Simon laughed. “Come on, let’s go get a drink. You look like you need one on this day of love.”
“I could go for a celebratory drink, but what do you mean by ‘this day of love’?”
“It’s Valentine’s Day.”
Valentine’s Day?
Brady was never one to buy in to the hype of the holiday. He’d never had someone special to spend the day with anyway.
You could’ve had Ari, if you hadn’t been a jerk.
He really needed to do something about that voice in his head. “I’ve been too busy concentrating on winning this baby”—he indicated the medal still hanging around his neck—“to worry about Valentine’s Day.”
“Yeah, but will that thing keep you warm at night?”
The last thing he wanted to talk about with Simon was who would be occupying his bed. “I’ve been fine not having someone to hook up with.” Except for a couple of nights ago, when he’d enjoyed having someone next to him for more than a quick roll in the hay.
“You keep telling yourself that, mate. Maybe one day it will sink in.”
“Are we going to get a drink, or are you going to continue to stand here and take the piss out of me? Because if you are, I’ve got plenty of other people I could celebrate with.”
“Come on.” Simon headed off down the path, and Brady followed. “Besides, I thought you wanted to know what I said to Arielle to upset her.”
Brady clenched his fists before releasing them. “So you admit it, do you?”
“Oh, Brady, you’ve got it so bad, it’s not funny.”
“Whatever,” he mumbled. There was nothing amusing about this situation. It was damn confusing.
Forty-five minutes later, they were seated at a table in the corner of a café in the village. A mug of steaming hot chocolate for Simon and an iced coffee for Brady sat on the table. Brady accepted the congratulations everyone gave him when they saw the medal around his neck. Once he sat down, he shed his jacket, pulled the medal off, and rubbed his thumb over the raised Olympic rings.
“It’s a pretty incredible feeling, isn’t it?” Simon asked quietly.
Of course, Simon would know exactly, because of his own success at the Olympics.
What would’ve happened if Brady hadn’t been browbeaten by his father to give up skating?
How different would his life have been if he’d stood his ground? Would he and Maybelle still be together? Would they have won gold in Vancouver along with more world championships?
“So many variables. So many possibilities. Which ones are right and which ones are wrong?” Brady mused out loud.
“I’ve come to accept that looking back and wondering how things would have happened if you’d done things differently is a futile exercise. Our life is what we make it, and the paths we choose are the ones we are meant to follow.”
“That’s very deep.”
“Believe me, it took me a long time to come to that conclusion. In fact”—Simon paused and looked pointedly at him—“it wasn’t until I met John that everything clicked into place. When you meet the one you’re meant to be with, life makes sense. The barriers come down. You can be yourself and not a paper cut-out version.”
Brady let Simon’s words sink in. Was Arielle his one and only? Was she the person he was meant to be with? How could that even be possible, considering the short time they’d known each other? But he couldn’t deny that when the confirmation came that he had indeed won gold, the only person he wanted to share his success with was Arielle.
The one person who wasn’t there.
But she was. Even after you’d basically told her to leave you alone, she still came to see you. Support you.
“What did you say to Ari?” Brady asked.
“Not to give up on you. That you two looked good together,” Simon responded simply.
Whatever Brady had been expecting, it hadn’t been that. “Why would that upset her?” he mused.
“I don’t know. Why would it, Brady?”
His friend was making a point. Brady knew that. He just had so many emotions still firing through him, he couldn’t grasp it. And Simon wasn’t about to hand the explanation to him on a platter.
Silence stretched between them, and Brady sipped steadily at his drink. “How was she before you said that to her?”
Simon shrugged. “She seemed okay. Emotional when you were given the medal, but proud at the same time.”
“Fuck, I don’t deserve that from her. I was such a dick.”
“Not the first time.”
Not at all. If Brady was truthful with himself, he’d wanted to keep his distance from Simon and Maybelle so he wouldn’t have to deal with the feelings they stirred up inside of him.
Only, fate had made it her job to see that Brady faced all his demons and, at the same time, find the person he hadn’t known he’d been looking for.
How many times had he’d dreamed about skating with Arielle since their first encounter? Too many times to admit. He’d remembered the moves that had given him and Maybelle their first success on the ice. Being with Arielle had made him acknowledge the fact that he loved to skate, and fuck what anyone else thought about it.
He’d proven himself in his other sport. He’d won an X Games, and he’d won not one, but two Olympic medals.
Brady stood abruptly, knocking the table. “I need to speak to her. I need to find Arielle.”
“Yeah, you do,” Simon said with a big smile on his face. “She’s at the practice rink.”
Before he rushed away, there was still one issue to be resolved. “I really owe you an apology, Simon.” Brady held up his hand to stop Simon’s protests. “No, I do. I know we made amends the other day, but you were my best friend. I owed you better treatment than I gave you.”
“Brady, it was a long time ago. We were both young and headstrong and only thinking of ourselves.”
