Save the Date (Chicago on Ice Series Book 3)

by Aven Ellis

  I begin walking, and Luca falls into step beside me.

  “Wait a second. Your coffee has to be seasonal?”

  “I love changing things up with the season,” I admit. “In the fall, it’s pumpkin spice. In December, I switch to peppermint mocha. I drink that until winter is over.”

  “And food choices?”

  “Pumpkin spice anything until December. Then I want peppermint, gingerbread, and eggnog.”

  “I can see you are very particular about this,” Luca says seriously.

  When we turn into the barn, Luca stops in his tracks.

  “Wow,” he whispers, removing his sunglasses.

  I follow his gaze. The barn is stunning with rich woods and chandeliers hanging from the high-beamed ceilings.

  “Collins, this is nicer than my apartment,” he admits as he takes everything in.

  “Until I started riding, I had no idea a barn could be this chic.” I lead Luca toward the middle of the barn. We pass other riders and horses, and I greet them by name, as we’re all a community here, before finally, we reach Major’s stall.

  “This,” I say, turning proudly to Luca, “is Major.”

  Major comes over to me, and I begin stroking his neck affectionately.

  “Hi, handsome,” I say softly. “I brought someone to meet you.”

  I turn and glance up at Luca, who is standing behind me and staring at Major in awe.

  “Major is a gray Thoroughbred,” I explain as I continue to stroke him. “I got him as a graduation present when I was eighteen. Best present I’ve ever received.”

  “He’s a beautiful horse,” Luca says.

  “Do you want to pet him?” I ask.

  “Can I?”

  I smile. “Of course you can. Have you ever touched a horse before?”

  Luca shakes his head. “No.”

  “Okay, come here,” I say, encouraging him to stand next to me.

  Luca pauses and sets his coffee down on a bench behind us, and then he moves next to me in front of the stall door. Once again, I’m made aware of how muscular he is as his powerful body towers over mine.

  I shift my attention to Major before I get caught staring.

  “Now, pet him on the neck like I’m doing,” I instruct.

  “Okay,” Luca says, reaching over and touching Major. I notice he’s tentative at first, which makes me smile. “Like this?”

  “You can’t hurt him. And don’t worry, Major won’t bite you.”

  Luca grins as he strokes his neck. “This is so cool.”

  “Wait until you ride one. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world. Come on. Let’s go into the stall. You can help me groom him.”

  I open the door, and Major lets out a snort as he takes a step back, giving us room to enter. I set my coffee on a ledge and grab a brush. I walk over to Major and stand near his head.

  “This is a curry brush, and I use it to get all the dirt off first,” I explain, starting to brush his neck.

  “You do this every week?” Luca asks.

  “Yeah. It’s very therapeutic for me,” I say as I carefully brush Major’s hair. “I love spending time out here with Major. I find that when I work on him, I don’t think about anything else, you know?”

  “That’s how I feel in the crease,” Luca says. “When I’m in the net, that’s all I think about. Tracking the puck is all that matters.”

  I glance at Luca. “I understand that.”

  His eyes meet mine, and I know we connect on this level. When we are doing the thing we love, the thing we have the greatest passion for, it’s all that matters.

  “Collins?” he asks.

  “Yes?”

  “Why aren’t you working with horses?” Luca asks. “I can see this makes you happy. You seem like you should have a career working with them.”

  I stop brushing for a moment. Luca has only been in this stall for a few minutes with me yet he knows this is what I should be doing.

  I clear my throat as I continue to work on Major.

  “I’ve never told anyone,” I say softly, keeping my eyes on Major’s beautiful gray hair, “but there’s nothing I would love more than to work with horses. I would love to be a riding instructor. In my dreams, that’s what I’d be doing.”

  I lift my eyes and find Luca studying me intently.

  “Why aren’t you living your dream?” he asks.

  I shift my attention back to Major, moving down his neck to his body.

  “My parents would always get upset when I mentioned a career with horses,” I admit. “They consider my passion for horses something I never outgrew as a little girl. They think I’m one of those horse girls who thinks riding is fun, but it could never be a serious career option. It’s not practical. It wouldn’t pay much, unless I was a vet, and I don’t want to practice medicine. I couldn’t bear losing a horse or having to put one down. So, I did the practical thing and studied hospitality and tourism management at Purdue.”

  “Is that why you are an event planner now?” Luca asks gently.

  I swallow hard. “I thought I would be able to do both,” I admit. “I thought I could have the day job and then work toward my dream in the off hours. I assumed I’d prepare for this career after I graduated. I’d apprentice, then work toward certifications, but that was a delusional college student thinking, not the thoughts of a professional woman.”

  “How so?” Luca asks, watching me work.

  “Event planning never stops. You meet with clients during the day. You have tons of things to do for each event. Then the events can be anytime—nights, weekends, morning breakfasts, setting up convention booths. Thank God I work for my aunt, and she never makes me work Sundays because she wants me to have time with my horse.”

  “But there’s no time for anything else,” Luca finishes.

  I glance at him. “No, there’s not.”

