Page 59 of Cold as (N)ice

Unapologeticallyfull of life.

“Wanna go shopping together?”

She arched a brow. “You’re asking me thisnow?”

“Oh no,” he rasped, his voice suddenly lower, richer. “Now I’m gonna make love to my wife. Shopping comes much later.”

She grinned, heart thundering in her chest making her pulse race with happiness and excitement. “Not with those jeans on, buddy.”

He smirked, leaning in until their lips were just a breath apart. “I think we should fix that…”

“I think so,” she whispered, melting as he kissed her again, his arms pulling her closer, holding her like she was something worth keeping. And for the first time in a long time?

Irene believed it.

“I’m getting this framed,” Irene laughed tenderly as he chuckled beside her. They were sitting on the couch together, snuggling, as Stephen watched his Saturday morning cartoons.

The words were scrolling across the bottom of the screen as Stephen sat there on his knees, reading, and wiggling every once in a while, before laughing at whatever was happening… and she was lost in a cloud of happiness as she held up her cell phone for Barrett to see the image that captured their souls in an instant.

His playful kiss on her temple, mixed with his laughter, was enough to tell her she was safely on the right track. That was the one thing about Barrett that felt like such a miracle – that everything was simply ‘okay’ with him, so long as she was happy. When he’d made love to her last night, he’d gone out of his way to make it something fun and exciting, laughing with her several times and holding her close to him in order to share in the moment.

He never pushed her away.

He never left her alone.

And he certainly didn’t focus on his own experience, rather holding back and making sure she enjoyed the intimate moments between them. In fact, when they were finished later, he’d gotten up and cleaned the water off the floor that they’d splashed everywhere during their playfulness before moving to the bedroom. She’d tried to get up, and he shushed her back into bed, both laughing.

The photo on the cell phone was a moment she would never forget. They were both smiling, both laughing, and Barrett had his eyes crossed with his tongue sticking out to the side… complete with shampoo ‘mountains’ of hair on their head, looking like a couple of Troll dolls. They had laughed so hard, pulling and twisting each other’s locks up. Hers kept falling over, but his held for just a brief few seconds for the photo.

“Maybe if we put some mousse or gel in your hair then…”

“Nooo… no you don’t,” he laughed, curling around her and kissing her as he tickled. “Only you get to see that – and if you print it, do it quickly, before they start running commercials and stuff next month. I’m gonna lose any and all anonymity very soon.”

“Oh?”

“Yep, one of the catches of my contract was that my agent negotiated two endorsements to start… and we’re filming next month.”

“We?”

“Yep – me and Lafreniere.”

“The frowny-guy?”

“He’s actually pretty nice once you get past the ‘frowny’ stuff. Honestly, I hope this goes well for him because he’s in a lot of pain sometimes. I’ve seen him doing his stretches at random weird times or limping and…”

“Oh no…”

“I know. His hip and knee bother him, but it’s to be expected. Hockey players ‘age out’ eventually when our fight against the abuse our bodies takes finally wins. You have to have a game plan for later.”

“What’s your game plan?”

“I’ve got a few ideas,” he smiled secretively and wagged his eyebrows at her – and Irene didn’t press the issue. If he didn’t want to tell her, that was fine. He was entitled to his secrets, shethought – only to see his face fall. “Well, heck, seriously? Are you not going to ask?”

“I did,” she scoffed, turning slightly and meeting his eyes only to see him soften slightly.

“I know, but it’s flattering and gives me a cheap thrill when you beg,” he pouted, but his eyes were dancing.

“Please? Oh pretty, pretty please tell me, Dumpster Fire?” she mocked, batting her eyelashes at him.

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