Page 37 of Ice Cold Rival

“How did you get around before?”

“I mostly spent time with my sorority sisters, who I lived with, so if Toby wasn’t around one of them could give me a ride anywhere we were going. Since we moved here, Toby wasn’t as available. Now, I usually pay for a ride. I really don’t go that many places anyway.”

Reece dipped his head low to meet my eyes. “Call. Me.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay.”

Eva popped up from the couch. “Next subject, the hockey game next week. I have season tickets right by the TU bench. I’d love for you to use them with Avery and the others.”

My brows rose. “How many others?”

“It can be as many as five if Gavin and I are in town along with Stephen. That hasn’t happened much though because of Gavin’s schedule, and Stephen has mostly abandoned me for Marco at this point. It might be just Avery, but I promise there will be a seat for you.”

“You did agree…” Reece murmured.

I sent him an exasperated look. “I remember.”

My schedule was pretty open in the evenings, and despite Toby’s attempts to keep me away from his games, I liked hockey. Plus, I wanted to see Reece play.

“Thanks, I’d love to go.”

“Yes!” Eva hopped up to shimmy around the living room, shaking her booty, while Henry followed along quacking. Halfway back to me, she held up a finger. “Wait right there.”

We all watched her spin and sprint up the stairs. A series of thumps came from the direction she’d gone, then she reappeared, not even out of breath.

“Here,” she said, handing me a wad of red cloth.

I took the silky material and shook it out. A hockey jersey. With Tanner written across the back.

Reece laughed behind me. “Where were you keeping that?”

Eva lifted her chin with a smug smile. “The closet in the spare room. I’ve been waiting for this moment to come.”

I held the jersey up against my chest. It would be big on me, but I’d happily rep my new hockey boyfriend in the face of my old one. I wasn’t sure Toby would care—he hadn’t before—but seeing me insomeone else’sjersey would probably have an effect.

Did I care if he was jealous? No, but like Reece, I wanted to make explicitly clear to Toby he had no right to me anymore. He’d relinquished any claim when he’d decided to lie and cheat. Maybe even before that.

What did it say that my fake relationship was a million times better than the real one I’d thought was end game?

I folded the shirt over my arm and approached Eva for a hug, one she returned tightly. “Thank you. I’ll wash it before I return it.”

Eva pulled back with a grin. “It’s a gift. You’ll need it for more than the game.” She winked, and I glared at Reece, who wasn’t even trying to hide his laughter.

“Thanks, Eva. We’ll make good use of it,” he wheezed out.

She waved him off and started for the door. “Since you’re leaving, I’m going to find Stephen and crash his date. He deserves it. Oh, smutty book club next Sunday morning. Nine a.m. I’ll text you the Zoom link.” She left before I could ask any questions or explain I didn’t do book clubs.

I turned wide eyes on Reece. “Is she always like that?”

“Always. You get used to it.”

Almost a week later,I sat in Eva’s special section next to Avery and Marco as the arena filled with people. I hadn’t been to a hockey game since high school, and I’d forgotten how cold the space could be. Eva had warned me to wear pants and a sweater when she texted me about the book choice for her smutty book club.

I didn’t ask how she’d gotten my number.

Even in Reece’s jersey, I shivered slightly as the guys filed out of a tunnel behind their bench and skated onto the ice. They’d warm up for a while before the game started, so I wondered if I had time to get nachos. Reece waved at me with a wink, and my heart gave a disturbing lurch. I waved back, suddenly feeling warmer, but I didn’t expect him to pay me any more attention. He should be focusing on the game.

I needed a diversion before I did something distracting. Next to me, Marco and Avery chatted about a newspaper thing, I assumed the one at TU, and I didn’t want to interrupt them. Instead, I pulled out my phone intending to mindlessly scroll social media. I made the mistake of clicking on the TU icon which opened the university’s private version of Instagram.

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