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 her butt. Wayne caught her right in time.
“I’ve got you, baby.” He lifted her up then circled round holding her hands out in front of her.
Lily kept her gaze on her feet.
“Don’t look at your feet. Look at me,” he said.
“Are you going to help me?” she asked.
“Yes. I won’t let you fall. Now, trust me.”
She held onto his hands as he began to move backwards. Several times she tried to look down, but Wayne stopped her with his firm grip.
“I should have known you’d be good at this,” she said.
“And why is that?”
“You’re good at everything else, so why not be good at ice skating?”
“I can’t bake, cook, or wrap a present without it looking like some alien contraption. I can run a multi-million dollar business and make love to my wife. Skating is a piece of cake, and you’ll get there. I never knew how much fun this could be.” Wayne smiled twirling her in his arms making her squeal.
He stopped, and she was still on her feet. She took in a few gulps of air to try to get everything working once again.
“When did you learn how to skate?” she asked to try to distract herself from her possible death.
“Tony, Richard, and I used to spend most of our free time growing up going skating on a frozen lake or going to an open ice rink. That feels like a lifetime ago.” Wayne smiled looking past her shoulder.
She saw the pleasure on his face and was happy her idea had worked. “You’re an old man now, Wayne. It is pretty much a lifetime ago.” Lily couldn’t help but tease.
“Be warned, baby, I’m the one holding you up.”
Lily smiled sweetly at him loving the way they moved around the rink slowly.
“You look so adorable in your hat,” he said.
“What are you trying to say?”
He chuckled. “We need to do this more often.”
“Go ice skating?”
“No, going out on a date. I know we have the kids to consider, and if they were at home we’d be taking them with us. I think we need to make some time for just us.” He pulled her in close so her body was flush with his. Their thick jackets masked any sensation. Lily went light-headed from the closeness. His presence still had the power to stir her.
“I’d like that. No work, no stresses, just you and me.” She leaned in for a kiss. He let her go for a split second, and in that time, her foot skidded out. Before she had chance to warn him a squeal escaped her as she grabbed onto his jacket for help.
Nothing helped. Wayne wasn’t prepared, and they both went backwards onto the ice. Lily gasped as he caught his weight in time. Her butt ached, but she couldn’t help but laugh. Wayne stared down at her with a smile on his lips.