Page 100 of Desperate Pucker
I feel my entire body go stiff with discomfort.
“It’s been, what, three years?” she says.
“Four.” I brush the snow off my coat and pants, then turn to Maddy and brush out the snow from her hair.
Alina looks between Maddy and me. She focuses on Maddy. “You look familiar.” She squints. “Wait, did you use to figure skate competitively?”
“Yeah,” Maddy says.
A second later, Alina’s brow hits her forehead. “Oh my gosh! You’re Madeline Macer! You got bronze at the last Winter Olympics!”
Maddy nods and tries to smile. “That’s me.”
A pitying look takes over Alina’s expression. “Oh gosh, I remember how sad you were when you didn’t win gold.”
My stomach sinks. Why the hell would Alina bring that up?
Because she has no filter and says whatever’s on her mind, no matter if it hurts people’s feelings or not. She did that all the time in your relationship, remember?
I swallow back the urge to tell Alina to fuck off right as Maddy’s face goes pale.
“Yeah, it was rough.” She clears her throat. “I’ll give you two a sec to catch up.”
I watch her walk away. I’m about to tell her not to go, but Alina grabs my arm.
“She’s right. We should catch up.”
I turn to her, my jaw tight.
“I’ve been watching you play lately. You’re on fire.”
“Am I?” I mutter.
She nods, smiling brightly, like she didn’t pick up on the irritation in my tone.
She steps closer to me, keeping her hold on my arm. “You’re looking pretty hot on the ice. I mean, you always looked hot.”
I shake my head and look away.
“It’s the truth. You’re the hottest guy I’ve ever been with.”
Frustration simmers through me at how she’s acting. Did she forget just how much she hurt me?
I huff out a breath, fighting the urge to go off on her. We’re in a public place, and I’d look like a psycho if I, a huge, mean-looking guy, flipped out on her, a small woman.
“I’ve missed you,” she says. There’s a teasing lilt to her voice that makes me want to vomit.
I glare at her. “I’m the hottest guy you’ve been with, and also the poorest too, right?”
Her smile falters. She frowns like she’s confused. “Why would you say that?”
“You said it first when we were together, remember?”
She purses her lips like she’s annoyed. “Ryker, that was a long time ago.”
“Three years. Or four. But who’s counting, right?”
She scoffs at the sarcasm in my tone and finally pulls her hand off of me. “I’m not the same person I was when we were together, Ryker.”
