Page 51 of Heart on Ice

Maybe this is exactly what I need. Saying goodbye to the old Pierre and embracing whatever the future is going to hold for the new me.

“Can’t believeyou went to all this effort,” I say, looking at Felix and thanking Sam Rose, Harper’s brother.”

“I knew Sam would know people.” He smirks.

“Thanks, Sam,” I say, shaking his hand.

Sam laughs. “Look, if I were really planning a Sam Rose party, I would not be including my sister and her friends, no offence.” He looks over at my brother who rolls his eyes. “Honestly, the women would flock here knowing Pierre St. Pierre is back on the market.” He grins.

“Sam is a womanizer, do not let him corrupt you,” Felix warns.

Sam rolls his eyes. “I’m trading you in, Felix, for your brother. You’re too loved up with my sister to be an effective wingman. What do you say?”

“Not sure if I’m ready to get back out there. I was supposed to get married last week,” I remind him.

“True. The optics wouldn’t look great. What is a good time? A month?” he asks.

“My brother is more focused on his career than getting laid,” Felix adds.

“Speak for yourself, it’s been a while.” They both stare at me. “Yeah, Kitty and I were not having sex, I understand why, now.”

“You’re Pierre St. Pierre.” Sam likes to say my full name all the time. “You should be getting laid all the time.”

“You need to stop watching hockey porn, hockey players are normal people,” Felix teases.

“Hey, let me live in the fantasy.” Sam chuckles. “Didn’t you and Issy date when you were kids? I remember vaguely Harper talking about it.”

I think I met Sam maybe once at a party when we were younger, I can’t remember, he was in college when Issy and I were dating in high school, and I never saw him around when we made it to college. “Yeah, but we’re friends now.”

“Friends with benefits?” He elbows me teasingly.

“Don’t let her hear you say that she will castrate me. We’ve kind of only just become friends again over the past couple of days.”

Sam stares at me. “You’re joking.”

I shake my head. “We haven’t spoken since she caught me cheating on her in college.”

Sam’s eyes widen. “You cheated on Issy. Why? She’s great. Oh shit, is that the reason she moved to London? I remember how devastated Harper was.”

I rub the back of my neck. “Yeah, I’m the reason.”

“Damn, man. She was there for a long time. So, you two never spoke for all that time, and now you’re living together?”

“Harper kind of forced it on them,” Felix adds.

Sam is surprised. “That sounds like her. And how are things going there?”

“I’m only here till I find somewhere to live,” I explain to them.

“I thought you had to get out next week?” Felix asks.

“She let me stay a little longer. It’s hard to find somewhere to live when you’re in hiding.”

“Wow, that’s not at all what I expected from her. I guess that’s progress,” Felix adds.

“She’s trying. Especially since Frankston has been playing up and eating her shoes because he’s stressed. She said she didn’t want to stress him more than he needs. So, guess I have Frankston to thank for not being kicked out,” I explain to them.

“The old don’t want to stress the dog excuse, I like it,” Sam teases.

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