Page 49 of On Thin Ice

I shifted, trying to ignore my hardening cock. Her breathy little sigh twisted me up.

Focus.

“Okay. Start talking,” she said and took another bite, her tongue darting out to lick the spoon.

I tried to tamp down my groan, but her eyes widened, and I knew she’d heard it.

“What? You’re making sexy sounds, and I’m having flashbacks to fucking you.”

“Dom,” she huffed.

“What? I’m just being honest. Obviously, we know what it sounds like when we’re having sex,” I said, gesturing toward her belly.

She narrowed her eyes. “I’m eating ice cream, idiot.” Then she licked the damn spoon again and held my gaze.

I shifted in my seat. “Dammit. I’m trying to be on my best behavior over here.”

Chapter 10

ALLY

Igiggled. I needed to break the tension. “Sorry, couldn’t resist. Okay, serious now. What the fuck happened tonight?”

“Baz taunted me,” Dom said pathetically.

I pointed my spoon at him. “We’re really blaming him for this?”

Dom sighed. “I guess not. Fine. He knew about us. He figured out that I was the dad because he saw us at Crash and Byrne after that game in March. Apparently, he’s good at math.”

“Dammit. That man is too observant for anyone’s own good,” I muttered.

“No shit. Then he made some crack about already buying our daughter a jersey with his name on the back and before I could think it through, I blurted out that the only jersey she was going to wear was mine.”

He actually looked sheepish. My heart shouldn’t have melted at his outburst, but it was kind of adorable. I shoved more ice cream into my mouth.

“I know I shouldn’t have reacted that way, but you know Baz. Guy’s an expert on getting under everyone’s skin. Of course, Jake had to skate by at the exact moment I said it. He said—loudly—I’d gotten you pregnant, Harty heard, and all hell broke loose. I’m really sorry, Ally. I know that you didn’t want it to happen like that, but I won’t lie and say I’m sad it’s finally out there.”

I swallowed my ice cream, taking in all of his words. His reaction was such that I couldn’t be angry at him. He didn’t want to be a secret. He wanted to be involved. Yeah, it was fucked up, but my stupid heart did a little cheer anyway. And maybe he earned a few points because when my brother had been an ass and gone after him, Dom hadn’t defended himself with his fists; he hadn’t retaliated by trying to send my brother into the boards.

“Say something,” he whispered, almost vulnerable. It was a trait I’d never associated with him.

“This definitely wasn’t how I’d planned it, but yeah, I’m glad it’s out there now too. No more secrets. And thank you for not punching my brother when he was an ass on the ice.”

He shrugged. “He was justified. I did knock up his baby sister after he’d warned me repeatedly to stay away from you.”

I laughed softly. “Please. Like you even stood a chance resisting me.”

He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, and my heart raced. The chemistry between us had always been insane, but that was why I had to resist anything more than friendship with him—well, and co-parenting. This wasn’t the time to explore anything else with him that could end up blowing up in our faces. I owed it to our daughter to be able to have a solidrelationship with Dom so that we would never be tense around her.

“So, want to move to Denver?” he asked.

“Wow. Just going right for that again, huh?”

“I know it’s a big change.”

“It is.”

He held my gaze. “And a really big ask. I want to be able to help you as much as possible, and you know what NHL seasons are like. You’ve seen it with your brother, with Darcy and Jake. It’s hard to find time when I’m on the road half of the season. We’re in this together. At least, I hope I’ve shown that to you in the last month. And I can help more if we’re living together.”

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