Read Online Walk on Water by Laura Peyton Roberts - Free Book Online Page B

we skate with the same techniques. My grandmom’s paying for everything. All of your expenses would be covered: coaching, off-ice training, skates, costumes, travel—everything, and all the best.”
    The expression on Ian’s face wasn’t the delighted one she’d hoped for.
    “You could quit your job!” she added, sounding desperate. “You could be on the ice full time again. You could—”
    “Let me get this straight. You want me to abandon my coach—your father —and a legitimate shot at U.S. Champion because your grandma’s setting you up in pairs? You want to take advantage of everything Blake’s taught us, but cut him out of the picture? Am I that pathetic to you? You think that just because I’m struggling now I’ll—”
    “What? Ian, no! You don’t get it!”
    “I get it perfectly. You think that because my family’s not rich, I’ll give up everything they’ve sacrificed for and throw in on an easy ride with you. I’m poor, but I’ll never be that poor, Lexa. I’ve worked my whole life to get this far, and I’ll make it the rest of the way or I won’t, but I’ll do it on my merits and not your grandma’s money.”
    “You make it sound like I’m trying to buy you.”
    “Aren’t you?” His tone drew a blush up her neck. “Look, Lexa, I don’t know what went wrong between you and your father. I don’t even know you, really. But when I skate at nationals, I’ll determine my own fate. If you ever even get there in pairs, you’ll always rise or fall by what your partner does. Someone skates perfectly, someone chokes—end of two stories. Why do you want to put your future in a stranger’s hands?”
    She’d made a huge mistake, obviously. Not only had she offended him, Ian didn’t understand pairs at all.
    “I’m sorry I asked,” she said, meaning it. “But it was a compliment, not an insult. You ought to take it that way.”
    She was walking off when he called out to her. “Lexa? Really. Why are you doing this?”
    Was there even a way to explain it? To reduce the beauty of two people skating as one to words he’d understand?
    “Because on a good day nobody chokes.”

 
—18—
     
    All the way back to Maplehurst, Lexa battled tears. Ian’s refusal hadn’t been a total surprise, but the way he’d essentially accused her of being spoiled, selfish, and disloyal made her feel like bawling. He didn’t even know her—he’d admitted as much himself—but that hadn’t stopped him from judging her.
    It’s your own stupid fault, she told herself, trying to muster enough anger to keep her eyes dry. Thinking Ian might want to skate with her had been nothing short of delusional. She should have just let Beth and Candace find her a partner, like they would now anyway.
    Lexa’s new tutor was waiting for her when she finally entered the house. Clara Mendoza was a former high school teacher who had retired early only to discover that her bills hadn’t retired with her. To hear Beth tell it, Clara had been delighted to get her call, but in the days they’d worked together so far, Lexa hadn’t seen the same enthusiasm.
    “You’re late,” Clara said as Lexa walked into the ground floor guest room turned schoolroom. It was a comfortable space, with large windows and long views of the estate’s sloping back acres. The bed had been removed to make room for a big work table and chairs, while a tiny antique desk was mostly decorative.
    “Sorry. There was something I needed to do.” She didn’t feel like explaining what, and Clara didn’t ask.
    They had just begun a new set of quadratic equations—an easy step back from the pre-calc Lexa had left behind—when Beth bustled in, dressed to go out in a cream-colored suit. “So? What did he say?”
    “He said no,” Lexa replied quickly, before she could choke up again.
    “Aw, kitten, I’m sorry. Are you very disappointed?”
    “Yes. No. I don’t know.” If Ian didn’t want to skate with her, then she didn’t want to skate