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All she got in reply was a heavy sigh. Not long ago, it had annoyed her. Now it made her smile.

* * *

Bryant Park ice rink was nestled between skyscrapers and had the rear of the New York Public Library, with its marble façade and row of illuminated arched windows as a backdrop. It looked quite the picture. A Christmas tree added to the festive cheer. It was, Luke supposed, an ideal setting to skate. If you were into that sort of thing.

He finished tying up the laces on his skates and looked over at the ice rink. People of all ages, many old enough to know better, skated round, and round, on the block of ice. “What’s the point?”

He must have asked it out loud, because Anna snorted. “Not sure you’re too familiar with the word, but it’s called having fun.”

“I can do fun.” Climbing a mountain, abseiling, white water rafting. “This is like skateboarding. Pointless.”

“You need to widen your horizons.” She looked over at the skaters, a sparkle in her eyes, a smile on her very pretty face. “Plenty of things are fun if you embrace the idea.”

Even in her sadness, Anna managed to find the joy. It humbled him. He wasn’t wired that way.

As they waited for their turn to go round and round in circles, Anna snapped off loads of photos and he watched the skaters, trying to work out what to do. And what not to do, he through grimly as he watched one man make his way slowly round the rink.

“I’m not being that guy,” he announced.

“What guy?”

He pointed. “The one who white knuckles it round while clinging to the edge.”

“Okay.” She looked over at him in blatant amusement. “You’d rather be the other guy?”

“Maybe?” He asked warily.

“The one who thinks he can skate, but keeps falling over?”

That didn’t sound great either. “I’d rather go down fighting, yeah.”

“Oh, you’ll go down alright.” She had another little chuckle to herself. “Do you want any tips?”

“It’s walking, but on ice. How hard can it be?”

“Exactly.” Another secretive little smile, like she was in on the joke and he wasn’t.

He took another look at the guy still making his first trip round the rink and began to sweat beneath his big jacket. “Say I was looking for a tip. Or tips, plural,” he added when he saw a young lad end up flat on his back.

She bit into her lower lip, like she was trying not to laugh. “You need to bend your knees a bit, like we did when we were skateboarding. Don’t lean too far forward or back. Oh and keep looking ahead, don’t look down at your feet. That’s a big no, no. And relax.”

Relax?

It was their turn. Feeling anything but relaxed, he followed Anna and the rest of their group out onto the ice. And nearly ended up splat on his back after the first step.

Damn, ice was slippery.

“Okay there?” She cast a glance at him over her shoulder as she moved effortlessly past him.

“All good.” He gripped the side of the rink like it was the only thing holding him up. Probably because it was the only thing holding him up.

“Do you want me to wait for you?”

“No.” The last thing he needed was Anna watching him with her dancing blue eyes and highly amused smile.

He watched her glide off and took a tentative push forward, still clutching at the side. Only for a minute, while he found his balance. It didn’t make him that guy.

A short while later, he felt a small, gloved hand wrap around his. “Come on, big guy.” Anna gave him a soft smile. “This time I’ll give you a tow.”