Page 107 of Melting the Ice

Micah: I love you, Josie.

My heart sped up, and three dots popped up again.

Micah: Okay, last one. You’re amazing.

Micah: Fuck. You’ve turned me into a sap. It’s going to be okay. I promise.

I hugged my phone to my chest. He was too much sometimes, and I loved it. I never expected this from him.

Josie: Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone how smitten you are.

Josie: I just needed to take a breath, but I’m not going anywhere.

Micah: Good. Hopefully, I’ll see you tonight at the game.

***

My phone pinged again, and I expected it to be Micah, but it was my brother.

Ray: I know you’re probably pissed as hell at me right now.

Ray: Can we talk?

I sucked in a breath. I wasn’t ready to talk to him at all. I didn’t even want to see him.

Josie: Not right now.

Ray: It was a shock, and I reacted about as badly as possible.

Josie: No shit. I just need some time after that. I can’t believe you said all that shit to him.

Ray: Josie. Please. I care about you, and I want you to be happy.

Josie: Could’ve fooled me.

Josie: I’m not doing this right now. I have to do one of my jobs. A job that I love, by the way.

Then I pocketed my phone, grabbed my bag, and headed out. Was my response childish? Yes. Did I care? Not at all.

He deserved to stew a bit for being such an asshole.

***

The brisk air felt good on my face as I turned the corner to head back to drop off the pups an hour later. Lola had spent most of the walk jumping in and out of snowbanks, the snow and ice just falling off of her back while she trotted along.

“Glad you’re finally liking your boots, Oscar. So stylish.” I laughed when Oscar lifted one paw and then the next as he tried to keep up with his sister. At least he wasn’t hopping along like he had the first time I walked him in those boots.

“Come on, Sheldon. Almost home, and then you get treats.” All three dogs perked up at that, but Sheldon picked up his pace the most. He was very motivated by food.

I hadn’t looked at my phone once since I’d picked them up. This was exactly what I’d needed after my shit show of a morning.

Not that the entire morning had been bad. Those three orgasms before everything had gone sideways had been pretty sweet.

Ugh. Stupid Ray and my family’s opinions of me clutching at my brain. The doubt that had crept in at my brother’s words was upsetting as hell. I hated that they still had any power over me. I was embarrassed that they did.

And then Micah had to go and tell me he loved me. Had to go and stick up for me against his best friend. As awful as that moment had been, his words had squeezed my heart.

I was definitely going to the game tonight. But I was not going to sit with my brother. He had major groveling to do.

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