Page 23

CHAPTER

TWENTY-THREE

Fable

I smile proudly at Skyye as she comes out of a jump and lands with ease, her body tugging on the pulley system that I had Jett install for me. Not only for me to coach, but to get us back into the groove of lifts and jumps. She steadies herself and beams at me. “That was good?”

“So good,” I gush, skating to her and high-fiving her. “That was the best single loop jump I’ve ever seen from you!”

Skyye’s face lights up as she wiggles on the ice. I help her unhook and ask, “Have you been running?”

She nods. “Every morning.”

I groan. “I might need to join. I need some motivation.”

We skate toward the boards for a break. “Please, I’d love that.”

“Where are you running?”

“At school.”

“Prep or public?”

Skyye scoffs. “My dad is a fire chief, and my mom is a teacher. We can’t afford Prep.”

Now, my cheeks flush with color. I hate that about Prep. It’s so ungodly expensive that only old money can afford to attend. We have a lot of kids who come in from North Carolina and Knoxville since it’s one of the best schools in the state. I wish it were more affordable, but the 1% like having better toys than everyone else. “The track?” I ask, not able to comment on her statement. I think Dean and Missy work hard, and it’s frustrating that’s not enough.

She nods, excitement in her eyes at the possibility of my running with her. “Yup, every morning at six.”

I groan again, and she laughs loudly. I take a long pull of my water, but I notice that Skyye keeps looking to the left. I look for what has her attention, to find it’s only her dad, Liam, and Jett. The three are tearing out the bleachers so the new ones can be installed. Liam and Dean are hard at work, but Jett is leaning against a pole, his eyes on me.

I flush from head to toe, and all he does is grin.

“I think Coach Cook likes you.”

A startled sound leaves my lips as I whip my gaze to her. “What?”

“Coach Cook is into you. All he does is stare and smile at you. Like, all the time,” she says, laughter tingeing her words. “I’ve known him my whole life, and I think I’ve seen him smile four times before you got here. Now, it’s all he does. But it’s a weird smile, like all sneaky. It’s gross.”

I rather think it’s hot, but my preference is way different from a fourteen-year-old’s. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re friends, old partners.”

She sets me with a very serious look. “He wants to Netflix and chill, Coach, or hockey game and chill, or whatever you old people do.”

I feign hurt. “Whoa, I’m not old.”

She shrugs. “He is!”

“We’re the same age!”

Her face scrunches up at that. “You look really good, which is why he wants to smash.”

“For the love of God, what are they teaching you at this public school?”

She snorts. “It’s not the school, it’s the kids, and everyone is looking for a sneaky link.”

Sneaky link? The hell? “Not you, though.”

A look of pure incredulousness covers Skyye’s sweet face. “No way. I’ve got goals, and they don’t include getting pregnant and stuck in Thistlebrook.”

I pat her shoulder. “That’s my girl.”

She sends me a proud grin. “But for real, he’s into you.”

I look over, watching as Dean holds an old plank in his hand while Jett hammers the nails down so that no one pokes themselves when they are transferring them. Jett gives Dean a dark look and then mutters something that only has Dean grinning from ear to ear, reminding me of Skyye.

“I don’t know.”

“I do,” she sings, skating toward the harness. “And I think you like him.”

I cock a brow. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” she says confidently. “Because just like him, you keep staring at him like there is nothing else going on in this world than whatever he is doing.”

My heart swells in my chest as my face blooms with heat. I’m so good at hiding what I’m feeling, but she saw that. I’m unable to think of a response, and she flashes me a wide, knowing grin before we set her up on the harness again.

Once more, I feel his gaze on me.

After I have her strapped in, I smile at her before I look over my shoulder to find him watching me again. His eyes are dark, his lips curved just a bit at each side. He has a board above his head, mid-step, like he caught a glance and couldn’t look away. His gaze is like my favorite blanket, and I want to stay snuggled up with him. I give him a little smirk that only makes his smile grow more as I move to where I can safely use the pulley system for Skyye.

Unlike last time, he hasn’t put space between us. It’s been a week since we lay on the ice together, and while I still feel the need to devour the man, I have refrained. I want to talk to him first, tell him what is wrong with me. The problem is, I like how he treats me, and I don’t want it to stop. I’ve never been the center of someone’s world, and that’s how Jett makes me feel. I don’t even think he’s trying, yet the littlest things make my heart soar.

Jett has gone with me to the schools and talked to students and faculty. He went with me to businesses on Second and then on Third Street. Of course, since I had him with me, everyone was all for talking to us. We had a lot of good leads and set up meetings. It bummed me that they didn’t want to work with me alone, but I don’t care as long as we get the money to fund what I want to do. The whole time we were meeting with everyone, his hand stayed on my lower back. He even hooked his finger with mine, and I didn’t miss the looks we earned or even the gossip. Kitty had called me right as I was walking in the door to tell me that Ms. Hely saw me cuddled up with Jett all over town.

