Page 82 of Icebound Attraction

Emily...

Chase notices my gaze and follows. Without hesitation, he moves towards her before I can stop him, and I watch helplessly as he strikes up a conversation with her.

What the hell is he telling her?

A few minutes later, which seems like an eternity, she gathers her things and leaves without even looking at me. What little hope I had of explaining ourselves leaves with her, and I wonder more and more whether she wrote the damn article or not.

When Chase comes back to me, the lump in my throat seems to have grown out of proportion. Still, I need to know.

“What did you say to her?” I ask point-blank.

He sighs.

“I told her she wasn't welcome here at the moment. She seemed very uncomfortable and tried to explain several times. But we're about to train, and we need to focus. If you need to talk, make an appointment, but don't do it on a stretch of bench between two practices. If you're upset, it'll upset the whole team, you know that.”

I lower my eyes to the ice.

“You're right, man. We're acting like a couple of kids. She can't avoid me anymore, or at least doesn't want to. But for all that, she hasn't tried to call me or sent me any messages.”

“So, you know what you have to do when you get out of here,” Chase replies.

I thank him for looking after me and getting my head straight. Turner told me too: nothing must interfere with my goals when I'm training. And Emily is unfortunately one of those disruptions.

He puts a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“It won't be easy, but you have to get through it,” he adds more gently. “And now, focus!”

Together, we take to the ice. I feel the energy and concentration gradually returning to me with each skate.

The other team members join us, and they all have the decency not to talk about the article. I guess Chase must have told them to keep their mouths shut, because even the most talkative ones don't say anything. I'm relieved and give it my all. A pleasant warmth spreads through my muscles and I focus on every step, every movement.

Training lasts two hours and the intensity doesn't let up for a second. By the time it's over, I'm totally exhausted. We've worked hard together, and this also strengthens our team spirit.

As I leave the rink, I can feel the tiredness in my limbs, but also the confidence in my ability to fight. It's a confidence I haven't felt in a long time.

I search for my keys as I turn the corner of my university building and when I look up, my heart freezes.

Emily stands in front of the door, her head turned skyward.

I stop abruptly, unsure of what to do. I examine her for a moment and remember the positive feeling I had after practice. Taking a deep breath, I straighten my shoulders and approach.

It's time to face her too.

16

Emily

After being firmly asked to leave the rink by Chase, I walked around campus for a while. Finally, my footsteps have brought me here, and I've been waiting for half an hour outside the door of Liam's residence. It takes all my courage to stand there and face him. But now that he's in front of me, I'm feeling increasingly nervous.

When he sees me, he stops for a moment, surprised. His gaze meets mine, and you can see the uncertainty in his eyes. A moment passes before he closes the distance between us. I take a deep breath. But I feel an invisible barrier between us, and my words tumble around in my mouth.

“Liam,” I begin hesitantly. “I can explain everything...”

He looks at me and I can see an inner struggle raging inside him. It's as if he's torn between wanting to listen to me and being angry about the article.

Finally, he shakes his head.

“This time, I'm the one who needs time, Emily. I need to focus on my training and the game ahead.”

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