Page 86 of Ice Princess

I take one of the two sandwiches she brought, unwrap half of it and offer it to her.

She glances at it and then back to me.

“If you go back now,” I nod to the main building, “you won’t eat.”

Rebel considers my words, but we both know I’m right. The moment they spot her, someone will come with a problem and she’ll run off to solve it. Battling that much chaos isn’t sustainable. Even the best leaders need a break, just to regroup and catch their breath.

Taking her elbow, I draw her to the other side of the sink where it’s dry. Not convinced that the sink is clean enough for her, I spread my flannel over the edge.

Rebel watches me, a question in her eyes.

I place my hands on her hips and hear her intake of breath when I lift her on top of the counter. Shoving the sandwich in her hand, I nod to it.

At first, I think she’ll argue. But, to my surprise, Rebel nibbles on the sandwich.

“You’re very stubborn,” she says. “Has anyone told you that?”

I shrug and pull my shirt back on, covering up my tattoos.

We stare out over the soccer field, eating together in silence.

“Why are you doing this?” Rebel whispers.

I glance over at her.

She’s not looking at me with the burning desire from a moment ago. This gaze is devoid of her usual hatred too. For the first time, she’s looking at me with curiosity.

I roll up the plastic wrapping and face her, wondering how to tell her what I’m feeling when I’m not quite sure myself.

Rebel’s phone rings.

“It’s my mom,” she says, putting the device to her ear. “Mom, what…what?Okay, I’ll be right there.”

Rebel plants her hands on the sink, intending to jump off. I stop her with a hand to her back. Smoothly, I pick her up as if she weighs nothing and set her on her feet.

“A news station is here,” Rebel says excitedly. “They want to interview us about today’s work.”

Her excitement is contagious but, even better than that, Rebel’s smiling at me.

There it is. In all its glory. The first real smile I’ve received from her today. It’s as stunning as I expected.

She hustles toward the main building and then stops halfway and swivels around. “Gunner!”

I tilt my chin up.

“Thanks!” She points to the plastic wrapping of her sandwich.

My heart beats double time and I watch her sprint away while wondering when the sun turned so bright and the breeze started smelling so sweet.

Rebel smiles prettilyat the camera. “This was a labor of love. I have to thank the community who came out to support and, of course, I have to thank the Lucky Strikers as well. They brought glory to our town last night, but that didn’t stop them from working alongside us in the sun today…”

I rip my eyes away from Rebel and notice that I’m not the only one transfixed. The suit is sitting on a bench nearby. His eyes are locked on her like she’s an angel sent straight from heaven.

A possessive grunt gets caught in my throat. I wish I could rip his eyes out and sew them in backwards.

“Do you want us to drag him to the alley and rough him up a bit?” Theilan asks, swinging the stick of a long paint brush over his shoulder.

I startle and realize that my teammates have noticed my angry stare.

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