Page 95 of Cold As Ice

“I don’t know. Jeremiah is here too.”

“Jeremiah, who the fuck is Jeremiah?”

“My friend.” I snapped, frantically trying to pull on some appropriate clothes. “And that’s not important right now. If she sees you—”

“Shit, yeah. Okay. Maybe we can say I’m a plumber or something, here to fix your pipes.”

“Is that supposed to be funny?”

“I thought it had merit.” He smirked, clearly less concerned about the four-year-old currently making her way through our apartment.

But when she called out again, his expression quickly sobered. “I’ll hide in the bathroom.”

“Good idea. She’ll probably want me to take her for breakfast now, so I might have to leave you here while I’m gone.”

God, what an absolute disaster. But I couldn’t think about that right now. Imogen was almost at my door, and I had bigger worries than offending Austin.

“It’s fine. I can see myself out.”

A pang of guilt went through me, and I found myself saying, “I’ll make it up to you. Maybe I can get Jer to—”

“Mommy, Mommy! I’m here.” The door burst open, and Imogen spilled into the room in a curly blonde whirlwind. She made a beeline for me, wrapping her little arms around my waist and hugging me tight.

My heart was in my throat as I glanced over to where Austin was.

But relief sank into me.

He was gone. The only hint that he’d ever been here in the first place was the soft click of the bathroom door closing behind him.

CHAPTER17

AUSTIN

Fuck my life.

They seemed like the only apt words to describe the absolute shitshow I’d woken up to. I’d barely even gotten my eyes open before Madison was snapping at me to hide.

Hide.

Where the fuck did she want me to go?

I was a six-foot-three hockey player, for Christ’s sake.

I guess the bathroom was as good a hiding place as any. She could steer her daughter away from me and keep her distracted while I waited for them all to leave.

So much for lazy morning sex before and after breakfast.

Pressing my ear against the door, I waited and waited, their voices barely audible beyond Madison’s bedroom.

At least she’d wanted me to hide and hadn’t decided it would be a good time for me to meet the kid.

Something inside me tightened.

Shit, did I want to meet her daughter?

I mean, technically, we had already met. But I didn’t want to cross that line.

I liked our little arrangement.

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