Page 228 of Waiting Game

“I was going to fight for him. If you’d have… Well, I don’t know. But I’d have fought.”

“Cole deserves that.”

“He does.”

“How did you even meet?”

“He hired me to be his figure-skating coach. The rink he uses for private practice, one of the girls on the staff always recommends me because I helped her sister in the early days of her career.” A soft smile kicks up the corner of my mouth. “She’s heading to the Nationals next year. She outgrew me.”

Story of my life.

Gracie frowns. “You look nostalgic.”

I shrug. “I am. That could’ve been me but it wasn’t my path.”

“Why wasn’t it? You skated competitively for a while, right?”

“My parents died and I lost the heart for competing, but I like helping other people follow their dreams.”

A breath gusts from her.

“I-I don’t expect you to forgive me.”

“Good thing because I don’t. Might not for a long time. But for Cole, I can push that aside to be…cordialto you.

“We’re family. He comes to my parents’ place for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We’re all up in each other’s business. Cutting you out cuts him out and I’m not willing to allow that to happen, so I’ll put up withthisand we can deal pleasantly with one another.”

Hope flutters inside me. “We can?”

“Yeah. On one condition.”

I still. “What condition?”

“That when I call on you for a favor, you say yes.”

Okay, so that’s unexpected. “Fine.”

Gracie arches a brow. “That was easy enough.”

“I know that we’ll never be as close as we were, Gracie, but whatever you need from me, I’m here.”

She hums then, after straightening to her feet, pats my knee. “Thank you for saving him.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” The words make my already leaking eyes leak some more. “I love him.”

Another hum. “You should rest.”

With that, she makes her departure.

As I watch her go, my shoulders sag.

‘Being cordial’ with one another is more than I thought to ask for but I’m still sad. I lost one of the best friends on God’s green earth through my own actions.But, she didn’t say she’d never forgive me so not all hope is lost.

With a heart that’s oddly heavyandlight, I get to my feet too and stride over to the kitchen cabinet that houses glasses before I head to the fridge for some cold water. Lifting the glass to my forehead, I let it cool me down before I take a deep sip.

That’s when I see it.

The album.

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