Face-Off at the Altar
Page 38

She guessed she did.
“Oh, thank God! I was hoping you’d say that. How about Monday? After all this crazy wedding stuff?”
Mekena was supposed to fly out Monday, but she could push that back. She would push it back. This was an offer from Elli Adler; she wasn’t going to give that up. She wasn’t sure why she was so excited, but instantly, she was. She hadn’t wanted to come home, so she wasn’t sure why she did all of a sudden, but she did.
“Of course. Eight a.m.?”
“You read my mind, and I’ll have the coffee.”
“God bless you,” Mekena said, and Elli grinned.
“Now, onto the second thing,” Elli said, her cheeks turning a little pink. “My sister-in-law told me that I had to introduce you to my nephew.”
A little taken aback, Mekena’s eyes widened. “Your nephew?”
“Yes, she told me she told you about him.”
“She did? Wait, who is your sister-in-law?”
“Grace Justice? The wedding planner?”
Oh! “Yes! Goodness. How did I miss that? I’m sorry. Her son… Ryan?”
“Yes! He’s here, and he wants to meet the girl Grace will not stop talking about.”
Yeah, Mekena was bright red. Hell, her whole body was burning with embarrassment. Grace Justice had been talking about her to her son? That wasn’t crazy at all. While she should be excited to meet a potential hottie, her eyes went across the ice to where Markus was doing leaps like a foolish idiot. But his grin told her he had no cares. She wanted to go over there, be goofy with him, but she knew she couldn’t. Swallowing hard, she nodded. “Oh. Well, let’s go, then.”
“Okay, come on. He’s over there with the kids,” Elli said, pointing to the other side of the rink, the side that had no other way to get to but to skate across the ice. Before Mekena could stop her, Elli took off, leaving Mekena with the intention for her to follow.
Shit.
Watching as Elli crossed the ice, saying hi to everyone she passed, Mekena knew she had to go. Standing, she wobbled a lot, but she still made it to the entry to the ice. She could do this. It wasn’t that hard. Just like walking—on water. No big deal.
Oh, God, she was going to die, and everyone was going to see it.
Swallowing hard, she stepped out on the ice and figured she could ride the side of the boards to him. Elli was already there, gushing over the kids and kissing all over the guy Mekena assumed was her nephew. And holy hot genes. Dark hair, bright blue eyes, and a jawbone that could slice the ice. He was beautiful, just like his uncle and his momma. Tall, too, and thick. Obviously a hockey player. That should have given her a little more confidence to skate over there, but instead, her fingers dug into the siding as she slowly made her way toward them.
When Elli looked up, Mekena let go of the sides and waved. “I’m a little slow. I’m coming!”
Elli said something to Ryan, whose eyes lit up when he looked over at her. As he detangled himself from the kids that were trying to climb him like a wall, she figured he was coming to help.
Oh, no, that was embarrassing.
No, she could skate. She had it!
Letting go of the siding, she went with ease. And at first, things were good. She was skating! But as well as it was going, it suddenly went very bad. She felt her knee bend funny and then her body start to fall. And as the ice came into view, she let out a cry, waiting for the ice to break not only her glasses but her nose too. Maybe her teeth.
But she didn’t fall.
No, instead, someone had her by her hips, pulling her up and to her feet.
“Whoa there, girlie. I thought you knew what you were doing?”
Markus.
Everything inside her went hot. Not from embarrassment but from pure, burning desire. Trying to catch her breath, she looked up at him, his eyes so dark, his mouth so close to her cheek as he smiled.
Crap. Crap on a cracker.
“Markus.”
“Yup, it’s me,” he said, grinning as he stood her on her feet. “Saving your life.”
His cologne made her dumb, and she was speechless as he let her go, skating around her to make sure she was upright.
“You okay?” She only nodded, unable to understand what effect he had on her. She hated how he made her feel. How he could make her forget everything and only want him. How stupid could she be?
“Really stupid.”
His brows quirked. “What?”
“Nothing, sorry. I mean, thanks,” she fumbled, and he just kept smiling.
“Can you make it?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said sharply, her face beet red, feeling incredibly foolish.
“Wow, you’ve lost a lot of weight,” he said, steadying her. Though, she wasn’t steady.
No, she was pissed.
“I have not.”
“Dude, I can lift you over my head.”
“And I was so fat, you couldn’t before?”
“Whoa, I didn’t say that,” he said, giving her a look. “You’re just thinner. It took me off guard.”
“Yeah, guess I’m trying to look good.”
He eyed her, his eyes narrowing as she looked up to him. “You don’t have to try.” Her eyes dropped to his lips, and her heart nearly stopped as she could see his heart pound against his shirt. But then he looked away and said, “Oh, hey, Ryan!”
“Markus, what’s up?” he said, shaking hands.
“Nothing much. Have you met Mekena?”
“Actually, I was coming over to get her for my aunt,” he said, smiling sweetly, but all Mekena could do was try to stay upright and not lean into Markus like she wanted.
“Yeah, hi,” she mumbled, trying so hard to keep her feet from moving. But then her skate started to slide, and she was going down once more. She fully expected Ryan to catch her—she was falling toward him—but instead, Markus stopped her, his hand holding her right up under her arm. His fingers came within inches of the side of her breast.
“She’s not the strongest on skates,” he said to Ryan, who smiled charmingly.
“I can see that,” he said, and she glared back at Markus.
“I’m fine.”
He didn’t let her go, though. “You sure?”
Her stomach flipped a bit, her heart skipping a beat at the knowing grin on his face. “Yes, Ryan has me.” She reached out, digging her fingers into his arms and, thankfully, he steadied her as Markus let go.