Page 68 of Falling Like Snow

“I don’t know! But you wouldn’t tell me who had you smiling earlier—”

“Cooper texted me to tell me the rink was done and ready for tonight!” he exclaims. “This had me smiling, and I couldn’t very well let you know about it.”

Embarrassment—or maybe shame for getting so mad—blots my cheeks. “Oh.”

A slow smile creeps across Asher’s face; then it turns into a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” I ask, stealing my hand from him and crossing my arms as I come to a shaky stop.

“I just have no idea how we got here,” he says, stopping next to me, still laughing.

“Got where?”

He gestures at me like I’ve lost my mind. “To the point where you’re asking me if I have a secret girlfriend. Up until last week—when you started hanging out with a guy—we were together every day. When would I have started dating someone?”

“Again, I don’t know! Stop laughing at me.” I cast my eyes on the bumpy ice in front of me.

“Sully, look at me,” Asher says. I slowly raise my eyes to find him no longer smiling. “How about this—I promise to tell you if or when I have a girlfriend, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Are we good?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“Sorry I laughed at you,” he says.

I hold my arms out and push forward on my skates. “Not like it was the first time. I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

“You’re probably right.” He grabs my hand. “Hey, I think we’re getting a little better.”

Just then, my skate hits a divot in the ice. I fall forward, but Asher catches me—only he loses his balance as he’s pulling me upright. His skates slide out from beneath him, and he falls backward, bringing me down on top of him as he lands hard on his back.

“Oh my god. Are you okay?” I ask, staring down at his grimace. “Did you hit your head?”

“No, just my elbows.”

“We should have worn pads,” I mumble.

“What about you? Are you okay?” he asks. Only then do I realize that his arms are still around me. That I’m hovering over him, our faces only inches apart.

“Thanks to you,” I tell him. “I hit my knee, but otherwise you cushioned my fall.”

“It was the price I had to pay, considering I did cause the fall by saying we were getting better. Can’t speak anything good into the universe or else it backfires.”

“That’s true. This was totally your fault.” I push his hair out of his watery eyes, pulling my hand away when I have the odd urge to run my fingers through the soft strands. “Are you sure you’re all right? You look like you’re in pain.”

He slowly straightens his right arm. “It hurts, but I don’t think it’s broken.” He sighs. “This was a stupid idea. Rockefeller Center probably offers those skate aid things that you push around like a walker on ice. I didn’t think about that…” He drapes his injured arm back over me.

“Stop. This was a great idea. The best idea,” I tell him. “Who needs arms, anyway?”

His eyes meet mine, then sweep over my face. A strange charge hums in the space between us. I don’t understand it, but it’s so intense I can’t be imagining it. I don’t think.

“Thank you,” I say, my whisper cutting through the sound of my pulse stuttering in my ears.

“You’re welcome,” he replies, his eyes finding mine again, holding my gaze.

I blink, trying not to get lost in his beautiful dark pools, and clear my throat. “You brought hot chocolate, right? Maybe we should take a break.”