Page 44 of Love in the Air at The Cornish Bakery

Chapter Twenty Two

‘Do you really thinkthis is a good idea?’ Nina grimaced as she looked around the hall. Roller skaters rushed past, the more experienced of them travelling at dizzying speeds as they weaved in and out of the slower skaters.

‘Believe me, it wasn’t my idea.’ Rowan chuckled as he tied the laces on his roller skates.

‘Hey, are you two ready?’ Brooke skated up, pivoting on her skates before coming to a stop.

‘Almost.’ Smiling, Nina quickly shoved her feet into her skates and tightened the laces. Spending the night trying to balance and avoid a trip to A & E might not be her idea of fun, but it was Brooke’s, and she was glad Brooke was letting her into her life.

‘Great. Have you rollerskated before? Sorry, I should have asked you before we got here.’ Brooke frowned.

‘No, that’s okay. Yes, I have.’ She automatically touched her wrist.

‘Great. How about you, Rowan?’

‘Once or twice.’ Nodding, Rowan stood up, taking a moment to balance on his skates before holding out his hand to Nina.

‘Phew. We’ll see you out there, shall we?’

‘Yep.’ Holding up her hand, Nina watched as Brooke and Max skated smoothly onto the floor. ‘Don’t you dare tell her that I broke my wrist roller-skating.’

‘My lips are sealed.’ Rowan ran his finger over his lips. ‘But only if you promise me one thing in return.’

‘What?’

‘That we don’t end up spending the night in A & E again.’

Laughing, Nina gripped Rowan’s hand and pulled herself to standing. ‘Unfortunately, that’s one thing I don’t think I can promise.’

‘I was worried you were going to say that.’ Grimacing, Rowan gripped the partition between the benches and the skating floor and steadied himself as Nina wrapped her arms around his shoulders as her legs split beneath her.

‘Sorry. Sorry.’ Shuffling her feet back together, she stood and patted his chest. ‘There you go.’

‘There I go? You were the one almost on the floor.’ Laughing, he held out his hand, and they half-walked, half-skated to the skating floor.

Grinning, Nina kept her eyes focused on the floor ahead of her. ‘Now, remember, think serene thoughts. We’re swans gliding across the surface of the lake.’

Guffawing, Rowan stopped, turned, and gripped Nina’s shoulders as he doubled over with laughter.

‘Oi. I was being serious. If we think about gliding, then maybe we will.’ She laughed. ‘Okay, fair enough. Let’s just try not to fall over too often.’

‘That’s more like it.’ Straightening his back, he stepped in closer as another skater who must have been barely ten sped past them before twirling and skating backwards. ‘Now, that’s just showing off.’

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