Page 85 of The Fifth Avenue Apartment

It was lightly snowing when Sophie and Max headed out Saturday afternoon to go ice-skating. It was too far to walk so they took the subway to Bryant Park, where the Christmas Market was still going strong. They made their way to the skating rink and both had to rent skates.

“When was the last time you skated?” Max asked her.

Sophie laughed. “It’s been over ten years, maybe longer. I used to love to skate when I was younger though. I even took figure skating lessons for a few years.”

He looked intrigued. “Really? Can you do jumps and twirls?”

“Jumps definitely not. I might be able to spin a little. We’ll see. What about you? Did you skate much as a kid?”

He grinned. “Does hockey count? Yeah, I was really into it for a few years in high school. Until I got checked hard and broke my collarbone. That ended my high school hockey career.”

“Ouch! Have you skated at all since?”

“A little. A few of my college buddies were really into it and we used to go skating sometimes and get a makeshift hockey game going. It was fun. That was ages ago, though.”

They laced up their skates and carefully stepped onto the ice. Sophie felt a little unsteady at first. Especially when two young boys came racing toward her and almost knocked her over. Max reached out to steady her, and she found that she just needed that minute to find her footing. Skating came right back to her as she pushed her blades forward and then turned and skated backward and zigzagged back and forth. Max kept right up with her and as they came around the corner of the rink, a new song came on. It was the lively Christmas song, “Frosty the Snowman.”

Sophie noticed couples all around them holding hands as they skated to the music. She glanced at Max, and he winked and held out his hand. She took it and they skated around and around. It was festive and fun. They skated for close to an hour and just as they were slowing down the song, “All I want for Christmas is You” started to play.

“One more song?” Max asked and she nodded.

He took her hand again and pulled her toward him as they skated around, and she twirled back and forth. When the song finally ended, he pulled her in again, held her gaze and then touched his lips to hers. It was a quick kiss, but Sophie felt it all the way to her toes. When the kiss ended, Max whispered, “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“Really? What stopped you?” Sophie teased him as they stepped off the ice and went to take off their shoes.

“Well, at first I just wasn’t ready. I’d just broken up with Millie and even though I always found you attractive, at that point, I was just grateful to have you as a friend and neighbor. The more we spent time together, the more I found myself thinking and wondering. But I wasn’t sure how you felt. I knew you were focused on getting your job up and running. And then Tessa told me you were dating your boss, which threw me a bit. I didn’t see it. But then I realized she thought she was interested in me. She’s a beautiful girl, but we have absolutely nothing in common.” He grinned. “Even if I had been interested. I don’t think that would have lasted. Recently though, I started sensing that maybe you might possibly be interested, too?”

Sophie nodded. “Quite possibly.”

“Good! So, where to now? Are you hungry? I thought maybe we could head back and have dinner at the Italian place your aunt loved so much. I happen to like it, too and it’s close to home.”

“I’d love that.”

They walked about halfway, enjoying the Christmas lights everywhere and the softly-falling snow. They took the subway the rest of the way and had a delicious dinner at the Italian restaurant. They were greeted warmly by Tony at the front desk. He sat them at a table for two by the window that looked out on Fifth Avenue. Max ordered a good bottle of Italian Amarone for them to share and Sophie got her usual eggplant parmesan with a meatball on the side and Max got the lasagna. They shared a piece of tiramisu for dessert before walking back to the apartment.

“It’s still early. Do you want to come in and watch a movie?” Max asked.

“I do. I want to see how your tree looks all decorated, too.”

Max opened the door and they stepped inside. Sophie walked into his office and Max flipped the switch that turned on the Christmas lights. The tree was small, but made the room look so festive. It had mini white lights, a green tinsel garland, red plaid bows and an assortment of ornaments.

“It’s adorable,” she said.

Max smiled and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re adorable.” He kissed her again, longer this time and Sophie felt a wave of sheer happiness. For the first time in a long time, she felt truly settled. She’d finally found a job that she loved and that she could be successful at. She was living in Manhattan, which had always been a dream, and she’d made some new friends. And now there was Max, too. They’d started as friends and now they were exploring a new romance and Sophie felt like all the pieces of her life were finally fitting together the way that they should.

Epilogue

Seven months later

“So, this used to be Aunt Penny’s? I’m impressed,” Max said as they sat on the outside patio of the Hamptons house that overlooked the ocean. It was a beautiful day, and her father was cooking up steak tips, burgers and dogs on the grill, while her mother chatted with her aunts, who were in town for the Fourth of July weekend with their husbands.

“I think my parents have fallen in love with it. Aunt Penny was smart to make them wait a year. They’ve been here most weekends and are planning to spend all of July and August here. My father will just work remotely and has been muttering about selling the Hudson house and moving here full-time.”

They’d arrived earlier that day, driving out in Max’s truck and Sophie took the day off to get an early start and miss some of the traffic.

“There’s Caroline, coming up the driveway now,” Sophie said. She got up to go welcome her and Max followed. Ed parked his black BMW SUV and, as soon as the car stopped, Caroline threw the door open and ran over to Sophie. She held her hand up and Sophie screamed. The oval diamond engagement ring was beautiful.

“Congratulations! I’m so happy for you,” Sophie said. She thought that Caroline and Ed were great together. “Do you have any idea when you’ll do it?”

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