Page 23 of Born of Ice

“Nah.” He chuckles, “I just know all the regulars, and you’re not one of them.”

“Yeah, my first and hopefully last time here,” I grumble.

“Ouch.” He winces, but it’s good naturedly. “Iris Lake not to your liking? To be fair, you came in the off season. Usually, the tourists flood us in the summer through Christmas time.”

“You actually have tourists come here?” I ask, dumbfounded that anyone would want to spend their vacation here. He must see it all on my face because he laughs.

“You’d be surprised. But like I said, you’re here in the off season, so the town is in this sort of hibernation right now.”

Aren’t we all…

“So, you want a menu?”

“Sure.” He hands me one and I look over their rather impressive list.

“Not what you expected, huh?”

“Not at all, smug Joe,” I tell him, and he chuckles again.

“Liam.” He extends his arm across the bar, and I shake it.

“Exton.”

The second my name leaves my mouth, his eyes narrow on me. Three, two, one…

“Bloody hell, you aretheExton Quinn??? What are you doing in Iris Lake? Don’t you guys have a game, well, tonight?” He widens his eyes.

That they do…but not me. I’m stuck on babysitting duty that is no longer needed.

Just where the fuck am I needed?

“I am he; he is me and I was benched after the last game. So, nope, no game for me.”

“Man, that sucks. They shouldn’t have done that! You are the best across all defense lines.” Liam shakes his head.

“You’re a fan I take it?”

He snorts. “Stella Gray is a fan, so you’ll find the whole Iris Lake to be fans. So, if you came here to fly under the radar, you picked the wrong small town in the whole country.” He chuckles.

Stella Gray is a fan, huh? I guess Coach still got it.

“Nah, not concerned with that.” In fact, I drag my eyes across the room and spot a few curious and flirtatious ones already set on me. Well, look at that, Iris Lake already has its appeal.

I order some beef wings and fries recommended by Liam and a beer, and by the time they come, the attendance in the bar has doubled. “Told ya, the news traveled at lightning speed this time,” Liam says, sliding the basket of house seasoned fries my way.

I take a bite and all but moan. Jesus, what do they put in this food here? It’s the best damn fries I’ve ever tasted. Not to mention I’ve never had beef wings before, and it might be one of my top favorite meals of all time.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind,” I tell him when just then another local came by for an autograph. Come to think of it, I don’t remember the last time I signed so many things at once. It’s quite nice to feel like I did something right for once in my damn life.

Liam serves another customer and comes back to me. “This town’s had way too much excitement for one week. First, a national champion returns to her hometown and now an NHL star is here too.”

At the mention of the national champion, two things happen at once. First, my jaw clenches a bit too hard and my side aches where the said champion poked me. But the second, and more troubling thing is that I’m all ears. I want Liam to keep talking so I know more about this ice queen.

And that is something that definitely should not be happening. I shouldn’t give a rat’s ass about that pissed off elf who threatened me with bodily harm. But fuck, if I know why there’s a burning sensation my sternum ever since I walked out her door. Or why an unwelcome image of those beautiful icy blue eyes pops in my head.

They say eyes are windows to one’s soul, so why did hers look so fucking empty?

Not my problem, I remind myself and take another bite of my food.

---