Page 11 of Ice Cold Hearts

My hands tangle in his thick, dark hair as I bring his lips to mine.

A car chirps on the other side of the garage. We pull apart, both of us breathing hard.

Alexei sets me down gently. I instinctively take a step back, bumping right into the door of my car.

Real smooth, Emily.

He rests his hands on my hips, steadying me.

The only thing I can think about right now is dragging him into my car and seeing how far we can get before security catches us.

Alexei smirks as if he can sense my thoughts. Then he leans back in until his mouth is a breath away from mine.

“Dinner at my place. Six o’clock. Saturday. I’ll send a car for you,” he says.

Every fiber of my being wants to scream yes, but the moment I open my mouth to answer, memories of every jackass I’ve tried to date after having Audrey flood my brain.

Instead of a yes, I blurt out, “You do remember I have a daughter, right?”

“And?” He raises an eyebrow.

“She comes first. Every time. If you can’t handle that, then whatever this is can’t go any farther,” I say, bracing myself for a rejection.

“I’m an athlete,” he replies glibly, “Pro Hockey.”

“What does that have to do—” I start.

“I thought we were taking turns sharing glaringly obvious facts,” Alexei says, cutting me off. “It’s your choice, but if that’s your only reason against it, you should reconsider.”

He reaches into the pocket of my scrubs, pulls out my phone, and types rapidly on it.

“This is my personal line,” he says, handing me back my phone. “If you’re interested, text me your address. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll back off.” He hesitates a moment then adds, “but even if it ends up being a no romantically, I’d like to keep working with you professionally as long as it won’t make you uncomfortable. You’re one of the best physical therapists I’ve ever been to. I promise to be perfectly professional.”

“And if I don’t want you to be?” I breathe.

“I guess you’ll have to text me, then,” Alexei answers.

Instead of pulling me against him and kissing me again like I desperately want him to, he takes my hand like an old-fashioned gentleman and presses a gentle kiss to my knuckles. Then he turns and walks away, leaving me leaning against my car completely speechless.

4

OLIVER

The stadium is so empty the shoosh-shoosh of my skates on the ice almost echoes.

Practices are closed to the press, so there are no rumors to debunk or ignore. The team won’t be here for another twenty minutes, so I don’t have to manage anyone’s mood but my own. Liza is tied up in meetings, so there’s no camera in my face to “let the fans see the real me”, as she says. There are no sisters that I have to referee, and my parents haven’t seen me play since I was old enough to drive myself to practice. All I have to worry about is staying upright and not running into the walls.

Everything is easier when it’s just me and the ice.

Too soon, the clash of several skates sliding out onto the ice disturbs my peace.

“McKenna,” Alexei barks, “Where’s the rest of your gear?”

I grin. “Figured I’d play left wing today, Cap, since you said I’m never right.”

A few of the guys laugh.

Alexei glares at me, but there’s not as much ice in it as usual.

---