Page 77 of 2 Books in One Bundle

She’s not wrong. Youaresulking.

He didn’t appreciate that thought, not at all. Mainly because he knew it was correct. He also knew that if he didn’t get hold of his temper, he’d end up ruining the skating on the lake that he’d planned for today and since he’d nearly ruined the volcano trip the day before, he didn’t want to repeat his mistake.

Instead, he carefully and deliberately slid his chair back and slowly rose to his feet. ‘Once you’ve had breakfast,’ he said in the most neutral tones possible, ‘come and meet me in the entrance hall and we can get geared up.’

Then without sparing her a glance, he left the dining area to prepare.

It was childish of him not to engage and definitely not to apologise, but he had to have some space to leash his hunger otherwise he was in danger of ruining this utterly.

A good half an hour later, Isla appeared, all cool and contained. Which of course made him want to crack her self-possession, put a dent in it somehow, ignite the fire that lit her up from within. But doing that when he was so on edge himself was a terrible idea, so he only handed her a thick white down jacket, a thick white scarf and hat and some gloves without a word.

Once they were both protected from the weather, he took both pairs of skates and led the way outside.

The morning was clear, the sky a deep, endless blue above them, the frigid air making white clouds of their warm breaths. There was a small wooden jetty that projected into the lake and they both sat down on it to put their skates on. He finished with his first and slid smoothly out onto the ice. He’d skated here many times and took pleasure in the solitude of the lake and the silence. He wondered if she too would appreciate that.

Turning, he watched as Isla gingerly put her skates onto the ice and slid out onto it, holding her hands out for balance. She looked adorable all wrapped up in the down jacket. Wisps of golden curls stuck out from under her hat, her scarf wrapped around her neck. She stayed where she was on the ice, still holding her hands out, as if she was afraid to move, and those deep blue eyes of hers were looking at him with trepidation.

‘You haven’t done this before, have you?’ he asked.

She shook her head, and for some reason, the sharp edge of his mood eased.

He wanted her to enjoy this and she wouldn’t if he stayed being angry. It was a gift, after all, and there should be pleasure in being given gifts. Or so he’d heard.

Orion skated over to her and took both her mittened hands in his. ‘Just relax and keep your knees loose. I’m going to pull you along.’ Keeping his grip firm, he began to slowly skate backwards, tugging her along with him.

She didn’t fight him and soon the trepidation had gone from her eyes, and her cool self-possession along with it. She began to smile, her blue gaze sparkling as he went a little faster, giving her a few instructions on how to move, and he found himself smiling back, like a fool. But how could he not? She was irresistible. Glowing with that light he found so bewitching and again, he was the one who’d put it there.

He’d made her happy. Because that’s what this was, wasn’t it? It was happiness.

Don’t worry, you’ll ruin it soon. That’s what you do. You destroy things.

His chest ached at the thought, but he pushed it away. He wanted to concentrate on this moment, not anything else.

‘You’re good at this,’ she said, as they moved over the ice together.

‘I’ve had a lot of practice.’

‘What do you like about it?’

He moved in a slow gliding motion, drawing her along. ‘It’s very quiet and peaceful out on the ice. And sometimes it’s as if you’re the only person in creation.’

‘You like being alone?’

‘I’m always alone,’ he heard himself say. Which was stupid. It revealed far too much about himself that he didn’t want to share.

Yet a look of understanding shifted in her eyes. ‘Me too,’ she said. ‘Since I was a kid.’

He slowed, the conversation more important than the skating all of a sudden. ‘You were in the foster system, weren’t you?’

‘Yes. I was taken in by a family when I was around ten but...well, it didn’t work out. And so I went into a home.’

He watched her face, drawn by the emotions shadowing her blue gaze. He too had been in a home, and he remembered the agony of wanting prospective adoptive parents to like him, to want him, to take him with them, to give him the family he’d always craved. Except they never had. But for her to have had a family only for it to be lost... He knew well what that agony was like.

‘Why didn’t it work out?’ he asked and then, as a thought suddenly occurred to him, bringing with it a wave of protective anger so intense he could hardly breathe, he went on, ‘Were they abusive?’

‘No, nothing like that.’ She glided forward as he moved back, managing to slide around a patch of rough ice. ‘The couple already had a son and they wanted a girl. The son...didn’t like me and would do things to get me into trouble. He was just a kid, like I was, but one day he scratched his dad’s car and blamed it on me. And I’d taken the blame for months for various things, and that day I just...lost it.’ She bit her lip, a shadow crossing her face. ‘They didn’t believe that it was their son, they just thought I was badly behaved and acting out, and so when I had a temper tantrum, that was the last straw. They decided that it would be best if they didn’t adopt me after all.’

Orion was aware then of the strangest sensation in his chest. There was pain in her face and it was almost as if he could feel it too. Pain for her and what she’d experienced. Pain at the unfairness of it. Not to mention a violent anger at the carelessness of some people, who thought a child was a piece of furniture they could get rid of when it didn’t fit their house.

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