“No, you’re not going to let me get away with treating you like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe. My dad hated our friendship. Was always afraid I was going to ‘catch your affliction,’ he called it. I couldn’t take it anymore, and so I gave in. I let him force me into walking away from everything important in my life—our friendship, my partnership with Maybelle, and skating. I wasn’t strong enough to stand up to him and tell him to fuck off. I convinced myself it was the right thing to do for everyone, even though my actions hurt the people I loved the most. Can you forgive me for letting a homophobic man color my thoughts?”
A sense of lightness washed over him. His soul felt cleansed with every word he uttered to his friend.
“Brady, I forgave you in my mind a long time ago, but now, in my heart, yes, I forgive you. I understand. He was your father. I was lucky my parents accepted me for who I am.”
“Thanks for the talk, Simon. I needed it.”
Simon stood and put his jacket on. “I know. It took you a bit longer to come around than I thought it would. Come on, you need to go talk to your girl.”
Your girl.
Brady liked the sound of that. His heart liked the sound of it, too. He only hoped it wasn’t too late, that he hadn’t blown his chance at a future with Arielle.
The practice rink was silent except for the whisper of skates as they glided over the ice. Brady tapped his fingers against the leather boots he’d borrowed from Bohdan, which were resting over his shoulder. Was he making a big mistake here?
He didn’t think so.
A figure walked toward him—Arielle’s coach. Her mother. “What are you doing here?” she asked, her tone as cold as the ice her daughter was currently skating on.
He didn’t need a psychology degree to know this woman was less than happy he was anywhere near her daughter. He would have to tread carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Arielle’s mom.
“Hi, Mrs. Baldwin. I was coming to see Arielle.”
“Why?”
He couldn’t very well blurt out that he was developing feelings for her daughter before he’d told Ari
elle herself. If he was going to be rejected, he wanted to hear it from Arielle and not her mom. He had a feeling the other woman would enjoy turfing him out on his ass.
“I’m here to apologize to Arielle.” There, half a truth.
“And you’ve got skates, because…?”
“I like to skate, and this is a skating rink.” Ohh, maybe he’d pushed it a bit too far with that smart-aleck comeback. “Sorry. That was uncalled for. Look, Mrs. Baldwin, I know you probably have a less than good impression of me, but Arielle is important to me.”
Please let that be enough.
She considered him for a few moments before nodding. “Don’t you hurt my girl again,” Mrs. Baldwin said as she brushed past him.
Brady watched her leave the facility.
That was way too easy.
Regardless, he had no plans to encourage the woman to stay. This alone time with Arielle was make or break. He wanted Arielle. He only hoped she’d forgive him and allow him a second chance to win her over. If she didn’t, then nothing mattered.
Not even his gold medal.
Chapter 12
The soulful tones of the piano tune suited Arielle as she twirled around the rink. This late in the evening, no one would be coming in to practice. She had the whole rink to herself. All she wanted to do was skate, like she had as a kid, in the simple counter-clockwise motion everyone else did at an ice rink. No demanding coach standing on the ice yelling at you because you over-rotated on your toe pick and it looked messy.
Closing her eyes, she let the music wash over her. A second later, a pair of hands gripped her waist and spun her around. Her eyes flashed opened, a scream ready to pop out of her mouth when her consciousness registered who was holding her.
Brady.
He circled around so that he was skating backward and she was facing him. She couldn’t say anything. Indeed, she had plenty of emotions to lay at his feet, but only the silence was appropriate.
“Let’s skate,” he whispered.
He once again changed their position so she was slightly in front of him. She placed her left hand in his, and his right hand cupped her waist. The warmth from the contact burned through the thin leotard she wore.
For the next few minutes, they skated around together, as if they’d been partners on the ice their whole life. Arielle knew when he was going to spin her, when he was going to push her away so they could do a jump and land in perfect synchronicity together.
He placed both hands on her waist and centered himself. She prepared herself by straightening her back and tensing her legs. One second she was on the ice, the next she was in the air over him.
He spun around, holding her high above him. Arielle maintained her form so as not to overbalance and cause them to crash down to the ice.
When he lowered her against his body, she couldn’t think of a place she’d rather be.
The music played on, but they stood in the middle of the ice, gazes locked on each other, their chests moving in and out rapidly.
“Ari,” he whispered and framed her face with his hands. He lowered his head, and his lips moved softly over hers. She moaned. Underneath the sweetness lay the heat that always flared between them. She looped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. What she should’ve been doing was pulling away. He’d blamed her and used the night they’d spent together as the excuse to keep her at arm’s length.
Brady pulled away, resting his forehead against hers, his expression serious. The mouth that seconds ago had brought her joy was now set in a firm, thin line.
Arielle prepared for rejection once again. How could he do this after what they’d shared?
“Ari, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken out my anger at almost missing the medal round on you. It wasn’t your fault. It was mine.”
She pulled out of his embrace. She couldn’t think when he was so close to her, and she needed to have her wits about her for this conversation. “Damn right, it’s your fault. Do you know how you made me feel when you told me I was responsible for your failure? Can I remind you that you were the one who made the first move?” God, could she sound more juvenile? Lethargy invaded her soul, and if she didn’t get away from him, she was going to start crying. God knew when she’d stop. She skated over to grab her things, until a hand on her arm stopped her momentum.
