Page 122 of Cold As Ice

Her expression crumpled, tears glistening in her eyes.

“Look, I’m sorry—”

“Don’t, Austin. Just… don’t.” She backed away from me, shaking her head as the crowd swallowed her.

“What’s that look for?” Mason joined me.

“How do you do it?” I asked.

“Do what?”

“Deal with the drama?”

He spotted Fallon making a beeline for the door and smirked. “Ah, I see. She wants to start things back up?”

“Something like that.”

“You know, I never thought I’d say this, but it’s worth it. For the right girl, it’s all worth it.” Mason squeezed my shoulder and left me to it. Like me, he wasn’t one to talk about his feelings and all that mushy shit.

I flagged the server down and ordered a beer. Just one to take the edge off.

Bringing the bottle to my lips, I surveyed the room—my teammates and our adoring fans.

There was a clear divide now—those in relationships and those not. And I was somewhere stuck in the middle. I hadn’t done the casual hookups or fucking a different girl each weekend for a long time. But I hadn’t wanted to put a label on what I had with Fallon either. All I knew was when I was with her, I didn’t look into my future and see her.

She was safe and familiar, and I thought I could trust her not to go and catch feelings.

I was wrong.

Pulling out my cell phone, I opened my chat thread with Madison, and read our last text exchange.

It was the right call.

She had a daughter.

Her number one priority would always be Imogen.

Something I could respect. Because unlike Susannah Hart, Madison was a good mom. The kind of mom who would bust her ass to make sure her daughter had everything she needed.

She was everything I’d never had.

Everything I would never have.

It was a good thing I was surrounded by my teammates, or else I might have done something stupid, like drowning my sorrows in the bottom of a bottle of whisky.

* * *

“Yo, asshole, where are you going?” Noah called as I began to head in the opposite direction.

The guys were done at TPB, ready to move on to Zest and see their girls.

“I’m heading home,” I said.

“Like hell you are.” He came over and slung his arm around my neck. “We’re celebrating. And you’re bringing your grumpy ass with us.”

“Holden has a point, Austin,” Aiden chimed. “We’re already a man down; you’re not escaping, too.”

“Besides, we’ve brought the rookies along for the ride.” Noah flicked his head toward Ward and Leon. “You won’t be playing third wheel.”

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