Page 63 of Ice Cold Rival

The valet took off with the car, and I pulled her into a quick hug before we went through the doors. “The food here is fantastic, and I wouldn’t want to be fending off sexual advances with anyone else.”

She smiled up at me. “See, you should have led with that. I’m ordering an appetizeranddessert.”

“That’s my girl,” I whispered into her hair as I escorted her inside.

The tuxedoed waitstaff brought us right to Gram’s table, and it appeared we were the last to arrive. Gram sat in all her regal glory with her hands in her lap. Perfect hair, flawless subtle makeup, and a skilled surgeon made her look almost the same age as the man sitting next to her.

He stood as we approached, and had deep lines around his eyes, a receding hairline, and a very expensive suit. To his right, his blonde daughter in a white sheath dress didn’t look up from her phone.

I crouched to kiss Gran’s cheek first, as she expected. “We can’t stay late because we both have early classes in the morning.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. Ten a.m. was early to some people.

Gram graced me with her best fake smile. “Of course. I daresay we’d all like to be home at a reasonable hour.”

The business contact held out his arm. “Matt Ingleman.”

I shook his hand. “Reece Tanner.”

He chuckled, dropping his arm without introducing himself to Kenzie. “Oh, I know who you are. I follow college hockey. Excited to see a Texas school making a name for itself. TU has a real shot to make it back to the Frozen Four. Think you guys will pull it out?”

“We’re taking it one game at a time. This is my girlfriend, Kenzie Booth.”

Kenzie nodded instead of trying for a handshake. “Nice to meet you.”

His gaze dropped to her chest despite her wearing a high-necked halter dress. “A pleasure.” He moved to pull out the chair next to him, ostensibly for Kenzie, but I beat him to it and sat her between me and the daughter.

Her eyes flicked up for a second, then she was back to scrolling.Thisgirl I’d expect to see at a frat party. Kenzie sent me a quick glance of gratitude, and I had to downgrade the evening a couple more ranks.

I sat and Gram signaled the server, who filled our wineglasses without any input from the rest of us. Under the table, I rested my palm on Kenzie’s thigh. She linked her fingers with mine and smiled at Gram.

“I’m so glad to finally meet you in person. Reece has told me so much about you.”

She raised an imperial brow at me, guessing correctly the information wasn’t all good. “Yes, I’m happy you could make it tonight since I’m not in town often.”

Kenzie didn’t blink an eye at the blatant lie. “It’s too bad you couldn’t make it to Reece’s games this weekend. We should really be celebrating. He was just chosen as captain for the team.”

I never would have brought up the news—Gram had made it clear over the years that she saw hockey as nothing but a fleeting hobby—but Matt’s eyes widened.

“Congratulations, that’s a big deal. Let’s get a bottle of champagne.”

Kenzie squeezed my fingers, and I noticed a hint of smugness in her expression. My little thief had a petty side to her. Gram graciously played along by offering a toast, and as soon as she could, she switched the subject to business.

“Matt, I want you to know your company will be in good hands at Tanner Pharma when my grandson takes over for me.”

My jaw clenched, but I didn’t bother correcting her. I’d learned to pick my battles where she was concerned, and her misrepresenting the future of the company to this guy wasn’t even worthy of the list.

“I appreciate that, Loretta, but I thought Reece here was planning to play for the Rebels.” He turned his expectant expression on me, and I silently cursed agreeing to the dinner.

Kenzie spoke up before I could respond though. “Of course, Mrs. Tanner isn’t planning to retire any time soon. Plenty of time for Reece to excel in the hockey world.”

Gram’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t intervene when Matt grinned.

“That’s what I like to hear. It’s good to see a young lady involved in sports rather than focusing on the latest trends.” His shifted to smile at his daughter, who pointedly ignored him.

Luckily, the waitstaff arrived to take our orders, pulling us out of the awkward moment.

Matt’s daughter, whose name was Vanessa as we found out later, eventually put her phone away when the food arrived. We ate dinner talking about bland, safe topics, and I couldn’t have chosen a better date than Kenzie. She was charming and funny, even when I could feel her tense up under Gram’s hard stare.

Kenzie, as promised, wanted dessert and managed to coax Vanessa into a conversation about the best cake shops in Dallas. She was a miracle worker, truly. For my part, I indulged Matt’s hockey questions while making sure I blocked his view of Kenzie.

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