I crawled off Hugh's lap and pulled the five out of my strap. 'Only if you want to go to Taco Bell.'
Cody handed me a twenty. 'Make it a Red Lobster.'
My friends got up and moved toward the door, and I assured a distraught Tawny that I'd think of something to help her. Giving up any more attempts at manually getting ready, I shape-shifted into jeans, low boots, and another cashmere sweater. A three-quarter-length gray wool coat covered it all. I grinned at Seth, who was shaking his head ruefully. Compared to the other things he knew I did, an impromptu striptease was pretty low-key.
'And you thought I didn't earn my keep.'
'No comment,' he said, taking hold of my hand.
CHAPTER 9
'I don't understand this,' said Seth good-naturedly. 'I catch you stripping in front of other men, yet I'm the one who gets punished.'
Clasping his hand, I led him onto the ice skating rink. Just like with dancing, I glided with practiced ease. Seth's movements were jerky and uncertain. Without my hand, I suspected he would have fallen already.
'This is good for you, Mortensen. You sit at a desk—or table or whatever—all day. This'll get your muscles working again. Get the old blood pumping.'
His teasing smile turned into a grimace, his hold on my hand turning into a death grip. 'There are a hundred other ways I could do that.'
'But none as fun,' I assured him.
Seth was brilliant and funny, but coordinated he was not. During the early days of our acquaintance, I'd tried to teach him to dance. It had been grueling. After a very long time, he'd learned the basic steps, but the process had never been easy—or, I suspected, enjoyable—for him. I'd let him off easy since then, only making him go out dancing once. He'd grown complacent now, which was why I felt this experience would be so good for him.
'Men were not meant to wear blades on their feet,' he told me as we trudged further toward the rink's center. We were outdoors, at a small park, and our breathing made frosty clouds in the air.
'Women weren't meant wear to stilettos,' I told him. 'But you don't hear me bitching about it.'
'That's different. They do great things for your legs. This? This just makes me look stupid.'
'Well, then,' I said. 'You better learn. Time to take off the training wheels.' I released his hand.
'Hey! What the—'
But I was gone, slipping away from his grasp with a laugh. He stood there frozen while I skated away, circling the rink in graceful loops and figure eights. After a few rounds, I skated back up to him, finishing with a neat pirouette. He hadn't moved from the spot where I'd left him, but he no longer appeared annoyed.
'Look at you,' he said, touching my face. 'Rosy cheeks. Snowflakes in your hair. You're the Snow Queen.'
'God, I hope not. That's a depressing story. Hans Christian Andersen had issues.'
'All writers have issues,' he assured me.
I laughed and took his arm, leading him around in more awkward skating. My legs and feet protested the slow movement, but the rest of me was happy to have quality time with Seth.
'Speaking of writers with issues,' I said. 'How can I get in trouble for stripping in front of other men when you have a date with another woman?'
If not for the fact he would have fallen over, I suspect Seth would have elbowed me. 'That's your own fault,' he said. 'You made me do it, so don't get all jealous now.'
'I'm not jealous—but I think Maddie does have a crush on you.'
'Unlikely. It's probably just author worship.' He gave me a pointed look. 'Like some people I know. If anything, she's got a crush on you.'
'Oh, for God's sake, stop with the lesbian fantasy thing.'
'Nah, nothing like that. She just idolizes you, that's all. You're chipping away at that insecure exterior of hers, and I think she's starting to really see how much she's capable of. You're sort of setting the example.'
I hadn't considered that. 'Really?'
'Yup. Keep training her up, and we'll have a mini-Georgina on our hands.' Seth chuckled as we made a painstakingly slow turn. 'Between her, that new succubus, and my nieces, you should start a Ladies Finishing School. How can you be such a good influence and have such a…'
'Demeaning job?' I supplied.
'Something like that. Of course, I suppose it could be worse.'
I gave him a sidelong glance. 'Could it?'
'Yeah, you could, like, sell Amway or be trying to get me to move large amounts of money out of Nigeria.'
'Definite deal breakers in any relationship,' I said solemnly.
He looked over at me, rather brave considering the intense attention he'd been giving his feet. Under the rink's soft lights, his expression was tender. His lips curled into a small, fond smile, and his eyes shone with an affection that almost made me go weak in the knees. Maybe it was a trick to get me to fumble my skating. It nearly worked.
'For you?' he said, coming to a stop. 'It might be worth it.'
'Worth cleaning out your bank account?'
'Yes.'
'Worth being part of a pyramid scheme?'
'They say they don't do that anymore.'
'What if they're lying?'
'Thetis,' he said with a sigh. 'I'm going to say something to you I've never said before.'
'What is it?'
'Be quiet.'
And then he leaned down and kissed me, bringing warmth to my cold lips. Nearby, I heard children giggle at us, but I didn't care. I felt the kiss down to my toes. It was brief, like always, but when Seth pulled away, my whole body was filled with heat. Every nerve in me tingled, alive and wonderful. I barely noticed the chilly temperature or the way our breathing formed frosty clouds in the air. He laced his fingers through mine and lifted my hand to his lips. I had gloves on, but he kissed exactly where I wore his ring.
'Why are you so sweet?' I asked, my voice small. My heart beat rapidly, and every star peeping through the clouds seemed to be shining just for me.
'I don't think I'm that sweet. I mean, I just told you to be quiet. That's one step away from asking you to wash my laundry and make me a sandwich.'
'You know what I mean.'
Seth pressed another kiss to my forehead. 'I'm sweet because you make it easy to be sweet.'
We linked arms again and continued our circuit. I had a sappy urge to rest my head against his shoulder but figured that might be asking too much of his coordination.
'What do you want for Christmas?' I asked, my thoughts spinning ahead to next week.
'I don't know. There's nothing I need.'
'Oh no,' I teased. 'You aren't one of those, are you? One of those people who are impossible to shop —'
One of Seth's feet slipped out from under him. I managed to stay upright, but he went down, his legs crumpling underneath him.
'Oh my God,' I said, kneeling down. 'Are you okay?'
'I think so,' he said. The tight set of his lips informed me things were a bit more painful than he was letting on. Putting my arm around his hip, I helped him up. The leg he'd fallen on started to buckle, but he managed to keep it steady in the end.
'Come on,' I said, steering him toward the gate. 'We should go.'
'We just got here.'
