Page 37 of Heart on Ice

“Thank you.”

“So, the flight back home went well between you and Issy then?” he asks.

“We settled on starting over. It was hard listening to her tell me how my actions changed her outlook on relationships, but I needed to hear it. I messed up so badly with her and I feel awful over it, but I’m choosing to be positive that she is willing to give me this second chance at friendship. Right now, I need positivity and friends, shit is about to hit the fan,” I tell him.

“Harper got notifications about some blind items that have been posted online about the wedding,” Felix says.

“Really? What did they say?”

“They said that a certain hockey wedding in Italy didn’t get called off because of a family emergency, it was called off due to cold feet,” Harper calls out.

“You could have told me we weren’t alone,” I grumble to my brother.

“Don’t worry, Issy filled me in on your plane trip,” Harper calls out again.

“Felix!”

“I’ll be over in twenty.”

We say our goodbyes and hang up. I walk out of my room and into the kitchen where Issy is grabbing her coffee. “Sorry about your shoes, I’ll buy you some new ones.” Issy gives me a dirty side-eye as she continues making her coffee. “Felix is coming over to take Frankston out today while we have the meeting.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” she tells me.

“He needs it. It will wear him out, and he will crash for the rest of the day,” I explain. “Again, I’m sorry about the shoes. He hasn’t done anything like that in years.”

“Look, I get it, he’s flown across the country and is now in a new environment,” she says, continuing to sip her coffee. “I appreciate you asking Felix to take him out while he is unsettled. I’ll make sure to lock up all my shoes so he can’t get to them.”

“You shouldn’t have to, this is your house. I can lock him in my room when I’m gone so he doesn’t destroy anything.”

She frowns over her mug. “You don’t need to do that, it would be cruel.” She reaches down and runs her fingers through Frankston’s fur, who has come by to say sorry.

“I’ll buy you all the shoes,” I tell her.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She grins.

11

ISABELLE

The buzzer goes, and I head to the front door to answer it. “Marcus,” I greet Pierre’s manager warmly. “And you, too, Jordan,” I say, greeting Pierre’s lawyer.

I hold the door open and let them both in.

“Fellas, good to see you,” Pierre says, welcoming them.

“Man, what the fuck is going on?” Marcus says as they embrace each other.

“Please apologize to Sonia for cutting your trip to Italy short. Tell her to pick anywhere in the world, my shout for you both,” Pierre tells him.

“You don’t have to do that, but I appreciate the sentiment. It was lucky we had our holiday before the wedding, so we got to see what we wanted to,” Marcus tells him.

“Good to know, but the offer is there. And same to you, Jordan. I appreciate you coming all that way with your busy schedule,” he tells his lawyer.

“Don’t worry about it, like Marcus, I had some time traveling before the wedding. We are both here because we are worried about you.” The boys take a seat in the living room.

“I’ll grab us some bottles of water,” I say, getting up and heading to the fridge while the boys talk. I walk back in on Pierre telling them about catching Kitty and Bill in the garden, and then how Harper and his family sprang into action, getting him out of Italy and back to New York.

“That’s why you have Harper Rose as your new PR. She’s reached out and said she will loop us in on anything she finds online, so we are aware. She’s been great. There has been some chatter online about the wedding. I’m not sure if she’s told you,” Jordan advises.

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