Page 22 of Sweet Christmas Wish
Folding the napkin and sliding it into his pocket, Will realized that he was excited about more than just the business plan—the napkin in his pocket meant that he now had another excuse to talk to Sarah again.
* * *
Sarah strapped on her ice skates, hurrying to tie the laces so she could pull her gloves back on. Since the bakery was closed on Sundays, it gave her one day a week to do whatever she wanted. Usually she slept in and spent the day relaxing, but anxiety had driven her from her bed earlier than she had planned that morning. That same anxiety had spurred her on, resulting in her deep cleaning her entire apartment until it practically sparkled. Still, even after trying to wear herself out, she found herself teeming with nervous energy by early afternoon, with no place to put it.
Hoping that some exercise would clear her head, Sarah had headed to Happy Glacier Rink to try and skate away her worries. She had been coming to this rink since she was a little girl, braving the curmudgeonly owner—ironically named Rudolph Hutchins—in order to glide across the ice and feel weightless and free as a bird. Ice skating had always been one of her favorite pastimes, although she rarely had the time now to indulge in her hobby, especially since Michelle and her parents had moved away.
Skates on, she hobbled over to the edge of the ice and then stepped out onto it, immediately gliding as her skates’ blades touched the smooth surface of the ice.
Breathe, she reminded herself as she skated smoothly across the rink.Just breathe. Answers can’t come to you when you’re full of anxiety.
But it was hard not to be anxious. After all, she hated the idea of letting her family down. Michelle would be in Snowy Pine Ridge in a week or so, and the thought of her sister seeing Sweet Thing Bakery in a state of failure was enough to make Sarah want to collapse in a heap on the floor.
Sarah began skating faster, weaving in and out of the few other skaters on the ice as she thought about the problem of the oven loan and how to pay it back. She was so deeply engrossed in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Will’s presence until he called out a greeting to her that pulled her up short and almost sent her flying into the low wall surrounding the rink. She grabbed it for balance, her heart hammering in her chest.
“Oh, hi! I didn’t see you there.”
Will stood outside the rink, next to her. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She waved that aside. “Don’t worry about it. I was just lost in thought. How’s your day going?”
“Really well, actually.”
“That’s great.” Sarah peered over the edge of the rink and saw that he was still wearing street shoes. “Aren’t you going to skate?”
“Well… I don’t know…”
Sarah raised an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side. “You’re not some weirdo that just comes to watch other people skate, are you?”
Will spluttered out a laugh. “Definitely not.”
“Great, then get some skates.” Sarah leveled her gaze on him, a teasing challenge in her eyes. “Or are you too chicken?”
Will drew himself up tall, pretending to be affronted. “In all my many years on this Earth, I haveneverbeen accused of being a chicken.”
“All your many years, huh? You’re like two years older than me.”
“And yet the wisdom of those two years has—”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re old and wise, I get it.” She laughed. “Come on, grab some skates and meet me out here. Or were you going to stall some more?”
Will gave her the stink eye and then spun around to get some skates. In a few minutes he was back, skates strapped to his feet, and ready to step onto the ice. He hesitated again before stepping onto the ice as Sarah skated over to him easily.
“I haven’t skated in years,” he admitted as she came to a stop. “As much as I feel at home on a pair of skis, I’m an absolute klutz on the ice…”
“Come on, you can’t be that bad,” Sarah said. She reached out an arm. “Here, you can lean on me.”
“No, I’ve got it. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Will stepped out onto the ice and his feet instantly went in two different directions, sending him sprawling on the ice in a matter of seconds. He looked up at Sarah, blinking in confusion at how quickly he had gone from standing to lying on his back on the ice. It was all Sarah could do to hold back laughter, but she swallowed it down and reached out to help him.
He grasped her hand but, as he tried to get to his feet, his skates slid out from under him again and she ended up in a heap on the ice beside him. This time she was helpless to contain her laughter and gurgled up from her belly, spilling out into the frigid air. Tears streamed down her cheeks at the hilarity of the situation.
“Wow,” she gasped between bouts of laughter. “You really weren’t kidding. You’re horrible at ice skating!”
“I tried to warn you,” Will replied, overcome with laughter as well. “Ice skating and me? We don’t mix.”
“I can see that now. Come on, let’s get you off the ice.”
