Page 6 of Love so Cold

I draw a deep breath, the chill of a long-buried winter momentarily seizing my chest. "Alright. Go ahead with it."

"Great. So, you'll need to head back to Worcester," Mark states, flipping open his digital calendar. "The season starts tomorrow, and we'll arrange for you to be there for a photo op. We'll make the announcement and outfit the kids with new gear."

"Photo op?" I grumble, already tasting the sharp tang of annoyance. "I said no appearances."

"Just this once," Jenna assures quickly, her smile apologetic yet hopeful. "It's important for the launch of the sponsorship. The community needs to see you're invested, at least at the start."

"Fine," I say again, sourness coating my tongue. "But after this, I'm hands-off."

"Absolutely, Victor." Jenna offers me a grateful nod, and I can't help but notice the way her belief in this plan doesn't waver—an unwelcome contrast to my own doubts.

"Tomorrow, then." I don't wait for their response. I turn and stride out of the conference room, the ghost of a forgotten cheer echoing faintly in my mind.

Chapter Four

Avery

"Avery!"

I swivel around, my hand tightening around the icy plastic cup as a thin layer of condensation wets my palm. I squint against the afternoon sun to see Emily, Jessica, and Samantha clustered together like a trio of suburban sentinels by the school gates. With a wave, I walk over, the last sips of my iced coffee offering me that much-needed caffeine kick.

"Hey, ladies," I greet them, brushing a stray lock of chestnut hair from my forehead.

"Did you hear about Victor Stone?" Jessica asks, her eyes wide with the latest gossip.

Jessica Nguyen's been a friend for a while. Originally from Vietnam, her husband is a software engineerwho works for a company locally. I'm always telling her how envious I am of her pin-straight black hair, considering that my curls have a mind of their own. Her son, Lucas, is a ball of energy. He's in the same grade as my daughter, Olivia, who's a bit less outgoing, but Lucas was insistent on becoming Olivia's friend, which is how Jessica and I met.

I roll my eyes so hard they threaten to orbit my skull. "What's he scheming now?" The name alone is sour enough to make me wish for another sip, but I'm met with only the clink of ice.

"Stone Enterprises is sponsoring the peewee hockey team," Samantha chimes in, holding up the local paper like it's some kind of smoking gun. Samantha Rodriguez is another mom in our little quartet. Her daughter, Sophia, is a year older than Olivia. Samantha and I help one another with emergency babysitting. Her husband's a firefighter, which means a lot of late nights and emergency calls.

"Of course, he is," I scoff. "It's just a shiny distraction." I can feel my cheeks flush with a mix of anger and the midday heat. "He thinks he can throw his dirty money around, charm the pants off this town while he's picking our pockets clean."

Emily nods sympathetically, the blonde bun on the top of her head bobbing slightly with the movement. Emily Parker is a lot like me. Single mom. Although she and her husband divorced after their son, Ethan, was afew years old. Unlike my good-for-nothing ex-boyfriend who ran out on me as soon as he found out I was pregnant. "Yeah, we'll all be pushed out with nowhere to go once the taxes spike because of his fancy condos."

"Thank goodness Olivia hasn't caught the sports bug," I mutter, more to myself than anyone else. The thought of my little girl wearing a jersey emblazoned with Stone's logo makes my skin crawl. "No way would I let her play on a team that’s nothing more than a PR stunt for that...that man."

I think back to the protest just yesterday. Just before he got in his shiny executive sedan to be carried away by his driver, it was as if he stopped to look at me. I reasoned that he was just reading my sign because, let's face it, it was pretty clever.

Before all the bad press he started getting over this development, he was one of the country's most eligible bachelors. I can't really understand why. I'm not going to deny that he's handsome, but he's not extraordinary. Sure, he's tall with a good deal of lean muscle, but otherwise, he's just another brunette male. Well, except for those piercing blue eyes of his. They're like ice. It must be because of how cold his heart is.

"Isn't it?" Jessica agrees, shaking her head at the absurdity. "Just a big show to keep us looking the other way while he bulldozes our lives."

"Exactly!" I exclaim, feeling that familiar fire ignite within me. "It's all smoke and mirrors. And I won't stand byand let him trick the whole city into thinking he's some sort of saint. Not while we're packing our bags, forced out of our homes because we can't afford to live here anymore."

There's a chorus of agreement, a shared understanding among us, even if the subject is Victor Stone. But underlying it all, there's that thread of worry, knowing that our little corner of the world is teetering on the edge of something we might not be able to stop.

I take a slow sip from my iced coffee, getting only coffee-flavored ice water at this point. The chill barely registers against the heat of my frustration. "So, are any of your kids signing up for hockey despite... you know, Stone's sponsorship?"

Samantha hesitates, her fingers nervously twisting the strap of her tote bag. "Yeah, Sophia's been looking forward to it all summer. She's got her heart set on playing goalie this year."

"Lucas too," Jessica adds with a reluctant nod. "He practically lives for the ice. It's... hard to say no when it means so much to him."

I look at Emily, and she shrugs. "There's no way I could force Ethan off the team."

"Even if it's Victor Stone footing the bill?" I can't help the edge in my voice.

"Kids don't understand these things, Avery," Samantha sighs. "To them, it's just hockey."

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