Page 87 of Off The Ice

I thought about him all the time, and I talked his ear off whenever we were in the same vicinity. I mean, I was wearing his hoodie, for God’s sake.

I fought the urge to visibly cringe. I was just as bad as the rest of them. And worst of all, I wasliving in his house.He couldn’t escape from me if he wanted to.

“But he’s been different lately,” Maggie said, fingers tracing the lid of her coffee cup absentmindedly.

“Different?” My voice was far too curious for an indifferent listener. “How?”

Maggie’s lips quirked as if I’d given her exactly what she was looking for.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she mused. “It’s just not like my brother to be, well, as concerned as he’s been about you.”

“Me?” My face flamed.

“Yes, you.”

“No, Maggie, no.” I shook my head. “It’s not like that. It’s just—well, I made a fool of myself. More than once, I might add. Literally broke down into tears in front of your brother multiple times.” My words tumbled out faster than I’d intended, allblending together. “If he’s concerned, it’s only because he thinks I’m the most fragile person in the universe.”

“Somehow, I doubt a few tears are what caused my brother to have a personality transplant.” She snorted. “I mean, sending me over to check on you? That weird way he insisted on coming with us to the bar. Getting into a fight—”

“What’s that got to do with me?” I countered defensively.

“Never mind.” She shrugged innocently. “It’s probably nothing.”

“Maggie, you don’t seriously think—”

“Calm down, Cassie.” She giggled. “I wasn’t accusing you of anything.”

“I know, but—”

“Ah, ah, ah.” She stopped me with a look. “Forget about it. Let’s order takeout and watch a movie,” she said, sliding her jacket off and moving toward the couch.

My phone buzzed as another text from Liam came through. My stomach flipped upside down as my fingers fumbled to open it.

“And make sure it’s something romantic.” She called over her shoulder, “I’m feeling weirdly gushy lately.”

Apparently, so was I.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Liam

Two days. I was gone for two fucking days, and that’s all it took for me to feel like I was going through withdrawals.

I missed Cassie.

And now that I was about to see her again, I had to check myself back into normalcy. How the hell would she respond to it if I ran up to her like some golden retriever begging for attention?

I forced myself to slow my stride, walking up to our door with an ease I sure as hell didn’t feel. I was jittery and restless, and Jesus Christ, were my palms sweaty?

I blew out a breath, turning the knob, readying myself for that first sight of her. I wondered if she was at the kitchen counter, already eating breakfast before work. Or maybe she was sitting on the floor, pulling her shoes on. I smirked at the thought. I hadno idea why, but she always plopped to the ground whenever she was putting her shoes on. It was cute as hell.

I opened the door, preparing for the floodgate of emotion to be released from my chest, and came up blank. I blinked, taking in the empty space as if it were an arrow to the chest.

She wasn’t here.

For half a second, I panicked.

Was she gone? Had she left? Moved out while I was away?

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