Page 3 of Waltzing on Ice

I stare at her, horrified. “Are you seriously telling me my best option is to pretend to be in love with Finn Sullivan?”

Kara gives me a pointed look. “Would you rather be branded as a homewrecker?”

I swallow hard. No. No, I would not. But Finn? He is the last person I want to be tangled up with like this.

Kara must see the panic on my face because she softens slightly. “Look, I know this isn’t ideal. But Finn’s reputation isn’t exactly spotless either. He’s got the whole ‘bad boy of skating’ thing going on. This benefits both of you.”

I scoff. “Oh, I’m sure he’s going to love this.”

The door swings open before Kara can respond, and my stomach drops as Finn strides in, looking annoyingly unbothered by the fact that my entire career is on the verge of imploding.

He raises an eyebrow. “What’s this I hear about us being madly in love?”

I groan, pressing my hands to my temples. “Kill me now.” I glare at Kara, “You’ve already discussed this with him?”

Finn smirks, sauntering closer. He’s still in his practice gear—a black compression shirt stretched over his broad chest, sweat still dampening his hair from his morning skate. He looks like he just rolled out of bed and onto the ice, and of course, he makes that look effortless. “Not the best attitude toward your lover, sweetheart.”

I glare at him. “If you call me sweetheart one more time, I will hurt you.”

He tilts his head, eyes gleaming with amusement. “That a promise?”

I want to hurl something at him. Instead, I clench my fists. “Kara, tell me there’s another way.”

Kara claps her hands together, ignoring me. “Great! I think this is going to work.”

Finn laughs, crossing his arms over his chest. “You know, Daisy, if you wanted to get in my pants, you could’ve just asked. No need to stage a whole national scandal.”

My jaw drops. “I hate you.”

He winks. “You keep telling yourself that.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder.

I shove him off immediately, but deep down, I already know I don’t have a choice. This is happening.

Chapter Three

Finn

This PR stunt will be easy.

At least, that’s what I thought before Daisy started looking at me like she’d rather stab me with one of her blades than hold my hand in public.

I get it. I do. She’s always been the poster girl for perfection—poised, graceful, polite. On the other hand, I am the guy who once flipped off a judge on live television. So yeah, I can see why she’s not exactly thrilled about pretending to be my doting girlfriend.

That doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy every second of this.

I show up late to our first practice session as a “couple”—not on purpose, but notnoton purpose. When I stroll into the rink, Daisy is already there, stretching, her expression so tight it could snap. Her leg is extended in a perfect arabesque, her back straight, and her arms positioned flawlessly. She looks like a damn statue, all elegance and restraint, and something about that just makes me want to shake her up.

“Nice of you to show up,” she bites out, lowering her leg and standing to her full height.

I drop my duffel on the bench and grin. “Miss me that much?”

Her glare could set me on fire. “We have a job to do, Finn. Try acting like you care.”

I roll my shoulders like this whole thing is no big deal. “Relax, sweetheart. We just have to make a few people believe we’re obsessed with each other. How hard could it be?”

She exhales sharply, nostrils flaring. “Obsessed with you? Nearly impossible.”

I smirk. “I do like a challenge.”