Page 13 of Broken Ice, Mended Hearts

The question caught me off guard, so I blurted, “No one. I was with a guy for a while, but it ended.”

“Sorry to hear that.” His lips spread into a rueful smile. “I was married, butitended.”

Since we’d moved past pleasantries, I took advantage of the opening. “I’ve heard some about that. Or read it, mostly.”

After a grimace, he said, “Scary. What were they saying this time?”

I shrugged and drank some of my gin and tonic. “You two split up after less than a year together, she admitted cheating and accused you of doing the same, and in the end, she walked away with a big settlement.”

“Mostly true.” He studied the table for a moment before looking up. “I loved her and never cheated, but she fucked every man between here and Miami. I was on the road a lot, not to mention too much of a fool to realize what was going on. After the playoffs a year ago, she announced she was leaving. Said she’d found someone richer and better looking. That she wouldn’t stay around DC painting her nails while I traveled the country, screwing a different woman every night.”

“Oh man, that’s brutal.” Before thinking, I asked, “And you weren’t cheating on her at all?”

“Fuck, I just told you I wasn’t. I loved her, which is why she was able to hurt me so much. I never even looked at anyone else the entire time we were together.”

Raising a hand in apology, I said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply?—”

“You know how the tabloids are. The more gossip, the better.”

“I get it, believe me.” My voice dripped with bitterness, but I didn’t care. What he’d shared had awakened my own terrible memories.

After taking a long swig of beer, he looked at me over the top of the glass. “What happened with your man?”

I rubbed my temples. “I may understand more about your feelings than you know. My ex, Drake, was a stockbroker, a year younger than me. We met at a party, started seeing each other, and he moved into my place a few months later. I was crazy about him.”

“And?”

“The season started, and you know how that goes. I was gone as much as I was home. In December, the team flew back to the city late after a game in Toronto, and I found him in our bed with a neighbor. They’d passed out, but there was no mistaking what they’d been up to. When I turned on the lights, the neighbor jumped out of bed and left, and Drake told me he wasn’t a one-man kind of guy. He said he liked me, but it was either give him permission to screw around or he’d take off.”

“Damn, that’s fucked up. Hope you told him to go fuck himself.”

“That, and not to let the door hit him in the ass on his way out.”

Pip’s eyes shone as he caught the server’s eye, holding up two fingers.

“Do you think we should?” I asked. “Maybe we ought to have some water first.”

“One more drink, and then we’ll go to another place I know.”

We lost ourselves in each other’s eyes again, and he reached across the table and touched my hand. He pulled it back quickly when the fresh drinks arrived.

“You ever think about giving up romance for good?” he asked.

Not very interested in my gin and tonic, I traced the condensation on the glass with a finger. “All the time. I don’t want to get hurt again.”

“Same.”

I sipped my drink to buy some time. Words were on the tip of my tongue, and I used all my self-control to filter them carefully. “I’m not sure I can give up romance, but I’m not looking for a meeting of hearts right now.”

You’re not looking for anything, especially with Pip. Let it go.

His lips tweaked. “I’m not, either.” After examining his beer glass, he gazed into my eyes. “I get horny, though. Keep thinking about finding casual sex to take the edge off.”

Holy shit. Had he just handed me the opening I was waiting for?

No, he didn’t, because this could kill you.

But what would be the harm in something meaningless if we both agree on the rules?

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