“I’m tired, Brady. Please let go.”
“Don’t go. Not yet, please, Arielle.”
“Oh, I know what’s happening here,” she said. She didn’t like where her thoughts were taking her, but she was on the path now and couldn’t get off. “Of course, it makes so much sense now.”
“What makes sense?”
“Why you’re here with me now, apologizing. It’s not because you feel bad; it’s because your event is over. You won, and now you’ve decided you want me to warm your bed again.” She shoved him in the chest. “Well, no matter how sweetly you kiss me”—another shove—“or how magical it is to be on the ice with you, it’s not happening.”
“That’s not why I’m here, Ari,” he protested.
“Arielle. My name is Arielle, not Ari.” Even though she loved it when he called her Ari. Loved it when he touched her. Loved it when he—oh no, she couldn’t possibly! No, she liked Brady. She didn’t love him.
He closed the gap between them and took hold of her hand. “Please listen to me, Arielle. I’m here because I want to apologize for what I said. I didn’t mean any of it, and you were right—I was running. But I don’t want to run anymore. I want to stay where I am right now. With you.”
Her heart thumped loudly against her chest. And it wasn’t caused by them dancing on the ice together. “What are you saying, Brady?”
A slow, sexy smile lifted the corners of his mouth. Her insides melted, and she wished he would smile at her like that for the rest of her life.
Yep, you’re in love.
But people didn’t fall in love in a few days. Especially when they were at a highly emotional event like the Olympics, where one second you’re riding a high and the next you’re in a heap at the bottom of a snowdrift.
“What I’m saying is that, as unlikely as it seems, because we’ve only known each other a short time, I’m falling in love with you, Arielle Baldwin.”
I’m dreaming. That’s the only possible explanation for this.
“You’re not dreaming, Ari. Believe me.” He chuckled.
“I, uh…” She forgot whatever she was about to say as he kissed her once again. This time, she felt all his love flow through her. He swept her up in his arms, and all she could do was cling to him.
This was the best feeling in the world.
When he lowered her to her feet, he brushed a thumb across her cheek. “You are so special to me, Arielle. In the short time we’ve known each other, I’ve faced my past, and it’s all because of you. The second I saw you, I knew I should stay away. You represented a part of my life I’d turned my back on. Keeping my distance would have been the safest thing to do. But I couldn’t. I was attracted to you like I’ve never been drawn to anyone before in my life. After our first dinner date, I knew I was lost. I couldn’t have fought this attraction even if I wanted to.”
“Brady, you’re right. It is too soon, but I feel the same. I’m falling in love with you too.”
He hugged her tighter, and her hand rested on his chest. His heart was beating madly beneath her fingers. Brady brushed his cheek against hers. “I’m so sorry again for what I said last night. I kept looking for you today, even though I knew you couldn’t possibly be there.” He touched a finger to her nose. “But you were. I didn’t deserve your support, but you gave it.”
“I was so nervous for you, Brady. I couldn’t breathe until I saw for myself you were safely through your routine. You were amazing out there and totally deserved the gold medal.”
“Thank you. Ari, you don’t know how much I wanted to share my victory with you. Grab you in a huge hug and kiss you senseless.”
“You can do that
now, if you want.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “Believe me, I want to very much. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Chapter 13
Brady’s knee jerked up and down in nervous anticipation. Arielle would soon skate out onto the ice. Since they’d declared their love, they’d been inseparable. With his events over, he was able to spend all his time with her, watching her practice. He’d even managed to build a bridge with Ari’s mom, and after her dad arrived, Brady had convinced him that his intentions toward Scott Baldwin’s only child were honorable.
Skating with Ari was the best part. He loved being on the ice again, and being on it with Ari was even better. He’d promised to teach her to snowboard after the Olympics.
He was positive she was going to win. After the first round, she was sitting in second place, behind the Russian, Svetlana Nikolayevna. Their scores were so close, and he had no doubt Arielle was going to knock her free dance out of the park. It was a solid routine, with enough jumps to earn her extra points to push up from second to first.
“So, I hear you’re considering a change in sport,” Maybelle said as she sat next to him.
Brady rolled his eyes. “That is a wicked rumor, and I don’t know where or who you heard it from.”
She laughed and leaned into Bohdan, whose arm was once again around her shoulders. This time, his fingers played with her hair. “You should consider it, Brady. You’re wonderful on a snowboard. But on skates, you own the rink.”
“She’s right, you know,” Bohdan said as he leaned forward. “I’ve seen you two on the ice. You’re very good.”
Okay, there was some truth in the rumors. Mrs. Baldwin was trying to talk him into pairing up with Arielle. But in the end, he was happy to remain on the snowboard. Skating was a special time for he and Ari. He didn’t want to lose that with endless practices and competitions. So, yes, he could have skating back in his life. But snowboarding was his career now.
“Thanks, but it’s not happening. But I am going to move to Canada.”
Maybelle squealed and flung her arms around Brady. “Oh my God, that’s so exciting. I’m so happy for you.”
Fighting Their Attraction Page 9