Page 75 of Melting the Ice

The rest of the ladies moved closer to check them out. My chest filled with pride as they all oohed and aahed over my work.

“Dude, these are amazing. And the details are perfection. It’s like they’re living and breathing, not just two-dimensional,” Harper said, giving me a bright smile.

I appreciated all the compliments from everyone else, but her praise was different since she worked in a gallery and dealt with real art all the time.

“Thanks. They’re fun to draw. And maybe fun to get Micah to act them out with me. You know, for proper body placement.” My cheeks were on fire right now.

“Damn right. Nate is very helpful in that department. I haven’t even finished the book, but you captured Mia and Jake perfectly. Definitely adding these to my office wall for inspiration. Thank you so much, Josie. They’re incredible.” Cora skirted around the island and gave me a hug. “I’m going to make loads of romance author friends and pimp you out.”

I swallowed down a lump in my throat at her genuine appreciation. “Thank you. That would be amazing. I’m just glad you like them.”

“Like them? I fucking love them. And when I actually finish and get readers, they are going to drool over them.”

“Seriously, these are so cool. Romance really isn’t my go-to, but I’ll totally read Cora’s book when it’s out just to stare at these images,” Lamby’s wife said.

“But you can’t tell anyone about these yet. I have to finish the book first,” Cora said.

“We won’t,” everyone agreed.

“It’s kind of fun getting sneak peeks before the world,” Anna said.

“Right,” Joy echoed. “I love that you’re going to get this new book out there. Everyone is going to want it.”

“Don’t make me cry right now. Come on. The game is about to start,” Cora said, swiping a finger under her eye. “And I’m starving.” She grabbed a plate and started filling it, and we all followed suit.

It was amazing seeing all these women with very different careers and lives fully support each other. I’d never really had friends like that. Hell, I’d never even had close women friends like Cora, Anna, and Joy had each other. I chuckled to myself. I’d been working too hard to keep up—and annoy—Micah and Ray to focus on making other friends growing up.

“Now we need to focus and send all our winning energy to our boys.” Harper took the seat next to me and followed her statement up by popping a dip-covered chip into her mouth. “Damn. This dip is awesome.”

“Thanks. And you know they can’t hear us through the TV if we scream at them to shoot or something, right?” I deadpanned.

“Oh, hush. They’ll feel the tingles if we think it hard enough.”

“The tingles? What the hell is that?” Anna asked.

“It comes from being obsessed with hockey your entire life. Hockey families are a different breed,” Ally said, laughing softly as Livi slept against her chest. That kid truly slept through anything, which was a solid skill to have when your father played hockey.

“Spidey tingles are a real thing,” Harper admonished.

“Sure. Sure they are,” I teased.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out. Maybe Micah was texting me a dirty message before stepping out on the ice, like he had last night. I willed down my anticipatory lust, then tried not to squirm when it was my brother’s name popping up on my screen.

Ray: Can’t wait to see you in nine days. I asked Micah to get us both tickets for at least one of his games.

Ray: You’ll be around, right?

Ray: Does Blaine need a ticket?

Shit.

This was my opening, and I should take it.

I just wasn’t sure how far to take it.

“What’s wrong?” Cora asked.

“Yeah. Why are you grimacing? The game hasn’t even started,” Harper said.

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