Page 55 of Carved in Ice (Made of Steel 3)

Chapter 23

Monday

I slept soundlessly. It was like I was transported back in time to when I had first slept over at V’s place. I had never felt so safe.

I didn’t want to open my eyes. It was too soon for the moment to end, but I could feel the sunlight streaming through the window, hitting my face. I needed to sneak out of the room before he woke up. Maybe he’d forget about the whole thing. Hopefully I would too.

But when my eyes opened, I couldn’t move. For the first time, it seemed like there was something familiar about him. Something about the small crinkles around his eyes.

My train of thought quickly derailed. What had I done? Hadn’t I learned anything from my past mistakes? I could still picture Kins’ face when she saw me almost kiss Miles. Apparently I had no girl code. This was going to make Liza hate me. And I was not about to lose my only friend. I had to go.

But were those freckles under his eyes? And those long eyelashes really did seem familiar. Or was it just because it had been awhile since I was so close to him? If I could just get a little closer…

Stop.

In the grand scheme of things, V's identity didn’t matter. At all. Our paths were only aligned until I got vengeance against Don. That was it. Yet, I still leaned forward.

It was like V could sense my proximity. His eyes opened and I froze.

Oh God, it probably looks like I was leaning in to kiss him.

A smile spread across his lips.

I needed to do something that would change the mood in the room. Because right now it felt like electricity was running through my veins. Like something amazing was about to happen. Which it absolutely could not.

“What were the 80s like?” I asked. It was the first thing I could remember from my research about Dr. Miller. He was born in 1981, which meant he’d remember that decade.

V propped himself up on his elbow. “How would I know?”

I stayed where I was. “Didn’t you grow up during the 80’s?”

He stared at me, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. “You know that I didn’t.”

Liar. And what did he even mean by that? I didn’t know who he was. My best guess was that he was Dr. Miller. “Well, what did you think of Seattle?” It’s where Dr. Miller had gotten his PhD. Slip up, V.

He reached his hand out toward me. I should have moved, but I was still frozen in place. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. His hands were so cold.

“What are you talking about?” he asked. “I’ve never been to Seattle. Is that somewhere you want to go one day? After all this is over?”

“No.” I sat up and climbed out of bed. I was not going to talk about the future with him. He was the one that had said we were living on borrowed time.

“Sadie…”

“Please just pretend like last night didn’t happen.”

“I can’t do that.” He climbed out of bed and grabbed my arm before I could run out of the bedroom.

“Please, V. Don’t make this into something that it wasn’t.”

He shook his head. “You came to me, not the other way around.”

“I was drunk. I wasn’t thinking straight. It was a mistake.”

“No, it wasn’t. I know you feel it too. And I’m sorry that I pushed you away before, but I’m not pushing you away now. I realized my mistake. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

“You realized your mistake because I moved on? That’s not fair, V. And you can’t keep changing your mind for no reason other than jealousy.”

“I never changed my mind. I told you I regretted saying that I loved you, but you didn’t give me a chance to explain.”

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