Page 49 of Cold As Ice

“Sweet dreams,” she murmured, closing her eyes.

“Sweet dreams, baby.”

I watched her fall into a peaceful slumber. I watched her chest rise and fall, her eyelids flutter as she dreamed what I only hoped were happy things.

The hard questions would come eventually; I just hadn’t expected them quite so soon. But Imogen was forever surprising me.

I hated that she would have to one day discover the truth about her father, about the kind of man he was. I hated that she might never get to experience the sturdiness of a good man—a good father. My dad tried to be that for her, but it wasn’t the same. He was her grandpa, and no matter how much he tried to fill that void, he would never quite achieve it.

It seemed silly now, lying here with my daughter sleeping in my arms, to ever think that I could just pursue a no-strings arrangement with a guy. Being a mom was who I was—ingrained into the very fiber of my being. Everything I did was for Immy, to give her a better future. She wouldn’t be little forever. I could worry about dating when she was older, when I had the emotional capacity to let somebody in.

The right person.

Definitely not the college hockey player with a dangerous smirk and dirty mouth.

* * *

Austin didn’t reply.

Another day rolled by, and my last texts to him went unanswered, so, much to my disappointment, I did the sensible thing.

I deleted his number.

Mom and Dad offered to watch Imogen an extra night a week so I could pick up some overtime at the bar. I worked the late shift so I could put Imogen to bed before I left. Tips alone made it worth it.

“Hey, girl,” one of the dancers called as I headed into the staff room to drop my purse in my locker.

“Hey, Jada. Is it busy out there tonight?”

“Ain’t it always?” She flashed me a bright smile before adjusting her bralette and sauntering back out front.

Before I had Imogen, I loved to dance. I loved to party and cut loose. I envied the girls who danced up on the stage. How, for those few minutes, they held the crowd in the palm of their hand.

When I’d taken the job at O’Shea’s, I’d promised my parents I would never strip for money. But what they didn’t know was I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

Giving birth and nursing Imogen for the first year of her life had changed my body. Changed the way I saw my body. Changed how I felt in my skin.

The men and women who frequented O’Shea’s wanted sexy and seductive. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

Until Austin, a little voice whispered. But I shut it down.

Sure, Austin had made me feel beautiful and desired, and all the things I imagined Jada and the rest of the girls felt with the spotlight beaming down on them. But that was different.

And now that he knew the truth, it didn’t matter anymore.

CHAPTER9

AUSTIN

“This is a surprise, Hart,”Danny Mac, the facility’s caretaker, smiled over at me as he tinkered with the Zamboni. “I thought practice started back up next week.”

“It does. But I thought I might get ahead of the game.”

“You know Coach is pretty strict about—”

“Come on, Danny. Do me a favor. I really need to get out there.” I glanced at the rink, anticipation zipping through me.

“Fine, fine.” He waved a dismissive hand at me. “Just go steady, yeah. We already lost Morgan. We don’t need to lose our best goalie, too.”

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