Page 104 of Ice Princess

“You’re way,waaaywrong. I don’t miss him. I’d be happy if I never saw him again.”

The humor drains from April’s eyes. “Did you two fight?”

“When would we have time to fight? He never talks to me.”

She shrugs. “Don’t you text?”

“No.”

“Call?”

I bristle even further. “I haven’t seen or heard from him since last Saturday. He didn’t bother telling me he was leaving.” The words scrape my mouth like mini-knives and I stab the tablet even harder with my finger.

Astonished silence fills the bay.

“Seriously? He didn’t stop by before he left town with the team?”

“No.” I inhale shakily, “I found out when I went grocery shopping and saw Gordie with her grandmother.”

April shakes her head as her face twists in confusion. “But that… I mean… maybe he…”

“There’s no maybe about it. In a townthissmall, there’s no feasible reason for me to not evenseeHe Who Shall Not Be Named around before he left. Unless he’s avoiding me.”

I picture the giant hockey player ducking into alleys when he saw me coming in the distance or scurrying through the backdoor of the Tipsy Tuna when I walked in. Or maybe he spent all his time at the stadium. Whatever he did, I didn’t see so much as his shadow for days.

April blinks like her brain is short-circuiting. “Avoiding you? Are you sure?”

“Honestly, this isn’t the first time.” I think of those embarrassing days chasing Gunner through the Kinsey farm, only for him to act like I was dirt beneath his shoes.

Back then, I was crushed.

“I’m over it. It’s my fault for expecting common decency from a Kinsey.”

April’s shoulders tighten and I can tell she’s slipping into protective best friend mode. “I’ll ask Chance to talk to him. Even if you’re not in a real relationship, he should still communicate.”

“Don’t bother.”

“But—”

Emotions roil in my chest. “He doesn’t owe me anything. And it’ll only embarrass me if you and Chance act like he hurt me or something.”

“But he did.”

“It’s really not that big of a deal.”

“I mean… if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be so angry.”

I growl out like the She-Hulk, “I’mnotangry.”

April flinches.

I stare at the tablet, the words all blurring together. “Like you said, April, I’msuuuperhappy.”

“Mm-hm.”

“I’m so happy, I hope he wins all his games and comes back with an MVP trophy.”

My best friend arches an eyebrow. “Really?”

---