Cold Snap Recovery

“I love you,” I said finally, the words barely audible over the still-roaring crowd. “I’m in love with you, Ellie.”

She stilled. Pulled back just enough to look at me. Really look at me. Her eyes were wide. Dark. Full of a hope that matched the one suddenly blooming inside me.

“You are?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“I am,” I confirmed, my voice husky with feeling. With certainty. With a truth I couldn’t deny anymore. Not to myself. Not to her.

A smile spread across her face. Slow. Bright. Beautiful. “Took you long enough,” she murmured, her fingers twisting in my hair. Pulling my mouth back to hers.

I laughed. A soft, rusty sound. “Am I?” I asked, the question hanging between us, heavy with all the things we weren’t saying.

She didn’t answer. Not with words. Instead, she kissed me again. Long. Deep. Full of promise.

And in that kiss, I had my answer.

The pond behind my cabin was frozen solid, the ice clear and smooth as glass. Ellie skated lazy circles around me, her laughter ringing out in the crisp winter air. Her hair was down, a dark cascade against the bright blue sky. Her cheeks were flushed with cold and exertion. She was beautiful. More than beautiful. She was everything.

“Show-off,” I called, my voice rough with affection. Teasing. “Some of us are still recovering, you know.”

She skated to a stop in front of me, spraying a shower of ice chips with a wicked flick of her blade. “Some of us are just looking for excuses to take it easy,” she shot back, her eyes sparkling with mischief. With happiness. With a light I’d put there.

I reached for her, pulling her close. Her skates slid between my feet, her body molding to mine like it was meant to be there. Like she was meant to be there.

“Hi,” she murmured, her voice soft. Warm. Just for me.

“Hi yourself,” I rumbled, my arms tightening around her. Holding her close. “Having fun?”

“You know I am,” she said, her smile widening. “It’s perfect, Spencer. Just like I imagined.”

I’d brought her here for a reason. To the place that had always been my escape. My sanctuary. The place where I’d always been able to breathe. To think. To be myself.

Now I wanted it to be ours.

“I love you, Ellie,” I said, the words coming easier now. More certain. More true. “I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone.”

Her eyes softened. Turned liquid. Bright. “I love you too, Spencer,” she whispered, her voice thick with feeling. “So much.”

I kissed her then. Long. Slow. Sweet. Poured everything I felt into that kiss. Into her.

When I pulled back, she was smiling. A secret, knowing smile that made my heart kick against my ribs.

“What?” I asked, my voice gruff. Curious.

She shook her head, her eyes dancing. “Nothing. Just… remembering.”

“Remembering what?” I asked, though I already knew. Could see it in the warmth of her gaze. In the curve of her lips.

“That first day,” she said, her voice soft. Faraway. “In the training room. When you were bleeding through your jersey and grumbling about the pain.”

I snorted. “I wasn’t grumbling.”

“You were,” she insisted, her smile widening. “And I thought, ‘This guy is going to be trouble.’”

“And?” I prompted, my own smile tugging at my lips. “Was I?”

She laughed. A bright, happy sound that echoed across the pond. Across the years between that day and this one.

“Terrible trouble,” she confirmed, her eyes locked on mine. Full of love. Full of a future I could almost reach out and touch. “The best kind of trouble.”

I kissed her again. Couldn’t help it. Couldn’t stop.

“You’re doing great,” she murmured against my lips, her voice warm. Sure. Full of a certainty that had carried me through the darkest days. That would carry us through whatever came next.

I smiled. Felt the truth of her words settle deep in my bones. In my heart.

“Am I?” I asked, the question hanging between us, heavy with all the things we weren’t saying. All the things we didn’t need to say.

She didn’t answer. Not with words. Instead, she took my hand, her fingers lacing through mine. Her eyes met mine, full of promise. Full of forever.

And in that moment, on a frozen pond in the middle of nowhere, with the woman I loved more than life itself by my side, I knew.

I was.