Page 51 of Icing on Top

Her hand came to cover her face and a small laugh slipped out of her that loosened the tight feeling of concern in my chest. I laughed with her.

“Are you really using hockey terminology in regards to your love life?” I teased lightly.

She sent me a half-hearted glare through the crack between her fingers, but then her cheeks lifted from the grin she was hiding.

“Does that make you my first draft pick?”

I sat up straight and jokingly puffed my chest out. “I’ll take it.”

She dropped her hand to rest on top of mine, shaking her head in a way that told me she thought I was a dork. Our laughter faded, and I inadvertently glanced toward the hallway where I could faintly hear Peg and Charlie, most likely playing Goldilocks to figure out which skates fit just right. My heart panged in my chest.

“Our plan was three,” I shared, voice barely more than a whisper. “Didn’t mean for Charlie to be an only child.”

Zoe followed my attention and then she gave my hand a gentle squeeze. Our eyes were once more drawn back to each other, the glazed look in her hazel eyes gone and the green specks in them bright again. I turned my hand over to interlace our fingers.

The pattering of socked feet coming down the hall broke the moment.

“We found a pair!” Charlie cheered, holding up the skates for us to see. “And they have purple laces.”

Zoe held her hands out to get a closer look, cradling the skates almost reverently.

“I remember these. I swore that the purple sparkles made me skate faster.” She smiled at Charlie. “Should we test them out?”

Charlie nodded like a bobble head, somehow even more excited now. We retrieved our coats from the foyer, and I helped her bundle up, wrapping her scarf securely around her neck before we all filed outside.

“Wow,” Charlie breathed.

‘Wow’ was right. String lights bathed the small rink and surrounding piles of snow in a warm glow. Next to it were several outdoor chairs, most of them gathered around the fire pit.

“Can one of you grab some more firewood while you’re up there?” Calvin called to us.

I shooed the girls off. “I got it. You two go skate.”

They didn’t need to be told twice. Zoe and Charlie beelined for the chairs closest to the rink to get their skates on. I watched them walk off, hand in hand, the sight warming me more than any fire could.

Calvin smiled gratefully once I joined him with an armful of logs. We worked together to build the fire, making sure it had a solid start before we retired to our own chairs. Calvin and Peg sat close together, their gloved hands intertwined on the armrests between them.

What Zoe had said earlier came to mind. In all my time of knowing Calvin, I’d never realized that he didn’t have any children. I’d just assumed he did with how great he was with all of the kids on the team. Seeing him and Peg with Zoe, though, it was clear to see that she filled that void for them.

Zoe was the same as her uncle. She just had a way with kids, and I knew she’d make a great mom one day if the way she cared for Charlie was any indicator.

“Daddy, watch!” Charlie called out.

Her and Zoe were apparently participating in an interesting mix of hockey and figure skating, seeing who could score the best goal while balancing on one skate. Charlie couldn’t keep her leg up nearly as high as Zoe did, no matter how hard she tried to imitate her. Like most things, Zoe made it look as easy as breathing.

“She’s a natural.”

Calvin chuckled beside me, the affection he held for Zoe clear in the warmth of the sound.

“That’s exactly what I said the first time I saw her step out onto this rink. She had to have only been four?” He looked to his wife for confirmation, and Peg nodded in agreement. “She’d never seen snow, let alone stepped foot on the ice, but she glided out there like it was what she was made to do.”

Every move of hers seemed effortless, as if her body knew what it needed to do without her even thinking about it.

“Why didn’t she go pro?” I asked.

Any agent or team would have been insane not to snatch her up with the combination of talent and clear passion she possessed.

The wonder in Calvin’s expression faded, the glow of the fire making him look somber, and he shifted in his seat. Peg had grown more serious next to him as well.