A Kiss for Christmas: A holiday collection by Grace Melody

Author:Grace, Melody
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Melody Grace Books
Published: 2013-12-06T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

The cookies are only the beginning. After we bake a batch and decorate them with frosting and tiny silver balls, we leave a plate by the front desk for the other guests to enjoy. Austin tells me to dress warmly, and when the cab drops us off outside the skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza, I let out a shriek of delight.

“Ice skating?” I feel like a little kid again, birthdays and Christmas all rolled into one.

Austin smiles. “It was next on the list, wasn’t it?”

I look at him anew as we head to the kiosk to get our passes. When I told him about my Serendipity holiday daydreams, I never imagined that he would bring them to life for me. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to pay attention like that, let alone go to all this effort.

There’s so much more to him than meets the eye.

“What do you think, festive enough for you?” Austin teases as we lace up our skates.

I laugh. “Just about.” The rink is beautiful, the glossy ice lit up, with colored lights strung around the edges, and the biggest tree I’ve ever seen towering over us all. Families skate together, couples glide hand in hand, bundled up in coats and scarves against the cold.

“I’ve never skated before,” I warn him as we strap on our skates. “I had Barbie roller-skates in third grade, but I’m guessing this is kind of different.”

“Don’t worry,” he tells me, helping me to my feet. “You can hold onto me.”

It’s not an invitation I’m going to turn down, not with Austin looking so good in his coat and scarf, smiling at me with wicked invitation in his eyes.

We whirl around the rink together, hand-in-hand. It takes me a little while to adjust to the skates, but even once I find my feet, I don’t let go. “How are you so good?” I ask, as Austin switches effortlessly to skating backwards, holding my hands in his.

He shrugs. “My mom worked weekends when I was a kid, so she’d leave me and my sister at the local rink to keep out of trouble.”

“I’m guessing you still found plenty.” I smile.

He laughs. “Guilty as charged. That was before I picked up a guitar,” he adds. “After that, you couldn’t have dragged me out of my bedroom for a million bucks. Music became my obsession.”

“And here you are,” I say happily. “It looks like it worked out for you.”

“I guess it did.” Austin’s eyes meet mine. For a moment, it looks like he’s about to say something. Then I catch sight of some girls over by the railings. They’re looking at him and whispering to each other. I smile.

“You’ve got some admirers,” I tease him. I don’t blame the girls for staring: he’s the most gorgeous man on the ice.

But instead of laughing it off, Austin looks uncomfortable. “Come on,” he says, tugging my hands. He skates faster, pulling me along so quickly the rink becomes a blur of color and motion.

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