“No, you don't,” the man agreed cheerfully. “That's why I introduced myself.” When he smiled his teeth were white and even. Bobby Manning was wearing a shabby suit that had been cheap to begin with, and he carried a briefcase. His dark eyes gleamed wickedly as he gave Rose an appreciative once-over. It was a look that saw past the surface of a person, deep inside her—Rose was willing to bet the look was reserved for women only—and it said, I know who you are. And I like it! But the wicked dark eyes were laughing at her too. Because she was trying to pretend she didn't notice how sexy he was. And he knew he was sexy as hell. She eyed his shabby suit and his not-quite-handsome face and wondered why. Was it the confidence? Or that all-knowing gaze?

“Blushing looks good on you,” he said. “Although I'm sure you know that.”

For once in her life, Rose was thrown. She didn't know where to look, or what to say, so she pushed off from the barricade and skated away. When she reached the opposite side of the rink, she snuck a quick look back at the spot where he had been standing. He was gone. Rose told herself she wasn't disappointed. Just to prove she wasn't, she circled the rink several times and then skated to the center and did a scratch spin. Her form was bad, she told herself, because she was so rusty. It had nothing to do with being nervous because someone might be watching her. She got into position to try again.

“Help!” a voice gasped behind her. His voice. She knew it as if she'd been hearing it all of her life. Relief—a completely ridiculous relief—flooded through her. She turned to see Bobby Manning lurching toward her. He was wearing ice skates—the cheap rink skates people rented, which had dull blades and gave the foot no support. He might as well have been trying to skate on butter knives, if you could call what he was doing skating. In addition to the cheap suit, Bobby Manning was wearing a loud yellow-and-red tie. She'd missed that before.

The lurching/skating continued in slow motion. Instinctively Rose reached out her hand to help him. He grabbed for it and missed. “I think I'm going to …fall.” He collapsed on the ice. He was splayed out flat at her feet, and his awful tie was covered with white ice chips. There was no reason in the world for her heart to be pounding so happily.

“What the hell are you doing?” Rose blurted out. She blushed some more. She hated it when she slipped up and cursed out loud. It wasn't ladylike, and Nonna would have been ashamed of her. But in her mother's show business world everyone swore all the time, and the words got stuck in her brain.