Looking at him suspiciously, she asked, “I still haven’t figured out how your charity found me. Did you tell them where to find me?”
“I didn’t know who you were until I read that letter. I swear. I knew they were planning the event, but I didn’t know you were involved.”
“I’m not,” she answered hurriedly.
“But you can be.” He lifted an eyebrow in challenge.
Damn. Damn. Damn. There was nothing harder for her than to ignore a direct dare, and Micah was testing her. “It’s not feasible. I have jobs to do.”
He shook his head. “Not a good-enough reason. You wouldn’t have to be in New York for more than a few days to perform, and you already admitted you aren’t needed as much at the restaurant. Your responsibilities can be covered by somebody else.”
“I’d only have six weeks to prepare. I can’t get in shape in such a short amount of time, and I can’t relearn skills I’ve probably long forgotten.”
“You didn’t forget; you’ve just buried the desire to get on skates again.”
He was still spearing her with a knowing look, giving her the sense that he could almost look into her thoughts. Truth was, she did desperately want to skate again. It would be one less loss, one less gaping hole in her heart. When she’d given up the sport completely, it had left a very large void in her life.
The thought of trying and falling on her ass made her cringe. “You really don’t understand,” she muttered. “You’re an athlete in prime condition. You have all of your senses. You’re not operating with a disadvantage. It’s easy to be courageous when you have nothing to fear.”
“I understand that you’re afraid of failure, but you won’t fail. And you’re wrong. My life isn’t as perfect as you might think. I’ve had my ass in a desk chair for too long, and I’m not in great aerobic shape, but I’ll work out with you. We’ll do it together. I miss my runs.”
Before she’d started up again a few weeks ago, Tessa had missed hers, too. She’d forgotten how much until she’d gotten outside every morning.
“You never fail at anything. You can’t or you’d be dead.” She didn’t want to admit that some of the stunts he’d pulled off in the past fascinated and terrified her at the same time.
He frowned. “You’re wrong again. I’ve failed at plenty of things. I’ve broken a lot of bones before I got it right sometimes, and now it seems I’ve lost my edge. My doctor ordered me out of my office.”
“You’re sick?” She looked again at his weary expression, concerned.
“No. According to my doctor I’m just . . . fatigued and burned out.” He gave her a look that said he detested having any weaknesses. “Personally, I think he’s full of shit, but I decided I could use a break. I can only be in an office for so long before I start going stir-crazy.”
So he was hiding from the world, too. Tessa wanted to push him for more information, but his stony expression stopped her from asking any more questions. It was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about it, so she went back to the original subject.
“There’s a problem with your earlier suggestion,” she told him confidently.
“What?”
“I can’t practice. The rink my father helped build is closed. It went out of business several years ago, after he sold out his financial interest in the arena.” Her dad had given up his share to his partners soon after she’d lost her hearing.
Micah smirked. “No problem.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out his keys. “I’m not sure which one fits, but it seems I’m now the proud owner of one neglected skating rink.”
Her heart starting pounding rapidly against the wall of her chest. The arena wasn’t far from where Randi’s house was located. Was it possible that he really did own the skating rink now, that he’d scooped up the closed building along with all of the property he’d recently acquired? It was highly probable, since the large acreage was for sale along with most of the other land outside the city limits in this direction.
Damn!
She looked at his attractive, grinning expression with alarm, and then stared at the keys he was now dangling between his large fingers.
If he was for real, she was screwed.
CHAPTER 3
Several days later, Micah finally took time out to consider if he was actually doing the right thing by nearly pushing Tessa back onto the ice. His instinct, his gut, told him that Tessa needed and wanted to skate again. But as she got ready to go practice for the first time, he was questioning his tactics. He’d dared her, cajoled her, and downright antagonized her for the last few days, not wanting her to give up the chance to discover that her skills hadn’t gone away with her hearing.
He felt like a first-rate jerk, which he probably was, but he didn’t want to actually admit it. He had basically continued to punch Tessa’s buttons, challenged her until her pride probably demanded that she skate.
He collapsed on the couch with a protein drink in his hand, frowning as he thought about her confession that she hadn’t skated in years. What if he was fucking wrong, what if his gut instinct was wrong? It could happen—although it generally didn’t. He could have made all the wrong moves with her. Hell, he barely knew her.
She was afraid, and he’d come to realize in the last few days that there were very few things Tessa couldn’t do. She was no shrinking violet, and, even though she was petite, she could nearly outrun him on the morning jogs they’d been doing since he’d arrived. They were pushing three miles at a rapid pace for aerobic exercise first, and his ass was dragging near the end of the run. Yeah, he’d kept up on his weight training, but he spent the majority of his time stressing over business and sitting in an office, and he’d made several unplanned trips to California thanks to Xander’s erratic behavior. He’d been distracted, neglecting his cardio for the last several months. Now he was paying for it.