Not Just for Christmas

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

F ollowing the crowd out to the minibus, Erin kept her eyes on Lewis, who was making the little girl on his arm giggle the entire time.

While the rest of the guests filed into the back of the bus, she lingered by the passenger door. “Can I still sit in the front?” she asked when Lewis reappeared, carrying the girl’s car seat and her coat. She looked to be about five or six and spent most of the time looking adoringly at Lewis. Erin couldn’t fault her on that score.

“You can if you won’t be intimidated by sitting next to a princess.” After positioning the booster seat on the bench, he turned to lift the giggling little girl in.

“I’m not a princess,” she said, eyes shining with joy.

Lewis screwed his features into a frown. “I was sure you were a princess. Princess Poppy, isn’t it?” He winked at Erin as she hopped up beside Poppy.

“You’re telling me you’re really not a princess?” he said when he slid into the driver’s seat a moment later.

“No.” Poppy let out a dainty shriek of laughter. “I’m not a princess. Mummy calls me Princess sometimes, but I’m not a real princess.”

“Hmm.” Lewis pulled her seatbelt around her and looked at her dubiously before turning in his seat to check that everyone was settled in the back.

“Are you certain you’re not a princess?” he asked when he pulled onto the main road.

“I’m not!”

“Do you have proof of that? Some kind of identification which says you’re not a princess?”

“No,” Poppy said, gazing up at him.

“Then how do we know for sure?”

With a delighted smile, Poppy leaned her head towards him. “You’re very funny, Lewis.”

“Thank you. Maybe once you’re a queen, you can hire me as your court jester.”

“What’s that?” she asked in awe, while Erin grinned at the adorable exchange.

“It’s someone the queen hires to make jokes. That would be my job. To make you laugh.”

“But you work in the hotel,” she told him seriously.

“That’s true. I didn’t even think about that. You’ll make a great queen because you think of everything.” He paused. “Are you looking forward to ice skating?”

Erin had been so caught up in their playful conversation that it took her a moment to realise he was talking to her.

“I don’t know,” she told him, catching his eye over Poppy’s head. “Kind of. I’m excited about watching other people skate, anyway.”

“Have you ever skated before?”

“Yes. A few times when I was younger, but I could never get the hang of it.”

“You’ll give it a go though?” he asked .

“Yeah,” she said hesitantly. “I’ll probably shuffle around for a couple of laps and spectate for the rest of the time.”

“I can’t skate very well either,” Poppy said. “I went with my mummy one time but I kept falling over. But there are penguins you can hold on to and they help you not fall over. Maybe you can get a penguin, too.” She looked up at Erin with concern in her eyes.

“I think they’re just for kids.”

“I think so too.” Poppy turned to look at Lewis. “Does it take a long time to get there?”

“No, not too long.”

“We won’t stay for very long, will we?” Poppy asked. “Because I need to be in bed early or Santa won’t come.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be in bed in plenty of time.”

“What did you ask Santa for?” Erin asked.

“Popcorn,” she replied flatly.

Lewis caught Erin’s eye, then looked at Poppy. “Popcorn?” he asked.

“Yes. I love popcorn.”

“Me too.” Lewis slowed at the junction and stayed quiet for a moment while he concentrated on the road. “Is that all you asked for?” he finally asked.

“No. I also asked for some sparkly hair things like I saw in a shop. And new paints. And most of all I want a bike, but Mummy said that’s a big present and Santa can’t always bring big presents. She said I shouldn’t get excited about a bike in case Santa can’t manage it this year.”

A muscle in Lewis’s jaw flexed but he kept his eyes on the road. “I hope he manages it,” he said.

“Me too.” Poppy banged her hands on her knees in her excitement. “I want one with a bell and a basket, but I don’t care what colour it is. Just not black because that’s the worst colour.” Her eyes lit up and she pointed out of the window at an elaborately decorated house with a Santa figure climbing the wall. Her attention was on the festively decorated houses after that, and she seemed to forget all about the bike.

Judging by Lewis’s frown, Erin suspected he was still thinking about it.

The ice-skating rink was stunning. A large Christmas tree was all lit up in the centre with the icy track forming a ring around it.

