19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Evie

I look back to Jamie's outstretched hand, my heart racing. He's not just asking me to trust him on the ice but to trust him with my heart. He's asking for another chance.

My stomach flutters, and I feel like I swallowed a bag of cotton balls.

I glance back up at his slightly widening eyes, and my heart stops. I'm overcome by the emotions I see there: hope, vulnerability, and, most importantly, love. I stretch out my hand toward him but stop short of taking it.

I see a flicker of disappointment flit through his eyes, and my heart aches.

Yes, we need to talk about how he left. He still owes me an explanation. But the truth is, I love him, and I want this second chance, too.

My lips lift at the corners, and I push my hand forward and place it in his. He closes his fingers around mine, and the smile that lights his face makes my stomach swoop. My heart jumps like a Mexican jumping bean.

"You better not let me fall," I admonish him as he puts his other hand out. I grab that one, too.

"I promise to catch you if you do." He searches my face with a tenderness that has my body heating and feeling like I'm wearing too many layers. Maybe ice skating was a bad idea, but for a completely different reason.

I nod quickly as the fear of getting on the ice overwhelms me.

"Evie," Jamie says so softly that if I weren't standing right next to him, I would've thought I imagined it. I look up at him in response. "I will talk you through every step. You just need to do what I say. Okay?"

"Okay," I push out a squeak.

I watch Jamie turn around and walk backward onto the ice. My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline and my mouth forms an O in surprise as he steps on the ice like he owns it.

"I told you, Sean made me take lessons with him." He chuckles at my reaction. "Keep holding my hands and just put one foot after another on the ice. Don't worry about doing anything else but standing."

I do as he says and give him a shaky smile. I start to feel a little more confident as I step on to the ice. Then, of its own accord, my right foot slips out from under me.

"Oh," I screech out, but before I'm finished, Jamie wraps his arms around me and holds me up. I can feel his muscles contract as my hands squeeze his biceps.

My heart is pounding against my ribcage like a fist trying to punch a hole through a wall. I look up at Jamie and see a small smile on his lips.

"I told you I wouldn't let you fall. Are you ready to try again?" I shake my head quickly back and forth, regretting my decision to try this, and I hear him chuckle. "You can do this, Evie. You're one of the bravest people I know."

His words have warmth spreading through my chest. I take a deep breath and blow it out. I steady myself on the skates with Jamie's help.

"Okay. Let me try again."

He slowly removes his arms around my body, and my hands instinctively tighten, grabbing his coat to keep him from leaving me.

"I'm just repositioning so you can stand more on your own. I promise I'm not letting you go."

Again, I just nod because words are failing me. The double meaning in all of this, along with my fear, is too much for me to process now. I decide to just focus on the skating and follow his lead. Something else I'm not fully comfortable with.

He slowly moves his arms from around me to gently place his hands on my waist until I am almost standing entirely on my own.

Jamie hasn't let go, but he's giving me space to find my balance.

"Good." He smiles encouragingly at me. "Now try to take one step toward me by pushing your foot out. Don't lift it off the ice; just push out one foot at a time."

"Like this?" I ask as I try to do as he says. My body is stiff, and every muscle is shaking, but I try to do what he says.

"Just like that." He moves one hand from my waist and takes my hand. When he goes to remove the other one from my waist, I look at him with wide eyes. "Don't worry. I can catch you from this far away."

I narrow my eyes and tilt my head at him; he chuckles.

"Promise. Now, do the same thing. Every time you move, you want to work on coming closer and closer to me."

I give him a nervous smile as I push my feet to the side, trying to catch up to him. At first, it feels choppy, but then suddenly, I feel myself gliding across the ice.

"Perfect!" He encourages me. "You're doing great! Now I'm going to back up a little more—"

"Jamie, no!" I panic as he starts to let go of my hands. Immediately, he's back with his hands on my arms, steadying me.

"I'm right here, Evie." He slides his hands down my arms and squeezes my hands. "I'm just going to give you some space to get a better feel of the skates. But I am not leaving you."

My palms are sweating, and my heart is racing, but I stiffly nod. He then gently pulls my arms up and slowly glides away from me. I take a moment to admire how graceful he is on the ice. Then, without thinking, I start to push my skates out and move toward him.

I'm not looking at anything else except focusing on his face. The smile he beams at me has my lips lifting in return, and I feel myself smoothly gliding toward him. I by no means look graceful, but I am doing it.

As I get closer to him, I realize I don't know how to stop. Just as I think I will run into him, he moves further away.

"There you go, keep pushing out to the side." He looks at my feet to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

"Evie, you look great!" Jessica yells from across the rink. I turn to smile at her but quickly lose my balance. Again, Jamie is there in an instant to steady me.

"Guess no talking yet," I chuckle.

"You can talk, just don't look at anyone yet." His smile warms me from head to toe. He holds me close a bit longer before sliding his hands down my arms, all while effortlessly gliding backward away from me.

With each movement I start to feel more confident. I also notice Jamie giving me less and less support. As happy as I am to be feeling more stable, I miss the warmth of his touch.

"Put more weight behind each push," he instructs. The moment I do that, I glide faster to him, but he adjusts and moves at my pace. His face lights up as he watches me. "Now you got it. How do you feel? "

As his warm hazel eyes meet mine, I feel my knees go weak, and I almost stumble. Immediately, Jamie has his arm around me, steadying me. How does he move so fast?

"You okay?" He asks, stopping both of us.

"Yes." I glance up at him, and my stomach swoops. His eyes darken, and my heart starts to race. "I just lost my balance. I'm ready to try again."

I'm not just talking about skating this time; he knows it. His smile stretches across his face and nearly blinds me as he grasps the meaning behind my words. He backs his body away, giving me space to glide over to him.

We've been here before.. Him backing away, and me following. The only difference now is that we are on the same page. But more importantly, he's showing me he's not going anywhere.

At this moment, I feel safe, and my heart leaps. I let my feet glide toward him. He continues to give me the space I need to practice as I gain more balance and confidence.

Out of nowhere, he turns his body away from me and comes to my side, gently putting his hand on my back.

"I don't think you need me up there anymore. You're good enough for me to be by your side."

With his other hand, he gently grabs my hand, and I wrap my fingers around his. I smile and push my feet out, just like Jamie said, and we start to move around the rink together.

Most of the others are skating past us, but the only person I'm focused on is the man by my side.

A gentle nudge from a passerby has me stumbling forward. I feel my arms start to spin like a windmill, and I see the ice getting closer to my face. I hold my breath, and at what feels like the last second, I feel my forward momentum halt.

A small nervous giggle bubbles up as Jamie lifts me to my feet and steadies me. My hands are resting on his forearms while his arms are wrapped around my waist.

"I told you I wouldn't let you fall." He whispers in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

"That you did, Mr. Stewart." The smile splitting my face is only a small showing of the joy that wants to burst from my body. I lean into him and squeeze his arm. His arms around my waist tighten for a moment before he starts to let me go.

"Ready to keep going?" His voice holds a promise that I haven't heard from him before. It strikes a cord in my heart that has a ripple of joy spreading through me.

"Yes," I whisper, answering the question he's not asking. I have never felt more certain about anything before in my life.