Page 91 of Ice Cold Hearts

“She hasn’t come forward with it yet, but every time I’ve seen her since, she makes comments and holds it over my head like a cat playing with a mouse. It’s only a matter of time before she gets tired of tormenting me privately and feeds it to the media, and that’s not the only thing she’s doing, either. Whenever Liza knows we’re spending time together, she always calls with an emergency, and if she can’t get him to come in, which she usually can’t, she ties him up on the phone for hours. It’s to the point where even Ian and Alexei are annoyed by it and saying it’s not normal. Most of the time, when I call the office to leave a message for him, she ‘forgets’ to pass it on or won’t tell me whether he’s there or not. Lately, I’ve been just asking Ian to call her office whenever we can’t reach Oliver because she won’t ever give me a straight answer.” I slap my hand on the table in frustration.

“I know you haven’t talked to him about… about Audrey, but have you talked to him about this?” Mom asks.

“I’ve tried. We’ve all tried,” I say, letting out a frustrated growl. “Whenever we start to say anything remotely negative, we always get something like ‘she has some boundary issues, but…’ or ‘she can be overprotective, but…’ and always ends with him saying how good of an agent she’s been to him. I just don’t know how any of us are going to be able to get through to him.”

“Maybe he feels like he owes her since she got him his big break?” she suggests.

“I think that’s a lot of it, yeah,” I answer.

“Is this why you haven’t told them?” she asks. “Are you worried that if you tell him what she did, he won’t take your side?”

If she ever gets tired of retirement, she could be a fighter pilot. Her ability to identify and hit a target is terrifyingly accurate.

“It’s scary that you’re able to do that,” I admit.

“I can’t do it with everyone.” She laughs softly. “I’m just an Emily expert.”

“It’s not just that, though,” I say. “The longer I wait, the harder it gets to tell him, which makes me more anxious to bring it up because I know he’s going to be angry that I didn’t tell him sooner, and then I don’t want to tell him because I’m afraid he’s going to hate me and never want to see me again.”

“It’s a vicious cycle.” Mom nods understandingly.

“What am I going to do?” I say, dropping my head into my hands.

She takes a deep breath. “I know you won’t like the answer, but you’re just going to have to rip that Band-Aid off. You’re miserable. You’re pretty good at hiding it, but your eyes and your cuticles don’t lie. This is eating at you, and it’s not sustainable, Emily. There’s a very real chance Oliver’s going to be upset. In fact, I can pretty much guarantee it. That’s a big thing you’ve kept from him, but that doesn’t mean things are going to end between you. I’m not going to pretend I understand how things work in a relationship where four people are involved, but there’s a chance that Alexei and Ian will be upset by this too. It might be a lot for you all to deal with for a while, but that doesn’t mean certain doom. Your father and I had our problems. Different problems, sure, but we still had them. And you know what? Sometimes, it sucked. I mean, I don’t know anyone who likes fighting with their spouse, but we got through it together. We talked it out. We worked on it. We even saw a couples’ therapist sometimes, but we never lost sight of how much we loved each other and wanted to be together.”

I peek through my fingers at her.

“Emily, I’ve seen the way they look at you. When they told you they loved you, that wasn’t just empty words. Anyone with eyes can see how deeply they care for you. And Audrey?” She snorts. “Don’t even get me started on Audrey. She’s got them wrapped around her little fingers. They’ll spoil her rotten if you’re not careful.”

I swipe the tears from my eyes then grip my coffee cup like it’s a rescue buoy. “You mean that?”

“I do.” She nods. “But there is a chance that it won’t be enough. It may not end happily, and you need to be ready for that, but wouldn’t you rather be the one to take control of the situation instead of letting that pile of garbage, Liza, or the press do it for you? And honestly, if he can’t see how toxic she is, then he’s not worth your time, and you’d be far better off knowing sooner or later.”

“But what if I can’t do it?” I mutter to my coffee cup.

“Do you love them?” Mom asks.

“I haven’t told them I loved them,” I say.

“That’s not the question. Do you love them?”

I nod meekly.

“Is all this trouble with the press worth it? Do you even want to be with them?” She presses.

“I…” my voice cracks. “I’ve never been happier. I don’t… I don’t want to lose them.”

“Then you need to take the risk and tell them everything, including how you feel about them,” she says.

“I’m scared,” I whisper.

“I know.” Mom reaches out and squeezes my hands. “But you owe it to yourself to tell the truth. You are so smart and so resilient. I know you can do this, and your dad and I will be here for you no matter what happens. As soon as they get back from this series of games, you have to tell them.”

“Okay.” I nod. “I will.”

30

IAN

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