“What is this?” she asked with a laugh that sounded phony even to her own ears. “A trip down memory lane?”

“You got a problem with that?”

She forced herself to look him square in the eye. “Not if you don’t.”

Chapter Six

chapter six

“Good. I need to drop off this stuff.” Holding the clipboard and a flat, zippered bag, Tony led the way across the jammed concrete labyrinth.

The chill in the air, the echoing music and the unanticipated breathlessness Elaine felt stirred recollections of their first meeting. Every detail still lived in her heart, though no one knew that about her. She kept her most cherished memories a secret, like a delicious dream that would be ruined by the telling. Even the painful aftermath of her encounter with Tony Fiore did not dim the power of the memories. Instead, it turned them brittle and delicate, brushed with the bittersweet shadows of what might have been.

Elaine had never been the shy type. The first time she’d seen Tony on that fateful Christmas Eve, she hadn’t hesitated to make her interest known. A privileged upbringing had given her an unearned sense of self-confidence and the conviction that she would never be rejected. Eighteen years old and unafraid, she’d approached him and said, “Hi. I’m Elaine. I’ve been watching you skate.”

His cocky grin had melted her bones, at the same time assuring her that bashfulness was not an issue with him, either. “Tony. I’ve been watching you, too.”

It wasn’t exactly a date, but an encounter like a chemical reaction—brief and unexpected, leaving them both forever changed. At the end of the evening, they’d gone their separate ways, he to his family’s traditional celebration followed by midnight mass, she to her parents’ gala affair. The day after Christmas, he’d left for Indiana to resume the hockey season, and she’d gone skiing in St. Moritz. She’d thought of him all during the rest of Christmas break that year, wishing she’d given him her phone number, or at least her last name.

Drawn back to the present, she followed him down the concrete steps to the main office, where he handed in his clipboard. “I only wish it was more,” he said as they left. “Every kid should love hockey the way I do. It kept me out of trouble more times than I can count.” He offered his arm. “Let’s go put on some skates.”

She balked. “Aren’t you supposed to be out chasing muggers or car thieves?”

“I’m off duty. Come on, Elaine. For old time’s sake.” He kept walking, pulling her along with him through the passageway to the ice level.

“Why would I want to remember old times?” she asked.

He stopped walking but kept hold of her arm as he turned to her. “Because they were good times,” he said in a soft tone. “Mostly.”