Page 50 of Ice Cold Rival

“Because this was more fun, and I was trying to avoid Amanda. She doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘no’.”

“You’ll see her in the morning.”

“Yes. Coming out of your room, hopefully with you looking disheveled and very satisfied.”

My pulse took off, and I inhaled a couple of slow breaths to remind myself he was pushing the narrative. He wasn’t proposing anything.

I couldn’t think of a response that didn’t sound stupid in my head, so I left him to close and lock the window. While I was there, I checked the glass for any damage. A couple of tiny marks, but nothing some cleaner wouldn’t fix. He’d been smart enough to use the little gravel instead of the bigger rocks around the trees. I wasn’t sure how I’d explain a broken window without getting myself removed from the house.

The water shut off, and I turned to find him shirtless, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. All thoughts of giving him crap for the window stunt blinked out of existence. I’m not even sure I breathed.

He grinned, and I sucked in air to jumpstart my brain again. Twenty minutes ago, he was content to leave me at my doorstep without a kiss or anything. Now, he was shirtless and smug in my bedroom… because he wanted to see me? Was this a sex thing? Previous experience with Toby pointed to yes, but Reece had plenty of opportunity when choosing what to do tonight.

I mean, I’d shown up to his game naked under his jersey. He’d kissed the hell out of me in the parking lot, so I know it had an effect. My confusion increased when he walked past me to the bed.

“Reece, why are you really here?”

He stopped, but didn’t turn. His shoulders flexed like he was bracing himself for a hit, then he spoke quietly. “I decided I’d never give anyone even a hint of a relationship when my high school girlfriend tried to blackmail my family after I broke up with her.”

A lot of information was missing from that story, but I didn’t want to do anything to make him stop talking in case he wasn’t done. Reece sat on the bed and glanced at me, his playful attitude completely gone.

I eased onto the edge of the bed. “Why did you break up with her?”

“I overheard her talking to a friend about how she didn’t need college because she was planning to convince me to marry her without a prenup. She then went on to say how the deal wasn’t too bad since I was a nice guy and good in bed.” He let out a dry laugh. “She might even have dated me without the money. To be clear, I went to a private school on the east coast. Everyone there was rolling in money, including her.”

My nose wrinkled. “Sounds like she was beyond greedy to want a hockey star to bankroll her life.”

“It wasn’t about hockey. My family owns Tanner Pharma. We’re worth a couple of billion dollars.”

My mouth dropped open. “What the actual hell, Reece? No, let’s focus on your high school ex. How could she possibly blackmail your family?”

His jaw ticked. “She claimed she was owed compensation for the time she spent with me, and she threatened to release intimate details of our relationship to the press. Our lawyer deemed her threat credible because we’dhada relationship. He said if it had been only one night then he could make the problem go away. We paid, and I made an iron-clad rule. Until you.”

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“You asked.”

I pressed my lips together as a million questions flooded my mind. Reece seemed so normal. I’d met plenty of entitled rich kids back home, but they were medium rich. Still, none of them had Reece’s down-to-earth attitude, andnone of themplanned to work, let alone as a professional athlete. His dedication to the team, going as far as this whole fake relationship scheme to prove himself, said a lot about the kind of person he was.

Reece reached out and circled my wrist. “Are you okay?”

“Honestly, it makes my head hurt to think about how much you have, so I’m probably going to pretend you couldn’t buy the college we’re currently attending.”

He chuckled. “My family has the money. I only get a small percentage set up as a trust.”

I flipped my hand to hold his. “None of this changes my opinion of you. Do your friends know?”

“No, and I need you to keep this secret for me. They know I’m rich, but they don’t knowhowrich.”

I nodded as a lot of things suddenly clicked in place for me. “You want to be sure they’re responding to the real you, not a walking piggy bank. What about me now that I know? If this deal is too hard for you, we can call it off. Or I can sign a contract or something. I don’t care about your money.”

“Fuck, no. You’re not getting rid of me so easily. We’re going to work through every number on your list. If my Gram knew about the deal, she’d absolutely prefer you signed a contract, but she’s never interfered in my love life before. I don’t need a contract.”

Horror flooded me as I realized I’d agreed to dinner with his grandmother and her business associates. “She’s going to think I’m a gold digger.”

“Yes, and she thinks money can buy her whatever she wants, which is why I’m going to use your girl-next-door goodness to convince her she can’t buy my future.”

“What does that mean?”

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