Page 34 of Snapping the Ice
I narrowed my eyes. A vase of red roses and a card rested in front of the door. “Shit.” Tate had indeed been here. I crouched down, grabbed the card, and opened it. Inside, his handwriting scrawled across it.
Baby,
I’m sorry about last night. Things got out of hand. I’m not sure what ideas this hockey player put in your head, but it’s not true. You do know he’s straight, right? He even has a girl back home. Look at his IG account. Call me. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.
All My Love,
Tate
My heart pinched. Lucas had a girl back home? Where, Connecticut? Why hadn’t Evan mentioned it? And more importantly, why hadn’t he spoken about it? “Um…” I held the card to my chest. It didn’t matter if Lucas had a girlfriend. He was only helping me as a friend.
“What? What does it say?” Lucas held his hand out and wiggled his fingers.
“It’s from Tate. He’s apologizing for last night, as usual.” Should I mention the girlfriend? But then it might signal that I liked him. I hung my head. Fuck, I did like him. I was an idiot. “He thinks you’re putting ideas in my head, and he wants me to call him.”
Lucas lowered his brows. “You know that’s not true.” He held my forearm. “You won’t call him, right?”
“No, I won’t call him.” I sighed and openedthe door. “Let’s put these flowers inside.” I’d throw them in the garbage, but I couldn’t bring myself to waste a beautiful bouquet.
Picking up the flowers, Lucas set them on the dinette. “I don’t like this.” He glared at the flowers and rubbed his chin. “He thinks he can treat you like shit and you’ll go back to him over a vase of fucking roses.”
“He does.” I set my backpack on the kitchen island counter and threw the card into the garbage bin. I still needed a shower. “But it won’t happen.”
“I’m not leaving you by yourself today.” He pressed his lips together and stepped to me, his hardened gaze finding mine. “Ezra, I’d like for you to stay the weekend at my place. You can even stay there while I’m on the road next week.”
“Why?” I studied his face. He was over the top.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this. In fact, I have a terrible feeling.” He relaxed his shoulders. “I worry about you.”
“I see that.” I gazed deeply into his blue eyes. Was there only worry or more in them? “Let me think about it while I shower.”
“Okay, I’ll be here waiting.” He freed me, crossed his arms over his chest, and fell onto my couch.
With a nod, I strolled into my bathroom, flicked on the light and shut the door. I was itching to check Lucas’s IG account. Fishing my phone from my pocket, I tapped my Instagram app open and searched for Lucas. “There.”
A promo picture of him in hockey gear came up, and I tapped it. Scrolling through the image tiles, I tapped my lips with a finger. No women showed on his profile. In fact, it was mostly hockey photos. What the hell had Tate seen?
I tapped the tagged photos icon and multiple images popped up of a pretty blonde woman with fake lashes and ruby lips. I perused the captions. One read,missing you and can’twait to see you. Then I tapped another, and it referred to him as a boyfriend. “What the fuck?”
Shaking it off, I set my phone on the bathroom counter and started the shower. It was none of my business and if he had a girlfriend, he’d tell me about her soon enough. Fucking Tate. Of course, he’d point this out to me.
After my shower, I strolled into the main room, all dressed in a sheer white shirt and black jeans. I should print the special photos I’d taken of Lucas today.
“Hey.” Lucas, still seated on my couch, looked up from his phone, his gaze trailing over me. “You look nice.”
“Yeah? Thanks.” I eyed him. Had he been messaging his girlfriend while he waited for me? An ache ghosted through my chest. “I should head to the studio now. You don’t have to go with me. I can lock the door and Tate can’t get inside.” Lucas had a life, and he should go back to it. Damn Tate for pointing out the fucking girlfriend.
“Ezra?” He stood and walked to me. “What’s wrong?” His brows knitted as he lifted my chin. “Look at me.”
I let my gaze crawl to his. “Nothing’s wrong. I don’t want to put you out more than I already have.” And you have a fucking girlfriend. Shit, it shouldn’t matter.
Side eyeing me, he tilted his head. “If Tate came by here, he’ll surely go to your studio. What if he’s waiting there for you now or after you finish?”
With a shrug, I twisted around. “Then he shows up and I tell him to leave me alone.” And defend myself. Fuck.
“No.” He twisted his lips. “What did the card say?” Glancing at the garbage, he lunged for it. “You’re not acting the same since you read the card.”
“Stop, Lucas.” I grabbed for him, but he tore from my grasp.