In his usual easy manner, Lewis led the group through the admission gate and to the small hut where ice skates were doled out. The first pair that Erin tried were too small and then she seemed to take forever to get herself laced in. The rest of the group was already on the ice when she made her awkward waddle to the rink.

A jolt of nerves hit and Erin had the thought that maybe she should go straight for the mulled wine and enjoy spectating rather than risking her neck and her pride.

She gave herself a mental shake and a small pep talk about a sense of adventure, then she stepped onto the frozen arena and felt her legs wobble immediately. She grabbed the rail and avoided falling, but it was a close call which did nothing for her confidence.

Automatically, she looked for Lewis, relieved to find his focus was on Poppy and hadn’t witnessed her Bambi impression. With one hand clutching the rail, she shuffled along while thinking that a sense of adventure was an over-rated quality.

“Hello!” Poppy called, passing her while clinging to her penguin and making an odd running motion.

“Hi!” Erin replied.

“You okay?” Lewis asked, turning in an impressive movement, and gliding backwards to speak to Erin.

“Fine.” She aimed for a confident smile, but wasn’t sure it would fool anyone. “Just finding my feet.”

Smiling, he turned to face forward again and escorted Poppy around the track. Erin hadn’t got very far when they came around again.

“Do you want some help?” Lewis asked. “I could give you a few pointers.”

She opened her mouth to say she’d take all the pointers she could get when a guy called out to Lewis.

“Sorry,” he said. “One sec.” He sped up and then halted at the edge of the ice to reach across the barrier and shake the guy’s hand. Then he turned to check on Poppy. “I’ll catch you up in a minute,” he told her, and she grinned at him before continuing her odd march on the ice. He stayed chatting to the guy, and Erin continued her undignified shuffle while clutching the rail.

With Lewis now blocking her path, if she continued, she’d have to use him for support at the point where he blocked the rail. And while she didn’t dislike the idea of having her hands all over him, she suspected it would be more than a little embarrassing. Besides, everyone else was managing to make their way around the ice without too many problems.

Apart from the handful of people who were taking her approach of clinging to the rail – and the ones who kept landing on their bums. If she didn’t focus on them, it definitely seemed like something she should be able to manage.

With a rush of courage, she pushed off from the edge and into the wilderness.

She didn’t immediately fall on her bum or do the splits, and her wobbly legs seemed to grow in confidence. After half a lap, she even glanced around to take in the atmosphere.

It was odd really, that ice could create such a cosy vibe.

Her gaze snagged on Poppy, a little ahead of her, and she caught the flailing of her legs before she landed on her knees with the penguin stopping in front of her. Instincts had Erin moving in Poppy’s direction, though she wasn’t sure she’d be effective at helping her. She could at least provide moral support.

A bigger boy glided over to Poppy before Erin could get there. A young teenager. Sweet of him to help.

Erin’s blood pulsed harder when she realised that wasn’t his intention at all. He swiped the penguin and took off without a backwards glance.

If Erin could skate, she’d be having a word with him, but all she could manage was to slide awkwardly to Poppy.

“Are you okay?” she asked, leaning a little, but not sure she could bend down too far.

“I fell over and a boy took my penguin,” Poppy cried.

“I saw. The big meany. I don’t think Santa will bring him any toys.” She frowned, knowing that wasn’t the way the world worked. “Are you hurt?” She glanced around for Lewis, who was still deep in conversation.

“I just bumped my knees, but I can’t skate without the penguin.”

“A few minutes ago I thought I couldn’t skate without holding the rail, but I gave it a go and it wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

“Can you help me?” Poppy asked.

“I can try.” She held out her hand, then almost crashed to the ice when Poppy pulled on it.

After some wobbling, they were both upright. Poppy began with her stamping again.

“I don’t think you should lift your feet up,” Erin suggested. “Try pushing them forwards instead.”

“I’m not good at that,” Poppy said. “Lewis tried to teach me already.”

“Just push one foot forwards,” Erin said.

Poppy did as she was told and then grinned up at Erin.

“Hey!” Lewis sped around them, then turned to skate backwards just ahead of them. “Did you get too good for the penguin?”

