Page 85 of Cold As Ice

I couldn’t tell them that what Austin and I had was nothing more than a casual arrangement. A family man like Kingsley wouldn’t understand. And Hannah knew me better than that.

Still, it didn’t stop me from hoping that Austin might show. Even though I knew it was dangerous territory.

Austin Hart was becoming a high I couldn’t stop chasing.

And like any true addict, I was already craving my next hit.

CHAPTER15

AUSTIN

“You good?”Noah glided up to me and grasped my shoulder.

“Yeah.” I rotated my other arm, a streak of pain skittering through my muscles.

Fuck.

He’d gotten me good. But somewhere between thinking about Madison and thinking about my sister’s wounded expression this morning when we’d bumped into each other at Joe’s Coffee Shop, my head wasn’t in it.

“You want to talk about it? Rory said—”

“Nope.” I shook him off me and put a little space between us.

“She’s worried, Austin. We both are.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re distant. You’ve always been guarded, but this feels different.”

“You need to quit it with theDr. Philroutine. I’m fine. I’m still adjusting to the fact that one of my best friends is banging my sister.”

“Come on, man, you know it’s not like that. I fucking love her. She’s it for me.”

“You think I want to hear that shit?”

Thankfully, Coach called us into the bench, so I skated past Noah, hoping like fuck he’d get the memo.

Of course, the guy was worse than a dog with a bone.

“Austin, come on, bro, will you just wait a second.” He reached for me just as I whirled around to tell him to back the fuck off. The motion took his skates out from under him, and Holden went down like a sack of bricks.

“Fuck,” he breathed, glaring up at me.

“Shit, Holden. I didn’t mean that.”

“Yeah, yeah. Help a guy up, will you.” He held out his hand, and I pulled him to his feet. “I wasn’t trying to get under your skin. I thought we were past this stuff with me and Rory—”

“We are. I’m just tired.”

His brows furrowed. “You’d tell me, right? If something was up.”

There had been a time I might have before he got with my little sister. Now, I couldn’t trust him not to run off and tell her my business.

The same went for all the guys, really. Noah. Mase. Connor. They’d all found their person. They all had someone to share everything with now. I was the outcast—the odd man out.

“Austin, son,” Coach called as we approached the huddle. “A word.”

“Sure, Coach.” I skated around to him. “Not here. My office in ten.”

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