conventional day. Why delve into them?” Lily
ran her fingers through her hair. Her finger felt empty without the engagement
ring and wedding band.
Discussing the past didn’t feel important when
there were so many other facts to take into account.
“I don’t want it to be a factor for us. I love
you, Lily.” He reached out taking her hand.
“Then don’t talk about it,” she said.
“We need to.”
“No, you were an ass,
Wayne
. Yes, you saw what you wanted, and you
did everything you could until you took what you wanted. Are you waiting for me
to blame you for the life I lead?” she asked.
“Yes, that’s what I want you to do. I feel like
I need you to rant and rave at me.”
“I don’t know if you’re joking.” Lily didn’t
understand. Their relationship had been fine. More than fine
up until he decided to leave.
“How can I convince you that I’m happy?” she
asked.
He shook his head dropping his head in his
hands. “I don’t know. I don’t want you to wake up in the morning worried if I’m
not there when you wake up.”
Lily knew she’d freaked out the first morning
she’d woken up when she hadn’t seen him lying beside her. Was it her fault that
he was the person to leave like that first thing in the morning without saying
a word about his intention?
Instead of arguing with him, she got up out of
her seat and went to him. She lifted his head out of his hands and stared into
his eyes.
“I love you, Wayne. I don’t need to dwell on
the past no matter how much you think I do. Our seduction was supposed to be
about you finally courting me.” She kissed his lips. “Talking about the past
won’t change it. All we can do is learn from our
mistakes.” Lily stroked his stubbled cheek. The
Christmas shopping was making him lazy in the shaving department. She chuckled
at how tired he looked.
He’d come home from thirteen hour work days and
not looked as tired as he did right now. Being a homemaker was taking it out of
him. She stroked his hair and decided getting out of the house would be the
best idea. It was only lunch time, so they had plenty of time to drive to the
ice rink.
“Come on,” she said, pulling on his hand.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“You’ll see. Consider this the start of our
date.” Lily grabbed her jacket along with a pair of gloves, a hat, and a scarf.
“Wrap up warm.”
Five minutes later they were out of the house.
She gave
Wayne
directions to where she wanted to go.
He parked the car ten minutes later. She saw
the rink had several people on it already.
“An ice rink?”
“It’s an open ice rink. Come on. It’ll be fun.”
Lily got out of the car and led him over to the person handing out the ice
skates. She paid the guy for two pairs.
Wayne
grumbled but put them on in without much enthusiasm. Once she’d tied her laces
she began the weird walk onto the ice. The moment the blades hit the ice she
grabbed for the wall. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Her gloves didn’t
provide much grip. The snow and the cold didn’t change the fact she’d never ice
skated before in all of her life. In the movies they made it look so easy.
“You have a death grip on that thing,”
Wayne
said, looking
perfect and graceful on his feet.
“Okay, well, I don’t actually skate. In fact
I’ve never skated before.” She felt her cheeks heating.
“You mean to tell me you’ve brought me on a
date, and you can’t even skate?” he asked. There was a smile on his face and an
ease that she hadn’t seen in a long time.
“I thought it was a good idea. You have to
admit this is a beautiful spot for a date,” she said.
He gazed around at the scenery. Lily smiled at
him seeing the ease slowly seep into his facial expression. “You’re right. This
is a beautiful place.”
“I know I’m right. I’m a woman. Now, help me
like all those kind men do in the movies.” She reached out to him only to slip
on the ice. Lily knew she was about to land on