Crazy folks, but maybe we did look cozy.

He sure makes me feel that way.

Though he wasn’t very cozy when I suggested using my money to fund the overhaul of the west rink, the figure skating part of the pro shop, and the new website. No, he was downright pissed. Told me it wasn’t happening.

“The Ice Thistle has money. I’m just frugal.”

So damn frugal it makes me crazy.

I know he didn’t grow up like I did. With his dad being in and out of jail, they relied a lot on Hazel and Bea. He never went without, but…he went to public school, while I went to Prep. Two different sides of the coin, but we came together on the ice. I know he likes to have money to fall back on, though he went ahead and bought me two of the harnesses I wanted. We’ve hired the contractors for the upgrades. As Phillip wanted, things are moving and grooving, and I have every intention of making this place even more profitable.

For him.

Maybe for us.

Ugh, I hate allowing myself to think that way. I’m still unsure of how that could even work, and my growing desire for Jett is not helping. It confuses me more, and I’m almost to the point where I just want to make something happen. As soon as I think I want that, I convince myself that giving in to desires without thought could lead to losing him forever.

He already walked away once. I don’t know if I can handle it again.

Fable, I’ve always only wanted you.

I still can’t believe that. I want to question him about it, but sometimes I start asking things and then want to know something else. Then we’re so far away from my original question that the person I’m talking to gets frustrated and walks away. Jett isn’t like that. I mean, he listened to me explain a raccoon telenovela, but would he want to answer questions for me that could be hard for him?

As Skyye takes a breather, my eyes make their way to where Jett is, only to find he’s not there anymore. I look around the rink and find him coming onto the ice. He points to the rope I hold and then to Skyye. “She’s not getting enough amplitude off the jump. Show her what you mean.”

Skyye’s eyes widen as I hand him the rope. “You know how to coach, Coach?”

He smirks. “I skated with this beauty for years. I learned a thing or two.”

She sends me a “told you so” look, and I ignore her in order to show her again what I meant about getting that pop off the jump. She follows me, and Jett calls out corrections with ease. Skyye responds well, and when she leaves the ice at the end, she’s all smiles. I watch as Dean wraps an arm around her, showing her the videos he took, and I love how animated he is as he dotes on her. I’m glad she has him.

A finger hooks with mine, and I press my chin to my shoulder to look at Jett. He holds my fingers with such reverence that my heart beats out of my control as his eyes capture mine. “You’re a great coach, princess.”

“Thank you.”

He rubs his thumb along the back of my finger.

“Apparently Skyye thinks you like me.”

His face breaks into a wide grin. “I do.”

The two words are so confident that it’s hard for me to find my next breath. He pulls me to him, my body twirling around on the ice before my hands land on his chest and my skate knocks into his work boots. He has on a fitted green Ice Thistle shirt and dark khaki work pants. He’s got a pencil behind his ear and protective glasses on his forehead.

In other words, he’s drop-dead fucking gorgeous.

He leans in, his eyes playful and full of desire as he asks me, “Do you like me, Fable Winthrop?”

“A bit.”

“Hmm,” he murmurs, running his nose along my jaw, leaving heat in his wake. My body tightens, and lust gathers between my legs. “You smell so damn good.”

“So do you,” I gasp as I slide my hands up his chest and around his neck. He leans back, looking down at me through hooded eyes, and I’m spellbound. “We need to pick our music.”

I lick my lips, and he follows the motion. His jaw is tight as his teeth sink into his bottom lip. “We do,” he agrees, kneading my hips with his thumbs. “How about you and I have dinner tonight and pick something?”

I playfully search his gaze, a sly grin on my face. “That sounds very much like what Skyye said you wanted.”

His brows pull in, and he holds me closer. I’m not sure if that’s his cock poking me or a hammer. I’m kind of scared to find out. “What did she say I wanted?”

“Hockey and chill.”

Jett barks out a laugh before shaking his head. “Kids these days.”

“That’s what I said.”

His smile sends chills along my spine as he looks down at me like I’m the only one he sees. Did he look at me like this before and I just didn’t realize it? I don’t know, but it pleases me that I can put that look in his eyes. That the grin on his face is only for me.

“But, no, I truly just want to eat with you and pick some music.”

I’m pretty sure he wants to drop the with in his statement, but I don’t call him on it. Instead, I just curl the back of his hair around my fingers. I’m rewarded with a low moan. He brings me in closer, his fingers digging into my hips even harder, and boy, do I love it.

Yup, that’s not a hammer.

His cock throbs against my belly, and while I’ve never been turned on by just a cock, the thought of his has me on edge. I still haven’t told Alissa about us, about how Jett makes me feel. I’m worried she’ll tell me it’s all in my head, that my body can’t want what I think it does. That I’m not made to be intimate with anyone. But if that’s so, why is it so easy to be in his arms? For him to look at me like he does. To want to lean in and just inhale him.

Become one with him.

On a shaky breath, I say, “It’s a date.”