Page 25 of Painted Dreams
He braced himself against the pole and slid his free arm around her waist. “You, sweetheart, are an exception.”
His warm breath at her temple sent her pulse skyrocketing, leaving her tongue-tied.
When several people exited at the next stop, Kat quickly scored a couple of seats and pulled her camera from her backpack. She handed him the digital card and watched several images load onto the screen then gasped as they came into focus. She stared at the photos—some close-ups and others that showed the architecture and settings.Wow.He’d captured it all perfectly. Kat’s eyes were drawn to one on the steps, a few strands of hair blowing back from her face as she looked beyond the camera. She swallowed hard. It seemed so personal all of a sudden. He’d capturedher.
“What do you think?” Nick asked. “See anything you can work with?”
She turned and met his eyes. And a wave of heat wrapped around her as if she’d snuggled deep inside a woolly blanket. The photos showed what she felt—she was comfortable around Nick. No pretense, no nerves, no fake smiles or forced poses. They were, in fact, the best photos she’d ever taken.
“Wow,” she said, finally. “You’re good at this.”
“I had exceptional material to work with.”
“They’re perfect. Thank you.” And now he was going ice skating with her? Was this too good to be true?
When they arrived at Nick’s hotel, Kat waited in the lobby while Nick checked in and changed into jeans, though she had half a mind to march to the counter and cancel his room. Their day was spinning by so fast.
She glanced up when the elevator doors opened, and Nick came into view. She sucked in her breath. It was the first time she’d seen him in jeans—and her eyes feasted. The casual look, dark jeans hugging muscular legs, was every bit as delicious as the business look.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Absolutely.” Kat could hardly sit still during the cab ride to her apartment.
“You know what?” Nick said. “I’m pumped about this. I haven’t been on the ice in a long time.”
“Same,” she told him, unable to contain a grin. She needed the exercise, wanted that exhilarating feel of the wind against her face as she glided across the ice, and now couldn’t wait to see Nick in action.
“Maybe you could spot a guy a couple of practice runs to get the feel of it again.”
“Sure. But you’ll be fine. It’s like riding a bicycle. You know, muscle memory.”
“Famous last words.”
Kat laughed as she unlocked the door to her apartment. “Let me get my skates.” She hurried to the closet and dug her skates from the depths, along with various hats and scarves.
“You have your own?”
“Uh-huh.” She turned and held up a pair of cotton-candy pink skates. “They were a Christmas gift from Nana when I was in high school.”
“Something tells me I’m about to be out ranked here.”
“Don’t worry. I had a few lessons but didn’t quite make the figure-skating championships.” She shot him a teasing grin then tossed him a heathered gray scarf that wouldn’t look too girlie tucked in the collar of his coat. “Do you have gloves?”
“Sure do. This’ll be great.”
Kat added tights under her jeans and thirty minutes later, they arrived at the skating rink. Christmas decorations still twinkled with lights, giving it a festive atmosphere. A few dozen skaters were already circling the ice. Still plenty of open space.
She took longer than necessary to get ready, lacing up the skates with deliberate perfection to allow Nick time to rent skates and hit the ice ahead of her.
“I’m feeling it,” he told her as he wobbled from the bench to the side of the rink. “It’s all coming back to me.”
With a wave, he spun onto the ice in one confident lunge.
Kat watched him weave through the other skaters, picking up speed as he came out of the turn. Yeah, he could skate. And look good at the same time. Her mouth dropped open when he came close to the rail in front of her, spun around and skated backward away from her. She couldn’t help laughing at this new show-off side of him.
Nick motioned to her as he approached a second time, and Kat glided onto the ice beside him. He grabbed hold of her hand, his grip firm and sure.
“Hey, you having any fun yet?” Kat asked. The wide smile that lit his face already answered the question.
