You don't have to know now. I'm just asking you to think about it. To keep your mind open to the possibilities."

Her lips widened into a smile. "I can do that."

Dakota returned with a tray of drinks. "For you."

"Thanks, Dakota." I couldn't believe I was here tonight with my two favorite people: the new girl in my life and the first one to steal my heart.

If I was smart, I wouldn't let either one of them go.

On Sunday, we had a lazy morning. I made pancakes and we ate in our pajamas. "What do you want to do today?"

Dakota scowled. "I have some work to catch up on."

"Scarlett wanted to take you into town to go shopping for your room."

She perked up. "That sounds like fun."

"I think it's going to be Scarlett and my aunt. She wants to spend more time with you, so you might have to do lunch."

Dakota smiled. "That's okay. I don't mind."

"And then your grandparents are flying home this week. They want to see you before they leave."

"Okay."

I was selfishly looking forward to her grandparents heading home so I could have uninterrupted time with my daughter.They had the first thirteen years, and now it was my turn. I wasn't against her seeing them, but this relationship was new. I had a bad feeling that they would go to a judge and request visitation or custody. Any time I thought about it, it gave me this out-of-control feeling. It was the same sensation I got whenever I thought about Tammy not telling me about our daughter.

Why had she kept it a secret? Why hadn't she tried harder to find me? My therapist said that in order to move on, I might have to let it go. I wasn't ready to yet. It was still too fresh.

"What are you going to do while I'm shopping?"

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