Page 16 of Lost on Ice
“Hey, angel,” he says, dropping a kiss on top of Sophie’s head. “Ready to head up?”
Sophie hesitates, looking at me with a concerned frown.
“Umm…” she begins, but I quickly cut her off.
“Go on,” I insist, putting on a big smile for her benefit. “You two go have a good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I see a flash of eagerness in her eyes that she quickly masks, but I can tell all she wants to do is run upstairs with her husband and spend the rest of the night ravaging each other. She’s such a good friend that she’s struggling with the idea of leaving me alone.
“Are you sure?—”
“Sophie,” I laugh and grab her hand, squeezing it. “Yes! Go, please. I’m just going to head up to bed soon myself.”
She hesitates a moment more before nodding. “Okay. We’ll see you in the morning.”
“Have fun, you two.” I grin and wave my fingers as Sophie finally stands up and lets Carter lead her out of the room.
Once they’re gone, I slump down in my chair and release a long breath. Scanning the room, Jake’s talking with Tom in the far corner. Since he’s distracted, it seems like as good a time as any for me to make my own exit. If I go up to the room now, I might be able to get ready for bed and fall asleep before he ever gets there.
Standing, I slip through the room, weaving my way around the tables and remaining people to get to the door. I try not to look over at Jake, but I can’t help stealing a final glance at him just before I step through the door. He’s not paying any attentionto me and appears entirely focused on whatever Tom is saying to him.
Once I’m out in the hall, I sigh and shake my head. God, I hate this. I hate that I’m working so hard to avoid a man who I once had so much fun with and who was able to make me feel so damn good.
Reaching the elevators, I ride up to my floor and make my way down to the room. I go inside, shut the door behind me, and sigh with relief. Thank god for being alone. I just hope Jake takes his sweet time before coming up here. The room is so nice—white sheets, gray walls, fresh amenities—and it sucks that I can’t enjoy it because of the guy who I’m stuck sharing it with.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I bring up my dad’s number and give him a call. It feels more than a little frustrating that my “me-time” is currently so much less enjoyable than it would’ve been just staying home and hanging out with my daughter, but it’s not Sophie’s fault that it went this way.
“Hey, sweetie!” he answers after a couple rings. “How’s it going? How was the game?”
“Great!” Reaching the room, I swipe the keycard and go inside. “It was a pretty solid win. I wanted to check in on Lilah before I went to bed. Is she okay?”
“Lovebug is just fine,” he assures me. “She ate her dinner like a good girl, we watchedMoana,and she’s tucked in bed fast asleep.”
I smile softly, picturing my little girl snuggled up in her princess room.
“Oh, that’s good to hear. I was hoping to call earlier, but we’ve been busy with the team.”
“Don’t worry about it. There haven’t been any issues on this end.”
I let out a breath of relief. “I’m glad to hear that. Well, I should get to bed. Long drive tomorrow. Thanks for holding down the fort, Dad.”
“Any time, sweetheart. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night.” I hang up and gaze down at my phone for a few moments, my chest aching. Fuck, I miss Lilah. I can’t wait to get back to her tomorrow.
Dropping my phone on the bed, I move to grab my suitcase. Gathering my pajamas—an oversized t-shirt and sleep shorts—and toiletries, I head into the bathroom and shut the door behind me, locking it just in case Jake shows back sooner than I hope he does.
Chapter Seven
ABBIE
Turning on the shower,I let the water get hot as I strip out of my clothes. I gaze at myself in the mirror, studying my reflection, and I can’t help but wonder if Jake still likes what he sees when he looks at me. I’m not the same toned, slim girl I used to be. Not since Lilah. My hips are wide and my breasts are bigger and droop slightly. I have stretch marks on my stomach and thighs. As I study myself, I cringe. Ugh, how pathetic am I? The guy ghosted me, making it clear he has no more interest, and I ran away when I found out I was pregnant rather than confront him. Yet, a part of me can’t help hoping he’s still attracted to me.
Whatever. I’m not going to think about him anymore. I love my body. I still work out, but I’ve embraced the softer curves and stretch marks.
Stepping under the shower’s spray, I sigh as the heat melts the tension in my muscles. I didn’t realize how tight the day had made me. How stressful being around Jake really is.
I wash my hair and take my time scrubbing myself from head to toe, as if I can erase the awkwardness of the day and somehow prepare for the night to come.
