Page 144 of Ice Darling
Gordie shakes her head. “My daddy says that I shouldn’t trust strangers when they say that. Because they could be bad people.”
“Ha!” Cordelia barks out. And then she scratches her nose. “S-sorry. I sneezed.”
“Well, your daddy’s a smart man. There are lots of bad people out there, and he’s a good dad for protecting you.” The exuberant billionaire motions to my daughter. “I’m Delia’s mom. And I’ll be nice to anyone who’s nice to Delia. Do you want to come inside?”
Gordie looks like she’s in awe of Sasha’s animated persona, so when the older woman stretches out a manicured hand, I’m not surprised when my daughter abandons my leg.
Sasha juts her chin at Cordelia. In a cajoling voice, she says, “Since we have guests, maybe you can tell Rebel that you won’t be able to come back to the garage now?”
Gordie gives Cordelia a hopeful look.
I see the moment she caves. “Fine.”
“Yay!” Sasha lifts Gordie’s arm in celebration.
“Yay!” My daughter squeals.
“Come this way, everyone. Let me give you a tour of the place before we have dinner.”
Mom and Gordie march behind Sasha Davenport like she’s the Pied Piper. I stay back and grip Cordelia’s arm, lingering at the door.
I nod to her mom. “So…the time has come.”
“It appears so.”
“Do you want to stick to the plan?” I ask in a low voice. She’s not being her usual feisty self, and I can’t tell if it’s because she’s in a bad mood about her mom or because she doesn’t want to see me.
She chews on her bottom lip. “I want your help, but I don’t want this to get complicated.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean”—she inhales deeply—“I don’t want Gordie to find out. She won’t understand that it’s fake. I don’t want to upset or confuse her.”
I take a moment to think before I answer. Honestly, I share her concern. Gordie needs stability more than ever, and no matter my feelings for Cordelia, I can’t afford to get my daughter’s hopes up about a relationship that isn’t even based on the truth.
“I think this might end up hurting Gordie,” Cordelia says, drawing near to me. With eyes as determined as any of my teammates on the ice, she says, “And I can’t let that happen. I’ll tell my mom that I lied. That there’s no guy in town.”
“You would?”
“For Gordie’s sake? Yeah.”
My pulse leaps as if she flung herself at me. Nothing softens my heart more than a person looking out for my baby girl. And this is Cordelia. There’s no way I’m giving up a chance to be close to her, even if it’s just to fool her mom.
“Let’s stick to the deal,” I argue.
Her eyes widen. “But Gordie?—”
“We can do it in a way that Gordie doesn’t find out.”
“Can we do that?” Her eyes turn hopeful.
I weave my fingers with hers. “Is there anything I should know about our fake relationship? Any details we need to run over?”
“Not really.” She thinks about it. “I didn’t give mom many details and we’re not the kind of mother and daughter that talk about those kinds of things anyway. I just told mom I left everything behind to be with you.” She blushes. “Well, to be with my ‘boyfriend’. She thinks you’re the love of my life, but there’s no need to overdo it.”
I brush a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Love of my life. Don’t over-do it. Got it.”
Her lips curl up, and it feels like the sun warming my face.
