Page 50 of Ice Me Baby

His chuckle sounds hollow. “You don’t know me well enough to say that.”

My arms tighten around him as I say with force, “I bet I know you better than you think. I have those notebooks for a reason.”

He lowers his head to rest it on my shoulder as he grumbles, “Enlighten me then.”

I smirk. “Well, let’s start with the easy stuff. You are twenty-seven years old and grew up in Bellevue. Your birthday is March 27th, which may explain why you are so hotheaded.”

He snorts and huffs. “Alright. You said that was the easy stuff, and I agree. Anyone can find that information. What’s the hard stuff?”

Squeezing him tight, I say, “You are loyal and extremely protective of those you consider family. Your favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla, but you will argue otherwise because you don’t want people to think you’re ordinary. You hate chocolate and chewy candies because you don’t like the way they stick in your teeth. Your favorite color is blue.”

“Blue is so not my favorite color.” He chuckles softly.

I roll my eyes. “Blue is the generalized color, you dork. Your favorite blue is sky blue. When there aren’t any clouds in the sky.”

His arms tighten around me as he whispers, “All that is in your notebook?”

I nod and whisper, “Yes. There’s other stuff not in my notebooks though.”

“And what’s not in your notes?”

Swallowing my nerves, I reply, “You are your own hardest critic. You stay for hours after practice if you feel like you couldhave done better. Your caliber of skating is higher than most hockey players I’ve worked with previously. And playing both offense and defense positions are no issue for you.”

I pull away just enough so I can look into his eyes. His head is lowered as if still resting on my shoulder. I want to make sure he can see the truth in my eyes. “When I say I’m proud of you, know that it’s the truth. I’m proud of all my guys, but I see how hard you work to always be your best.”

He looks away from me as if my words are too hard to hear. I reach up to press my fingers to the side of his jaw to pull his eyes back to mine. “Stop being so hard on yourself. You are amazing the way you are. Sure, you can always grow and become better. But don’t make it seem like there NEEDS to be improvement. You are enough just the way you are.”

There’s a gleam in his eyes when he lowers his head to my shoulder and pulls me into a crushing hug. “You are too perfect, you know that?”

I laugh as I pat his back. “I’m far from perfect. But I appreciate the sentiment.” I give him one last squeeze before saying, “Now, I need to get back to my chicken before Mac ruins dinner.”

There’s a mock scoff beside me, and Dean allows me to pull away. “I’m offended you think I would ruin your chicken!” Mac says, his tone dripping with fake hurt.

Laughing, I pull away from Dean and dart toward Mac to snatch the tongs. I snap them at him. “Get out of the kitchen, so I can finish.”

His smile is wide as he leans in, pressing a kiss to my cheek before jumping away. “As the boss commands.” He then mouths ‘thank you’before leaving to join the others in the living room.

Dean chuckles and kisses my other cheek. “Thanks, Ice Princess.”

I roll my eyes. “You’ve been calling me that lately. I’m not a princess. Plus, calling me ice princess makes me sound cold and heartless.”

He tugs on my ponytail. “You are a princess on the ice. That’s why I call you that. You’re confident and passionate when you are near or on the ice.”

My cheeks heat. “So that makes me an ice princess?”

I see him shrug from the corner of my eye. “You are too me. That’s a nickname only I can use, though.”

I smirk. “Only for you?”

With a mischievous smile, he lifts a hand to brush his thumb across my bottom lip. “Mac isn’t the only one interested in you.”

I swallow down the squeal my inner, love-sick self wants to release and stutter, “Y-yeah?”

He leans in to bump his forehead against mine. “Be careful with my heart, Ice Princess. You’ll find it’s as delicate as the ice we skate on.” He pulls away, leaving me speechless. I let out a squeak when hot grease splatters on my hand. I quickly pull the fried chicken out of the pan.

Leaning back against the counter, I take a few deep breaths.Good lord, these boys are going to test my will to keep them at a distance. Friend zone is a safe zone. Though, I’m not sure how much longer I want them to stay in the friend zone. I want more; I hunger for something forbidden.

Chapter Twenty

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