Page 4 of Cold As Ice

“You texted me?” My brows pinched.

Well, shit. I hadn’t expected that.

“Well, yeah, my friends thought… it doesn’t matter.” She shook her head, looking more than a little irritated. “You made me look stupid.”

“Not my problem.” I shrugged, moving around her to head down the small hall leading back to the main bar.

“So that’s it? You’re just going to walk away,” she called after me. “And here I thought you were a decent guy.”

“Trust me, I’m not,” I murmured, but didn’t stop. Until I felt her dainty fingers wrap around my arm. “What the fuck—”

“Sorry, okay.” Apology filled her bewitching ocean eyes. “I’m not… good at this. It’s been a while, you know.” Her shoulder lifted in a small, uncertain shrug that made something soften inside my chest.

“How old are you?” I asked. She couldn’t be much older than me, yet she talked like she had years of life experience.

“Don’t worry, I’m legal.”

“I wasn’t… What is happening right now?”

I didn’t have time for this shit—these games.

“And here I thought hockey players liked playing around off the ice as well as on it.” Madison stepped into my space, her vanilla perfume hitting me like a fist to the stomach.

She smelled fucking delicious, and I was overcome with the urge to bury my face in her shoulder and breathe her in.

Jesus, I really needed to get out of here.

“My friends left,” she blurted as I backed up, putting some much-needed space between us.

“They left… why?”

“Because I told them I didn’t want to go to a club, and I told them you would walk me home.”

“You lied to them.” My brow rose, half-impressed, half-confused as fuck.

“I… Yeah, I guess you could say that. They mean well, but…” She trailed off, dropping her gaze to the floor.

“Where do you live?”

“I’m staying at my friend’s place for the weekend.” She reeled off an address I knew all too well because Ella lived in the building next to it.

Fuck my life.

“Come on, I’ll walk you.”

“I’m not going to sleep with you.”

My brows furrowed deeper. “I didn’t ask you to.”

“Good, just putting it out there.”

Madison fell in step beside me as we left the bar. It was bitter out, the cold air rolling in from Lake Erie and beyond. But I felt at home in the subzero temperatures.

“So why were you drinking all alone tonight?” she asked, burrowing into her jacket. “Shouldn’t you be out celebrating with your team or something?”

“My friend got injured. He’s in the hospital and…” I clammed up. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”

“Sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger.” She smiled up at me, and there was that strange tugging feeling deep in my gut again. “Is he going to be okay?” she added when I didn’t fill the awkward silence.

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