  His eyes remain steady on me. I can’t believe I actually revealed my heart’s dream to him. One that nobody, and I mean nobody, knows exists. To the rest of the world, I’m the happy event planner, spreading sunshine and light and helping people celebrate different milestones in their lives.

  They don’t know my real dream will never come true. That I’m now stuck working in a job that will never bring me as much joy as teaching a person the love of horse riding ever could.

  I realize I just dumped a big bunch of negativity all over our first day together.

  Something I’ve never done before.

  “I’m sorry,” I blurt out.

  “For what?” Luca asks, confusion etched on his handsome face.

  I force a smile, the mask I’ve used since I was a little girl to make everyone around me happy.

  “I haven’t even offered to let you groom Major.” I hold the brush out to Luca. “Would you like to try?”

  He moves toward me and takes the brush from my hand, but to my surprise, he doesn’t groom the horse. Instead, he sets the brush on the ledge next to my coffee and turns back to me.

  Then slowly, he reaches for my hand, entwining his huge fingers around mine. A breath escapes my lips at the sensation of his rough skin causing a surge of heat inside me.

  “Don’t ever,” he says slowly, “be sorry for sharing your dream with me.”

  I’m touched beyond words. I can’t speak for a moment, for if I did, I know my voice would be wobbly.

  “How is it that you barely know me,” I say softly, “but you already understand me?”

  “I don’t know,” Luca admits, his eyes searching mine, “but I do.”

  My heart is racing. I have a feeling as soon as Luca shares more of himself with me, I’ll feel the same way.

  I’ll know him.

  No more words are
said between us. Luca stares down at me, his large hand securing mine, and a powerful feeling rushes over me.

  The feeling I have now is unlike anything I’ve ever had before.

  And from the look in his eyes, I think Luca feels it, too.

  Chapter 7

  Making meaningful connections is important . . .

  Luca releases my hand and then turns and picks up the brush, as if he instinctively knows I won’t talk any more today about my broken dream.

  “Okay. What do I do?” he asks, smiling at me.

  “Start brushing his back,” I say.

  Luca begins stroking the brush over Major’s gray hair. Major grunts, and Luca jumps back, startled.

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  I can’t help it. I burst out laughing at the sight of a huge hockey player startled by the sound of a horse snort.

  “No,” I say, moving around to Major’s head and stroking him affectionately between the ears. “Major was telling you it feels good. Weren’t you?” I say to my beloved horse.

  Luca grins sheepishly at me. “Oh.”

  I give him a side-eye glance. “How can you be afraid of a groan when you allow grown men to shoot frozen rubber pucks at you for a living?”

  “Because I don’t fear the puck. I like being able to stop them,” Luca says, resuming his brushing.

  “I can’t imagine anything more intense. Or scarier,” I admit.

  “No, it’s exciting,” Luca says, moving down Major’s body. “When I read a release and adjust to make the save, there’s no greater thrill.”

  “I have no idea what you just said.”

  Luca laughs. “Sorry. Goalie-speak. Basically, I have to make rapid-fire decisions in the net. I see the player with the puck and have to assess, among other things, where the puck is, if the shooter is right or left-handed, what kind of shot he is going to take, and how to adjust my body position to stop it. In milliseconds.”

  I can’t imagine how fast Luca’s brain must work and how little time he has to make decisions that will determine if a shot is stopped or becomes a goal.

  “It’s also why I work so hard on my skating in the off-season,” Luca continues. “Because if you’re a good skater, when you do make those mistakes, you can quickly get in position to make the save.”

  “Doesn’t the pressure get to you?” I ask.

  Luca pauses his brushing and looks over at me. “I thrive on it.”

  “I guess you’d have to if you wanted to play goalie.” I move around next to him. “Here, I’ll take over.”

  “What, am I doing it wrong?”

  “No, silly, but I don’t want you to think I brought you out here to do my work.”

  Luca hands me the brush, and I take over. I’m happy to see Luca take my spot by Major’s head and begin petting him.

  “Is that why you left that makeup in my suit pocket? To see if you could lure me out here to brush your horse, Cinderella?”

  My heart flutters. “You have no idea what it means when you call me that.”

  My comment is met with silence.

  “Collins, did I insult you? I’m not calling you a princess in a negative sense,” Luca insists. “Please don’t think that. I was thinking how I saw you run out of your shoes and how you left something behind in my pocket, and I di—”

  I stand up and interrupt him. “Did you know,” I say slowly, keeping my eyes on his, “that as a little girl I loved any movie that had a horse? No matter what the movie was, the horse was always my favorite character.”

  Luca’s brow creases, and I can see I’ve completely confused him.

  “When I was four,” I say, walking around to Major’s other side and resuming my brushing, “I saw Cinderella for the first time. It was magical because it had a horse, given to Cinderella by her father. She loved that gray horse, and so did I. His name was Major.”

  Luca’s eyes light with recognition.

