Page 5 of The Santa Swap

“Jake?” Olivia asked. “What are we really doing here?”

The name poured ice through his veins. “Come on,” he said. He led her across the parking lot to a row of bushes, looking for the break between the foliage.

Partway down the row the bushes opened slightly, revealing a narrow trail that most people walked right past. Luke pushed through the bushes, crossing a small stretch of grass before he came to the edge of a small pond. He stepped forward onto the ice, stretching his hands out for balance. “Have you ever been ice skating?”

He held a hand out, waiting for Olivia to join him, but she stood stubbornly on the bank. “Are you insane? You don’t just randomly walk onto ponds and assume they are frozen.”

Luke stomped on the ice. “It’s been frozen solid since last week. The temperatures finally dropped low enough that the pond is safe. I came here yesterday with a group of friends.”

“That’s cool, but no. I’m not that brave. Besides, I don’t have any skates. Neither do you unless you’ve got them stashed somewhere nearby.” Olivia stepped back.

“I promise nothing will happen to you.” He pushed off and slid to the center of the pond. “When it is thawed, this pond goes up to about my waist. If we broke through the ice, we’d be really, really cold, but we wouldn’t drown.” He shuffled his feet across the ice, making his way back to Olivia and stretched his hand out once more.

Olivia hesitated for another minute. Then she grabbed his hand and stepped onto the ice. Her boot slid out from under her and she shrieked, clasping onto his arm. When she straightened up, she was laughing. “I see why you call it ice skating, even without the skates. Now what?”

“Now we explore.” Luke slid one foot in front of the other, mocking the movements of an ice skater and smiled as Olivia followed suit. At first her steps were tentative as she leaned on his arm for support, but soon she straightened up and let go, taking larger steps.

“Are you ready for the fun part?”

Olivia nodded.

“If the conditions are right, we slide.” He walked to the snow-covered grass at the edge of the pond and stepped out, heading for the bushes. When he turned to face Olivia, she was watching him with a skeptical smirk. He ran towards her, hopping onto the ice at just the right time so he slid forward across the pond. He wobbled for just a second at the end and then spun to face Olivia. “Your turn.”

Her face took on a look of concentration. “Any tips?”

“Don’t fall?” Luke walked towards her. “I’ll wait here to catch you in case anything goes wrong.”

She frowned at him. “I wasn’t planning on falling,” she said, “but now I’m a little worried. She stepped onto the bank, retracing Luke’s steps before she spun around. “Ready.”

Luke’s heart was racing. What if she actually got hurt? He stepped forward as Olivia let out a whoop. She ran towards him and stepped onto the ice, jerking to an abrupt stop before she could slide anywhere.

“What did I do wrong?” she asked.

“Try spreading your feet a little farther apart.”

She nodded once and walked back to the grass, trying again. This time, Olivia’s hair flew behind her as she stepped onto the ice. She rushed towards Luke, her arms flailing as she tried to maintain her balance.

Luke stretched his arms out to catch her but he underestimated the force of her slide. She rammed into his body, sending them both flying to the ice in a tangled pile of arms and legs.

Olivia sat up, her body shaking with laughter. “I guess that didn’t work so well either.”

The cold was seeping into Luke’s bones while he struggled to stand. His knees slid out from under him before he could catch his footing. When he reached down to help Olivia to her feet, she was shivering.

“Are you okay?” He was going to feel awful if she had gotten hurt doing his silly activity.

“I’m going to feel that tomorrow, but it was actually pretty fun.”

“I think we’ve had enough cold for one day.” Luke said. “Are you ready to head back?”

Olivia’s face fell. “I didn’t get my perfect slide yet.” Her pout was irresistible.

“You’re the boss here. You’ve got this.” Luke watched her walk away. This time he braced his feet as she ran down the hill and executed a flawless slide right into his arms. He wrapped his hands around her waist to slow her to a stop. Pure joy was written across Olivia’s face when she pumped her fist in the air.

He tilted his head forward, looking deep into her eyes. Her excitement was palpable. So much for guarding his heart. In a matter of just a couple of hours, this woman had captivated him completely. The world slowed, with the sound of car wheels crunching through the parking lot fading into the background. Cold nipped at his cheeks, but Luke waited, watching Olivia’s eyes to see what she would do. His hands pressed against her waist, the layers of jacket and gloves between them doing nothing to cool the heat that swirled through his chest.

Olivia held his gaze, and then, instead of turning away, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. They were cold from the winter air, but heat shot through Luke’s body.

Luke closed his eyes, holding back all but the gentlest of kisses. This was unfamiliar territory for him. He had a reputation for being reckless with his money and with his cars, but never with his heart. Honorable men didn’t kiss women they barely knew, and yet here Luke stood, never wanting to let Olivia go.

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