“Deal,” she said, turning back to the stand to choose a suitable animal for her.
“What are you guys doing?” Hunter asked, as he, Georgia and Willow approached.
“Buying hats,” Isabelle told him. “And now we’re all here, maybe we should all get one.”
“Yay, let’s!” Willow agreed, slotting in beside Isabelle to browse.
“Really?” Hunter laughed. “You are so whipped.”
“I am not! I’m just having a little fun while I’m here where nobody knows me.”
I wouldn’t have dreamed of wearing a ridiculous hat in L.A. Not only because it was usually too hot, but also because, wearing a reindeer hat in public would lead to confiscation of my man card.
“You gotta get one,” I said. “Be a dork with me, just for today.”
He grinned. “Okay,” he said. “Just for today.”
Along with my reindeer, Isabelle chose a black cat hat, Willow chose a bunny, Georgia went for a penguin and Hunter picked a lion. Before we left, Isabelle asked the stall owner to take a few photos of us, so we could capture the silliness on camera forever.
A little later, we finally grabbed lunch from one of the many kiosks, and sat inside a Christmas themed shelter. It was designed to look like Santa’s grotto, I think, with lots of decorations and a big tree with fake gifts underneath. There was a lot of laughter over lunch as we discussed which things we wanted to see again, and whether we could handle going on any more rides.
Isabelle really wanted to skate on the ice rink before we left. I was a little nervous because risking a break, or even a sprain wasn’t something I’d plan
ned. On the other hand, the opportunity to hold hands with Isabelle like all the other skating couples was worth it.
“Have you ever skated before?” Isabelle asked, snuggling in to me. I wrapped my arm around her to keep her warm.
“Not since I was a kid,” I replied. “I went a few times with Hunter, but we were both useless so we stopped going.”
“Georgia and I always go at Christmas. It feels like a Christmassy thing to do.”
“It sure does. But I should warn you, I’m going to spend most of my time on my ass.”
“That’s okay,” Isabelle laughed. “I probably will too. I’m okay at skating, but Georgia’s the expert. She’s a natural on the ice. I’m a bit like Bambi learning to walk.”
“I guess we’ll have to hold each other up.”
She looked into my eyes, and a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran through me. Her cat hat made her look even cuter than usual, and instead of skating, I wanted to carry her somewhere away from people so I could kiss her the way I wanted to. Not that I couldn’t kiss her in public, but … I really wanted to be alone with her.
We hadn’t had enough alone time. I was glad for every second we’d had, watching a movie together, or grabbing a coffee, but it was rarely just the two of us. There was always somebody else around. I didn’t want to be alone with her to try and get in her pants. Not that I hadn’t thought about it. But mostly, I just wanted to have her to myself for a while.
“Jesse,” Isabelle said, grinning. “What are you thinking about?”
Shit, I hope she can’t read minds!
“I was thinking about how much fun we’re gonna have at the party tonight,” I told her, and she laughed.
“If you say so. Are you really sure you want to go?”
“Honestly? I would rather set fire to my own head than go to Mischa’s party, but Hunter wants to go and I promised I’d be there with him.”
“I know,” she moaned, burying her head into my shoulder. “If it’s really awful, I’m leaving early. It’s not as if Mischa wants me there anyway. She only invites me to places because I’m Georgia’s sister. Half the time, I think Georgia makes her ask me. It’s a nice thought, but I would much prefer to be left out of Mischa’s plans.”
“Maybe Georgia isn’t asking for your sake. Maybe she’s asking for hers.”
Isabelle looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, “You’re probably right about that. I just never looked at it that way before.”
Before we could delve any further into Georgia’s mind, it was our turn to get onto the ice. We paid for our tickets, got our skates on, and hand in hand, stepped onto the ice. Hunter, Georgia and Willow were right behind us and we carefully started to make our way around the rink. Well, Isabelle and I were careful. Georgia sped off like a rocket, and Hunter and Willow glided along beside each other.