  “As soon as I saw Major, I told my mom and dad I wanted a gray horse just like Cinderella,” I continue. “I would love him the way Cinderella did. He would be loyal and loving like Major was to Cinderella, and I would give him the same name.

  “So, as you can see, calling me Cinderella has more meaning than you could have known,” I say. “But I’m glad you do.”

  Luca doesn’t say anything for a moment, and I can tell he’s reflecting on my story.

  His beautiful hazel eyes shine brightly at me. “I think I’ve found your nickname, then.”

  “I think you have.”

  A brilliant smile lights up his face, and I’m grateful to be sharing my world with Luca on this bright autumn day. Getting to know him as we exchange pieces of our lives with each other, making a connection, and seeing how well we fit.

  I already know he fits me better than any man ever has.

  We spend more time grooming Major, with conversation flowing easily between us as I work. I explain to Luca the entire process. I use a soft brush to get any remaining dust off, then switch to a cactus cloth to remove loose hair. Next, I show Luca how I pick up Major’s hooves and remove any mud and dirt and check them for stones.

  “You are as meticulous with Major as I am with my gear,” Luca says as I work.

  I finish the last hoof and set it down. “How so?”

  “I have to have seventy-one wraps of tape around my stick before each game,” Luca says. “Not seventy. Not seventy-two. Seventy-one.”

  “Why seventy-one?” I ask.

  “I had seventy-one the night I learned I was going to be called up to the Buffaloes.”

  “So, it has to stay seventy-one forever or you’ll quit making saves?” I ask, lifting an eyebrow.

  “When you say it like that, it sounds crazy,” Luca quips.

  I laugh, and he does, too. I allow my gaze to linger on his handsome face for a moment, and then I turn back to Major.

  “Well, Major, don’t you look handsome now?” I say, affectionately running my hand along his neck.

  “Are you going to ride him?” Luca asks.

  “It would be very boring for you to watch me ride.”

  “Are you kidding? That’s exactly what I want to see today.”

  “Why don’t we take him out to the pasture and let him graze so we can talk?”

  “No, I want to see you ride,” Luca insists.

  Happiness soars in my heart. Luca wants to see me ride because he knows how important this part of my life is.

  “Okay. I’ll get Major ready, and I’ll take a few laps in the outdoor arena. You can watch while I take Major through the jumping course.”

  “I think leaping over fences on a horse is way more dangerous than stopping a puck, Cinderella.”

  Ooh!

  I cock my head to the side. “I don’t fear it. I love it.”

  Luca’s eyes flicker sexily. I can tell he likes that I’m fearless on my horse, just like he is in the net.

  “Then show me,” Luca says simply.

  My nerves tingle with excitement as I get Major ready to ride. I show Luca how I put on his bridle and saddle, and then I leave him with Major so I can run to my locker in the tack room and get my helmet and gloves.

  I eagerly walk back toward the stable, thrilled to be able to show Luca what Major can do on the course.

  I come back to find Luca petting Major. He has no idea I am watching him, and the sight melts my heart.

  “You’re lucky to have her, Major,” Luca says, his deep voice soft. “She’s exceptional, but I know you know that.”

  My heart begins pounding against my ribs. Luca is feeling everything I am.

  We have found something exceptional in each other.

  Luca turns around and looks unfazed by the fact that I mi
ght have heard what he said to Major. However, his eyes widen when he sees me dressed to ride.

  “Your eyes,” Luca says, staring at me. “You light up when you’re dressed to ride. I don’t know how, but it makes you even more beautiful.”

  My breath catches in my throat.

  “Thank you.”

  “You are,” Luca says as I approach him. “You’re extremely beautiful, Collins.”

  My skin prickles, acutely aware of Luca’s presence. All of my senses drink him in. I don’t say anything as my eyes drop down to his mouth. I wonder what it would be like to kiss him.

  Major lets out another snort, and I clear my throat. “Okay, I’m ready to ride.”

  I take Major’s reins and lead him out of his stall. We walk through the stables, passing other horses, riders, and workers, and I guide us to an outdoor riding ring, set up with jumps for equestrians to practice on.

  After entering the ring, I stop to mount Major, adjusting myself in the saddle. I glance down at Luca and grin.

  “I’m finally taller than you,” I tease.

  Luca laughs. “Only took a horse, but small details, right?”

  He moves over to the fence, propping his massive forearms against it. I’m distracted for a moment by how natural he seems at the farm. He’s in a green-plaid, flannel shirt; jeans; and dark chukka boots. The wind is blowing through his red-tinted waves, and, God, he’s beautiful.

  Major lets out a big sigh, snapping me from my thoughts. Okay. I know he’s bored and ready to jump. I ride around the ring a bit to get his muscles warmed up. Once he’s ready, I take him to the start of the course and run him through his paces. I have him trot toward the first gate then move into a canter, counting the steps as I do. We fly over the first gate on the fourth stride. I stand in the stirrups as Major leaps, my center of gravity shifting forward as we soar through the air.

  Adrenaline fills me the moment Major jumps. God, I love this. I love being with Major, flying through the air. There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, on earth as exhilarating.