Dropping The Ball - A New Year’s Billionaire Romance - Weston Parker Page 0,75

at Carter, I felt like I was lying to him.

Not wanting to scare him, I hadn’t told him yet about the storm brewing in my gut. It was nothing I could explain, so I didn’t know what I’d tell him anyway. It probably was just nerves. My performance would be broadcast live, and I couldn’t get over the nagging feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong.

Carter frowned when I almost walked right past the path leading to the ice-skating rink. “What’s going on with you?”

“Speaking to that little girl earlier just reminded me how many eyes will be on me again soon.” I closed my eyes and swallowed past the lump in my throat before looking at him again. “I don’t know if I can do this, Carter. I don’t even know if I should want to.”

He walked around me and put his hands on my shoulders, long fingers massaging the tension in them and his dark eyes intent on mine. “You can do it, baby. I know you can. I also know you’re scared and I don’t blame you. What happened must have been terrifying. If you don’t want to do it, then don’t, but if you do want to, I’ll be there for you every step of the way.”

Half the problem was that I truly believed him when he said it. I stared up at him, lifting my hands to his cheeks and wondering if I’d be able to put him through it if that was what it came down to.

“I won’t let the fear alone keep me from doing it. It was terrifying, but I just need to get the first performance over with. I’m sure it will go better from there.”

He planted a kiss on each of my eyes before he pulled back and smiled at me. “Ready to get out there on the ice?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I held Carter’s hand again on our way down to the rink, only letting it go when it was time to put on our skates. Mine were white and a little snug, but not so much that they hurt me.

“I thought you said you hadn’t done this for a while,” I said, watching him glide ahead of me like he’d been born with skates strapped to his feet.

“I haven’t.” He spun around effortlessly to face me, his arms spreading out at his sides. “It’s all coming back to me now. Are you going to get out here or cling to the railing all night?”

I gritted my teeth and pushed away from it. “If I lose my teeth on this rink tonight, I hope you know you’re the one who’s going to be taking me to the dentist.”

He grinned and skated toward me, catching me with his arms around my waist. “I’d go to hell and back with you. The dentist would be a treat in comparison.”

“Said no one ever.” I laughed and dipped my head back, feeling more carefree than I had in years. “But you’ve proven you’re capable of saying the most romantic things ever. I wouldn’t have thought someone with such a silver tongue could have such a dirty mouth as well.”

I stole a kiss before backing away from him, smiling and winking at him over my shoulder when I took off.

It took me a few minutes to get my rink-legs back, but once I was used to the smooth surface that was only rutted in some places, my body remembered how to go with it. He caught up with me on my second lap around, slowing down slightly to keep pace with me.

“Last I checked, you really liked my dirty mouth,” he said. “And my silver tongue.”

He was right, but before I could think of a witty comeback, a telltale tingling started in my legs. I’d only felt it once before but I’d relived it so many times in my nightmares that I immediately knew what it was.

My face dropped and a scream threatened to tear out of me but never came. Without any further warning than that, my bones turned to jelly and my legs gave out. Before I hit the ice, Carter’s muscular arms were around me and he held me up, his eyes wild on mine.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“We need to get to the hospital,” I breathed, feeling ice spreading through me even though I hadn’t hit it.

Fear took hold of my organs, its grip on me so tight that I could barely breathe. I knew I