Page 54 of Cold As Ice

I didn’t know how to fix my relationship with my sister, how to smooth the cracks that had splintered and fractured over the years. But I could apologize to Madison.

I could prove to myself that I wasn’t the cold-hearted bastard everyone thought me to be.

And, then maybe, it would be a step toward figuring out how to make peace with the past.

The bar began to empty; a few stragglers moved on by security. But I lingered. Even McSteamy left. Not before he sought Madison out and said goodbye, though.

The second his mouth grazed her cheek, I’d almost cracked a molar. But she wouldn’t appreciate my alpha possessive bullshit, so I forced myself to remain seated, biding my time.

She couldn’t avoid me forever, and I had no plans to leave without her hearing me out.

The other servers watched me, shooting Madison knowing looks, but she brushed them off. Until, finally, the staff began to disperse.

“You need to go,” she said, coming to a stop in front of me.

“I’m waiting for you to finish.”

“Don’t bother. I—”

“You’re pissed.”

“I’m not pissed, Austin, I’m disappointed. Which is ridiculous,” she huffed. “I knew how you’d react if you found out the truth. I knew and still let myself— No.” She inhaled a shaky breath, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. “I’m not doing this.”

Madison would barely look at me, and it fucking stung.

“It was fun while it lasted, Austin, but that’s all it was. A bit of fun. As you know now, I have my hands full, and you have… college.”

“You caught me off guard.” I hadn’t expected to come face-to-face with a tiny blonde hellion with Madison’s smile, let alone discover she belonged to the girl I was fucking.

“And I apologized, and you ghosted me,” she said humorlessly.

“Not my finest moment.”

“You’re telling me.” Bitter laughter spilled out of her.

Damn, she was beautiful even when she looked like she wanted to kick me in the balls.

“So you’ve got a kid.”

“Yeah, I do. And she’s pretty amazing.”

“I’m not surprised.”

Her brows furrowed. “You’re not?”

“She takes after her mom.”

“Austin…”

“Yeah, I know. Our fun is over.” I got up, and Madison stepped back, keeping a safe distance between us. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see you again.”

Her brow lifted, doubt shining in her eyes. “What are you saying?”

“We could try being friends.”

“Friends?”

“Yeah.”

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