In Dreams by J. Sterling Read Free Book Online Page A

smiled as Taylor and Danny walked away from them, hands intertwined.
    “Ready?” Cooper grinned. “It’s not far, I promise. Are you cold, California?”
    “I’m okay, thanks.”
    They walked slowly and she wondered if he was going to try to hold her hand. Part of her definitely wanted that. Part of her screamed for it. But the other part, well the other part was clearly off limits. She wondered if she should throw all caution to the wind, be brave, and grab his hand instead …but she couldn’t do it. She needed to know that if Cooper Donovan’s fingers suddenly found themselves intertwined in hers, it was because he wanted to and not because she had initiated it. This was New Jersey’s royalty after all. The thought made her giggle out loud.
    “What are you laughing at?” he glanced over at her and smiled.
    “Just hearing Taylor in my head is all.”
    “Ah, I understand completely now. I like her, she’s funny. And informative,” Cooper grinned mischievously.
    “Informative? What are you talking about?”
    “She’s good at answering my questions, that’s all,” Cooper bit his bottom lip.
    Katherine’s eyes quickly darted away from his mouth. “Well, yeah. She’s the best. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
    “You two are lucky you found each other. You should send flowers to whoever paired you up.”
    “Flowers? Really?” she responded playfully.
    “Or a card. I’m just saying.” He laughed and then gave her a little shove. She lost her balance far more than he had intended. He grabbed her by the arm to swiftly pull her back to him. He held her tightly against his body, “I’m sorry, California. Didn’t mean for that to happen.” His heart pounded through his chest against hers. “You okay?”
    Warmth raced through Katherine’s body as her heart sputtered. If there was ever a perfect moment for a first kiss this was it and she knew it. “I’m fine, sorry. It’s the shoes…and the feet walking in them.” She tried to regain her composure.
    “Come here,” he said as he pulled her toward him. “I’ll help from now on.”
    He threw his arm around her and tucked her frame into his. She loved that he was so much taller than she was and she was surprised at how comfortable he was to snuggle into. She half expected a body that looked that chiseled to feel like stone, but it didn’t.
    “We’re almost there,” he told her.
    They were still on campus, but Katherine’s classes had never taken her to this part of the school before. She saw a gray stone building with columns and arches that reminded her of some sort of church. She still hadn’t gotten over how old everything on the East Coast was. The way the buildings looked were unlike anything she’d ever seen back home. They walked to a large, oversized oak door and Cooper tugged on one of the black iron door handles.
    “Is this a church? Are you taking me to church?” Katherine started to get nervous. It wasn’t that she didn’t like or respect church or anything. It was just that, well…she didn’t go.
    “I guess you could say it’s my church.” He unlocked the door.
    “Wait. How do you have a key to a school building?”
    “All the captains have a key to the rink,” he explained.
    She breathed a sigh of relief. He walked inside, hit one of the light switches and walked toward the first row of seats closest to the ice. Katherine followed close behind.
    She was in awe. She noticed the long wooden benches instead of individual seats. She quietly wondered how uncomfortable those got after long periods of time. “Wow. So this is where you play? It’s so old. When was it built?”
    He looked at her and then looked around at everything as he spoke. “They built it in the early 1920s. It’s named after the school’s greatest athlete at the time. It was the school’s sign to potential students that they were ready to get serious about sports.”
    She looked around at the championship flags that hung from the