Page 19 of Ice Cold Rival

He stalked toward me, eyes intense on mine, until my back hit the door. “Keep talking shit, and I’ll have you fake engaged in no time.”

My lips twitched, but warmth spread from my chest. I wasn’t scared of him or nervous or worried about what he thought. I was excited. He’d made it clear he was attracted and also that it would lead nowhere. The pressure was off despite the tension rocketing sky high.

Reece was fun in a way I’d never experienced before. Like I’d suspected the last time when I’d run, I wanted more of him. It was a dangerous thought if I couldn’t keep things casual in my own head.

“I thought you wanted a divorce,” I breathed.

“Changed my mind. It’ll be more fun to convert you. Wifey.” His gaze dropped to my lips, and the damn warmth turned into a full-blown wildfire.

My heart took a slow turn at his teasing. I’d never been teased before. Certainly never by someone who’d given me a mind-blowing orgasm then said the perfect thing while I ran away from him. As far as first impressions went, it was memorable—and disarming.

I’d spent less than twenty-four hours in his company, yet I couldn’t seem to filter myself. A lifetime of presenting the perfect front was simply gone when he was around.

I cleared my throat and slid away from him, breaking the moment. “Your nicknames need work.”

Reece’s smile grew. “Whatever you say… wifey. Work on the list. I’ll text you later.”

He slipped through the door before I could work up an answer.

My stomach growled, and I realized I’d skipped breakfast for the first time in… I wasn’t even sure. Reece was a distraction at the highest level, but he was leagues better than yet another breakfast burrito with too much queso.

I shook my head, threw on a bra, and tucked my phone into the pocket of my pajama shorts. What was I saying? There was no such thing as too much queso. One night with Reece and I was talking crazy. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but I really wanted some cold brew. Almost as much as I wanted to avoid talking about last night.

The TU Chi Omegas weren’t shy about their conquests, and I wasn’t ready to blush my way through a conversation about my fictional sex life. One day, maybe I’d be able to stop people pleasing and tell them to mind their own business. Not today though.

The hallway was dark, but no one really hung out there anyway. My steps were silent as I padded around the corner, and I breathed a sigh of relief at the empty kitchen. One encounter with Amanda was more than enough for the day.

My hip vibrated, and I jumped at the unexpected movement. What did it say about me that I hoped Reece was texting me already? Probably that I was a simp and I’d always be a simp.

The sudden rush of hope drained out of me when Mom’s name appeared on the screen. I groaned, then attempted my best fake chipper voice when I answered the phone. “Hi, Mom.”

“Good morning, sweetie. I know we’re supposed to meet for tennis later, but I had an opening in my schedule, and I thought you might want to get brunch first.”

In general, I didn’t say no to free food even though I wasn’t exactly a poor college student with the account my parents set up for me. I still hesitated. Lately, too much of my mom and her constant criticism gave me a headache.

Reece was long gone though, and my best option for the day was the new book I’d picked up yesterday. Normally, I’d be excited for the book, but I was still feeling the sting from Amanda and Kiki’s conversation last night. Did I spend too much time in my room?

Maybe, but I didn’t have to.

“Sure, Mom. Where do you want to meet?”

“I’m running errands in Addison for James, so how about the tennis club in town?”

James was Toby’s dad, and running errands in Addison was code for prepping his condo for sale. Mom fancied herself a decorator despite having no training or real experience. I sighed, feeling guilty all over again for something that had nothing to do with me.

Some asshole from Easton had used the Kane condo to assault a girl, and when I’d heard about it—not from Toby, I’d like to add—he brushed it off as a misunderstanding. A friend of a friend had asked to borrow the place, and Toby had agreed to be nice. He said the girl had gotten all dramatic when she changed her mind about going, but I’d heard there was more to it. Like she never agreed to go and might have been drugged.

The casual dismissal of sexual assault didn’t sit right with me. We’d both been mid-semester at Easton at the time, and Toby was dealing with the hockey championships. He wanted me to let it go, so I did.

But it felt like our families were trying to cover something up with the quick sale and the moratorium on discussing the incident. Hence the guilt.

“Kenzie? Are you still there?”

I blinked as my mom’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I’d legit forgotten about our conversation. “Yes, sorry. The tennis club sounds fine. When?”

“Eleven?”

I glanced at my screen and agreed. An hour would be plenty of time to get presentable and catch a ride to the restaurant. Mom said a chirpy goodbye, which left me standing in the kitchen wondering why the whole conversation felt weird.

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