Page 4 of Ice Cold Heart

There he went with the blunt truth again. “And what’s in it for you if I stay?”

“You’re right. I don’t know you, but I want to. I’m terrified if you walk away this will have all been a fever dream… and there’s always the possibility I’ll need another shield.”

A smile trembled on the edge of my lips, but I didn’t want him to think he could sway me so easily. “Unlikely.”

I should leave. I should turn and walk away without a second thought… but I didn’t want to. After all the shit I’d been through with Scott, I was tired of taking the safe route. It hadn’t been all that safe in the end anyway.

Everyone I knew back at my previous school had broken ties in one way or another, not really a surprise given most of those people were friends of either my mom or my boyfriend. Ex- boyfriend. Very much an ex at this point. The safe route had left me alone and hurting.

Cole had those three strikes, but he could also make me smile. I missed smiling. Maybe I could chill the fuck out and pretend he was just a normal guy for the length of a conversation.

I set my bag down and sank back into the chair. “Okay, in the event your fans get rowdy again, I’ll throw myself in their path. You run as fast as you can for the exit. Ignore any calls for help and don’t look back.”

A smug smile curled his lips. “Damn, you must be a drama major.”

I snorted. “Never. Performing in public is right up there with quaint, isolated farmhouses and squirrels on my never-in-a-million-years list.”

A laugh burst from him. “Squirrels?”

“Yes, squirrels. They watch you with those beady eyes, judging, waiting for the perfect moment to ruin your sixth birthday.”

He held up a hand. “Is this all squirrels or just the one who had a vendetta against you?”

I smacked his shoulder, unable to stop smiling. “All squirrels. And most hamsters.”

“Your childhood makes me sad,” he deadpanned.

Yeah, me too, but I wouldn’t tell him that. Too personal. “What about you, farm boy? Did you spend your formative years frolicking with the local wildlife?”

“Not quite. You ever been chased by a goose? It’s scary as a grown ass man, but when you’re seven and scrawny, it’s the stuff of nightmares. Did you know they have teeth?”

He shuddered and I tried not to laugh at the image of a little Cole running for his life from a flock of killer geese. I was probably going to hell for my amusement, but I’d never been allowed close enough to geese to be chased. Mom would have lost her shit.

As simple as that, my good humor drained away. Mom’s reactions were no longer my concern, but it was hard to break a lifetime of habitual second guessing. I hid my face by taking a sip of my coffee, or at least I tried to. The cup was empty, a fact Cole picked up on immediately when I glared at it.

He jerked his chin toward the stairs. “I could buy you a new one. Wildcat Coffee isn’t too far away.”

My adrenaline spiked at the offer, but the lovely endorphins were mixed with disappointment. He hadn’t lasted long before trying to make our conversation into something more. After Scott, I wasn’t on the market for coffee dates even if Cole weren’t one of my dad’s prized hockey players.

“No, thanks.” I left the rejection short and sweet, a tactic I’d picked up from dealing with my mom. I’d become a pro at not revealing the mess under the façade.

Cole pursed his lips. “How about lunch then?”

I had to give him points for his casual tone—persistent without making me feel pressured. He hadn’t ventured into asshole territory, and the effort made me relent enough to give him some of the truth. “Sorry, still no. My life is a mess right now, and I don’t have the bandwidth to add a new relationship to the mix.” I didn’t mention the three strikes or my newfound dedication to never putting myself in a position where a guy could hurt me.

He nodded slowly, studying my face. “I get that. Do you have the bandwidth for a friend with no ulterior motives whatsoever?”

I laughed at his painfully fake innocent expression. Temptation whispered in my blood. Cole was sweet, fun, and stupidly attractive. He’d made it clear he wanted more than friendship, but he’d also backed off immediately—a move I had to respect. Maybe some of his reputation was honestly earned.

The prospect of spending the break sitting alone in my dad’s house, regret heavy in the air, made Cole’s friendship seem like a warm little nightlight in the dark. Okay, so I was a little dramatic, but I came by it honestly—Mom was a drama professor.

“Okay, friend, what’d you have in mind?” I asked him.

Cole rubbed his hands together. “Something crazy.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and held it up. “We exchange numbers, and you text me when you want to hang out in an entirely platonic manner.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, but I’d already come too far. With a twist of my lips, I took his phone and texted myself. If he became a problem, I’d block him. No muss, no fuss.

“You’re not going to randomly call me at three a.m. or show up at my door with a hair doll or something, right?”

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