Page 173 of Cold As Ice

That had been an hour of my life I never wanted to relive.

But Austin had taken it all in stride.

He and Dad had bonded over hockey and their love for the cute little princess who knew how to wrap the men I cared about around her pinky finger. Mom had been frosty to say the least. But she saved her true opinions until the next day when she berated me for thirty minutes on my ‘serious lapse in judgment’ where dating a college hockey player was concerned.

I told her I appreciated her opinion but that I was old enough to make my own choices and that was that.

I was happy. Imogen was ecstatic to have Austin in her life and a whole bunch of new friends. And he was staying in Lakeshore for the foreseeable future.

The rest would figure itself out.

“Well, you tell him to keep on doing what he’s doing, Mads. It’s good to see you smile again, girl.” Kingsley gave me a nod as I headed into the back to take some empty crates into the storeroom.

I swapped the crate for the two bags of trash and made my way down the hall to the back exit, to sling them outside. But when I shouldered the door open, I stopped in my tracks.

“Julian, what are you doing out here?”

His erratic gaze darted to mine and a sinking sensation went through me.

Something wasn’t right.

“Madison, I—” His eyes moved to the left of me, and fear slid down my spine.

“Julian, tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m sorry, Madison.” His expression dropped right along with my heart. “I’m so, so sorry.”

CHAPTER31

AUSTIN

I checkedmy cell phone for the fourth time.

Nothing.

Where the hell was she?

Madison was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago. But she wasn’t answering my calls or my texts.

“Where’s this girl of yours then?” Connor ambled over, still wearing the shit-eating grin he’d been wearing since he got down on one knee in front of a sold-out Ellet Arena and proposed to Ella.

The old me would have branded him a pussy for that move but Madison was definitely having an impact on me, because I’d cheered like an idiot right alongside my teammates and our fans when she’d said yes.

“I’m not sure, she isn’t answering me.” I checked my phone again, willing her to respond.

“You think something’s happened?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like her to ignore me.”

“You should go and make sure she’s okay,” he said.

“It’s your engagement party—”

“And she’s your girl. I get it. You won’t rest until you hear from her, so go.”

“Thanks, and Con?”

“Yeah?”

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