Charlotte’s hand found the small of my back, giving me a discreet push forward. Reaching out, my hands joined Sam’s, guiding him a little distance away, where we’d have room to move.
“I’m Helena.” Despite the music, we could hear each other perfectly. “I just moved here this week.”
“Yeah.” Sam nodded like he already knew this. “I’ve seen you around.” How had I not seen him if he’d seen me? Surely it would have been hard to miss Sam? And yet, here we were, him telling me he knew about me already. Or at least he knew I was new. It didn’t seem like Sam minded that I hadn’t known who he was until now.
His hand awkwardly settled against my side. Even through my dress, I could tell that Sam was strong. I’d danced with boys before, but it hadn’t felt like this! My hand came to rest against Sam’s shoulder. When he stepped on my toe, I realized that I would have to lead.
“Sorry,” he apologized. “I told you I don’t know how to dance.” And he had warned me, that was true. This was proof that he truly didn’t know how to dance. Knowing that he had wanted to dance with me anyway was thrilling.
“You’re doing great.” I would have let Sam step on my toes until they were black and blue if it meant feeling his arms around me! But hopefully, with a little direction, I wouldn’t actually need to.
As I tried to lead the way, it didn’t feel like I was taking control. Instead, we were working together, finding our way across the floor in circles that might have left me dizzy had I been looking anywhere but into Sam’s eyes.
“So, you’re the hockey captain? That must be exciting.”
“It is exciting.” Sam’s whole face lit up. It was impossible not to smile back. Even without saying anything more, it was easy to tell he loved hockey. At that moment, I was sure that before the end of the school year, I would know all the rules.
As we moved across the dance floor, with Sam stepping on my feet only a few more times, I smiled up at him. He returned that smile so easily that I once again found my breath catching. Thankfully, the music kept him from hearing it.
“You’re good at this,” he complimented. “Thank you for teaching me.” And I didn’t think I was, not very much anyway. But perhaps if he taught me about hockey, I could teach him how to not step on my toes when we danced.
I could have danced with Sam all night. But as we moved, I caught glimpses of Charlotte watching us, giving me a thumbs up that made me bite back a laugh. I was eager to run back to her, to share the excitement of Sam wanting to dance with me.
As the song ended, I let Sam pull away. “If I come to watch a hockey practice next week, will you explain the rules to me after?” His eyes widened a fraction of a second before his smile did, making him look both surprised and pleased that I had asked.
“Yeah, of course! I’d love to teach you,” he agreed eagerly. I had absolutely no doubt he meant it. A blush spread across my cheeks but there was nothing I could do about that. Besides, it didn’t seem like Sam minded. If anything, it made his smile widen even more.
He gave my hand a quick squeeze before pulling back. “I play number 53,” he informed me. That was clearly important to him, so I made a mental note of it. “We’ve got practice every day at four and finish around six, come any time.” And I realized he’d told me his number so I could look out for him.
I definitely wanted to.
“I’ll come on Monday.” A storm of butterflies swept through my stomach, leaving me feeling more excited than I had about anything since I left Halton Hills. As I walked away from Sam, Charlotte bounced forward to meet me, a look of conspiratorial delight on her face.
Glancing back at the handsome hockey player, I realized mom had been right. Making friends wasn’t that hard after all!
PRESENT DAY
Charlotte had made sure to give me plenty of advance notice of Sam Levesque coming back to town. Months to prepare should have left me feeling completely comfortable with the idea of running into my ex-fiancé.
It wasn’t as if Sam was the first ex-boyfriend I’d run into. Living in a small town, there was no way to avoid bumping into guys who’d turned out not to be The One when filling up my car with gas or buying a Christmas present for my dad.
There had been a few semi-serious boyfriends since Sam. The older I got, the less it felt like a big deal.
But none of those boyfriends had even been someone I’d thought about marrying. And none of them had gone on to play professional hockey for the NHL.
She wouldn’t admit it, but even Charlotte was a little intimidated to meet her fiancé’s superstar older brother.
Which was why I sought her out, carrying a bottle of our favorite dark spiced rum, the minute I arrived at her engagement party.
“So?” I asked, grabbing two glasses. “Was he suitably impressed by you and how happy you make Pat? If he wasn’t, I’ll kick his ass.”
Maybe I was putting on a bit of bravado. But Charlotte had been my best friend for over ten years. If Sam wasn’t impressed by her, he deserved an ass-kicking.
The way Charlotte laughed was a good indication that I wouldn’t have to fight Sam for her. That would have put a dampener on the party. Nonetheless, despite whatever awkwardness it might cause, I would