“A big boy stole it,” Poppy told him grumpily .

“What?” Lewis scanned the rink. “Which boy? Where is he?”

“There.” Poppy pointed across the ice to the boy, who was laughing with his friend while they pushed the penguin around.

“I’ll be back,” Lewis told them before he took off with impressive speed. Erin couldn’t help but smile at the way Poppy gasped when Lewis crunched to a stop in a way that threw up ice all over the shocked adolescent. She couldn’t hear what Lewis said, but the boy quickly gave up the penguin and skated sheepishly away with his friend.

A moment later, Lewis was back and positioning the penguin in front of Poppy.

“Thank you,” she said, staring up at him with pure adoration.

“You’re welcome.” He skated beside her and looked over her head at Erin. “Thanks for helping her.”

“Of course. That big kid is lucky I can’t skate, or he’d have more to worry about than a little spray of ice.”

Lewis grimaced. “I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

“We enjoyed it,” Erin said. “Someone needed to teach him a lesson.”

“Speaking of lessons…” He looked at her shuffling feet and his lips twitched in amusement. “You need to relax your knees, don’t keep them locked up.”

“It’s the fear that’s keeping them locked up,” she told him, while attempting to put a little bend in her knees. The front of her blade caught in the ice and she would have fallen if she hadn’t grabbed hold of the penguin for support.

“Sorry,” she said to Poppy.

“That’s okay. I think it’s easier to skate if you hold hands. You were better when you held my hand.”

“That’s true,” Lewis said, suddenly right beside her and taking her hand. Even through their gloves, the feel of his touch was heavenly. “Stop trying to push off with the front of the blade,” he told her. “Keep your weight over the middle of your blades and imagine you’re a penguin.”

“Excuse me?” She exchanged a silly look with Poppy.

“Waddle!” Lewis said. “Shift your weight from one leg to the other as you lift each foot.”

“Weirdly, that makes sense.”

“And don’t look at your feet,” he told her as she looked down.

“How am I doing?” she asked a moment later.

“Better,” he said, then turned to Poppy. “I’m going to take Erin for a spin,” he told her. “We’ll be back in a minute. If anyone tries to take your penguin, scream as loud as you can. Okay?”

“I can scream very loudly,” she told him.

“Good girl.” He pushed off, dragging Erin along as he picked up speed.

“A spin?” she asked. “I really don’t think I’m capable of a spin.”

“A lap around the rink,” he said. “Not a literal spin.”

“Glad we got that cleared up.” She clutched his arm with both hands as he sped up even more. “No,” she said. “No, no. Too fast! Lewis! Slow down!”

“I have everything under control,” he said, but slowed down all the same.

“They should make penguins for adults,” she said. “I’d feel much more confident pushing one of those around.”

“Let go of me for a second,” he said, easing her hands from his arm.

She was sure she’d fall from panic alone, but Lewis did his fancy move again and ended up directly in front of her. “Here,” he held out both of his hands. “I can be your penguin.”

“I don’t understand how you can skate backwards,” she told him, feeling instantly more secure as she took his hands. “How did you learn to skate so well? ”

He glanced behind him. “Anna was into figure skating for a while and she used to drag me along with her twice a week.”

“Drag you?” Erin asked sceptically.

“I guess I enjoyed it too.”

“So you really can spin around the ice?”

He squinted, looking wonderfully bashful. “When I was a kid I could. I had no fear and I think that’s half the battle with ice skating. Anna used to get annoyed because I was better than her.”

“I can imagine that would have been annoying. Whenever I was better at something than my sister it drove her crazy. She’s still the same as an adult.”

Lewis eased one hand from hers to turn back and skate beside her as they approached Poppy. “No offence, but your sister sounds horrible.”

“None taken,” she said with a smile. “You have described her perfectly! Anyway, I think I’m going to quit while I’m ahead. Can you escort me to the edge? I’ll grab a drink and watch from the side-lines.”

As much as she was enjoying holding hands with Lewis, it felt like a good time to stop. She hadn’t embarrassed herself, so she was feeling pretty good about herself.

Watching Lewis glide around the ice would surely keep her well entertained, too.