Page 22 of Center Ice

“No, that’s not what I meant.” This was not at all how I imagined this conversation going. I wanted to fix things, not make them exponentially worse.

“Right, well, I’ve got to get back to my pointless job of making delusional people happy. Or is that just a chemical reaction in their brain? Does happiness exist?” She shot me one more distasteful look before turning and walking away.

How had things gone so wrong so fast? I rubbed my hand over my face and headed back to the path that led to the restaurant. Why did I care so much about offending Dani? I barely knew her, and once we left, I’d never see her again.

Even as I repeated that to myself, it didn’t really sink in. She was the first person I’d opened up to in a long time. I wanted that to mean something. I wanted her to know how important that was, even if I was blowing it.

But why her? Why was it so easy to talk to her? Because she was a stranger, and I knew there was a low risk of consequences? Her confidence rubbed off on me when I was around her. The way she came right up to me at the pool and invited me to go to her favorite spot. She was the kind of person I wanted to be, or at least be around. But I screwed that up.

8

Dani

I folded the table clothes with a little too much vigor. Who was Jake to make me second-guess myself? I thought about it all night and woke up still annoyed. I’d known him for a day, and already he was in my head, like a parasite or virus.

I dropped the bundle onto the pile and picked up the next one.

“Hey, you know that’s the cleaning team’s job, right?” Maggie eyed me wearily.

“They’ve been sitting in here for days. If no one else is going to do it, I will.” I bit the words out, and she flinched.

“What’s going on with you? You’ve been off all day.” She picked up another cloth and began following my movements to fold it.

“I’m fine.” I sat mine down and picked up another. It really was ridiculous these had been sitting in a basket for three days. They were samples for couples to use to pick out the colors they wanted, and it looked unprofessional having them crumbled up. They were wrinkled and would have to be ironed or put back in the dryer, so this was mostly pointless, but I couldn’t stand to stare at them anymore.

“You’re not.” She grabbed the last one and watched me carefully.

“Fine. I’m not fine, but I will be. I just need to get over it,” I admitted.

“Over what?”

I inhaled through my nose. “I had an encounter with one of the members of a wedding party, and it didn’t go well. Plus, something is going on Mr. Hernandez.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Really? I haven’t noticed.” She pushed her hair behind her ears. “And difficult clients aren’t all that unusual. People are stressed, you know that. You’ve never let it get to you like this though.”

“They aren’t usually so insulting.”

She sat the last cloth on the top of the pile and moved it to a far table in our office. “What happened?”

“Nothing that I haven’t heard before.” I shook my head. “I’m not sure why I let him get under my skin.”

“It’s a he?” She leaned her hip against the desk and grinned.

“That’s not the point,” I grumbled.

“So what is?”

“I’m not exactly sure. I don’t know why it’s making me so crazy.”

“What did he say to upset you?”

I rolled my eyes. “That half of marriages end in divorce, and he doesn’t believe in love.”

Her brows shot up. “Well, that’s rude.”

“Why?” I asked, honestly wanting her to explain this away.

“Your career, heck, your whole life, is centered around marriage and love. Saying he doesn’t believe in it negates everything that’s important to you.”