Tobias almost couldn’t believe what’d happened, but Susan’s apology seemed sincere. Maddox had called an hour ago to say she’d stopped by his house, too, and apologized to him and Jada. Apparently, Atticus had confronted his mother and drawn a hard line—told her she was the one ruining his life because she wouldn’t allow the family to heal. He’d told her he’d never speak to her again if she didn’t let it go.

No doubt that was a difficult thing for Atticus to do, and an even more difficult thing for Susan to hear. But Tobias felt it was warranted—not for his sake but for Jada’s. He hoped this was the beginning of a much better relationship between Jada and her mother and—even if Susan changed her mind about him again, which she might—he hoped she’d finally give her son-in-law a chance. Jada and Maddox both deserved to be treated better than they had so far. Just thinking that might happen made Tobias happy.

But he was a little leery about going skating with Harper. He’d had a good day so far and wasn’t sure he should push his luck. Seeing her would only make him want her all over again. And it might get awkward with her sister, brother-in-law, children and nieces around. Would they be able to tell—by the way he looked at her or touched her—that their relationship had gone well beyond platonic?

He closed his eyes, remembering the first time they’d made love, and felt his groin tighten. What he felt for Harper went well beyond the sexual—although it manifested itself in that way—and yet he was going to spend the evening with her, pretending he didn’t feel anything.

He was wasting his time worrying about it, though. It wasn’t as if he was going to cancel. Even an awkward or frustrating meeting was better than no meeting at all. That was how he knew his interest went much further than wanting to take her back to bed.

He heard the girls first. They came running into the ice rink while he was trying to find skates that might be small enough for them. New Horizons was for girls older than Harper’s, but because Aiyana had decided to open the rink to the public one Saturday a month beginning in January, she’d purchased some smaller skates to rent out.

“There you are!” Piper said as soon as she saw him.

He found himself grinning at her. She was so damn cute. Her nose was pink from the cold, her hair was falling out of its ponytail and she was dressed in tan leggings with a leopard-print top and a pair of boots lined with fake fur. “Are you excited to get on the ice?”

“Yeah!” she cried. “So is Everly.”