Page 6 of Heart on Ice

Tears fall down Issy’s cheeks before she angrily swats them away. “Don’t flatter yourself. I haven’t thought about you at all.”

“Your father was a great man. I will miss him with all my heart,” I explain to her as my voice breaks with emotion. “If you ever need anything, let me know.”

“I won’t.”

Right, of course I’d be the last person she contacts. I give her a nod and walk out of her bedroom and head back downstairs.

2

PIERRE

Ihad to leave right after the wake to get back to South Dakota for an important game, which we won, moving us into the playoffs. And the one person I wanted there by my side for it, wasn’t. Kitty has spent the day blowing up my phone, yet she never came home after work. I don’t know where the hell my fiancée is. All my other teammates’ partners were there by their sides, cheering them on while I was left wondering where she was. Especially as she isn’t answering her phone anymore.

The door opens to our home, and in walks Kitty with her bags, plus a mountain load of shopping bags, which she puts down in the foyer before kicking off her heels. Where the hell has she been for the past couple of days?

“Oh, you’re home,” I call out from the living room where I’m sitting, watching the highlights from our game. Frankston is beside me, snoring away.

Kitty stills. “You’re still up, I thought you’d be asleep it’s …” she looks down at her watch, “eleven.”

“I should be out celebrating the team’s win …”

Her eyes widen. “Oh my gosh, you won, you made the playoffs.” She gasps as she rushes toward me, before jumping into my arms and hugging me.

“Yeah. I thought you would have been home for it, I needed you there,” I tell her, pulling her to me, but my mind instantly starts comparing how different Kitty and Issy feel. I try to shake it off.

“I’m sorry, baby, but I knew you would win,” she says, pulling away and kissing my cheek. “Honestly, I thought you were still in New York for some reason. I must have got my dates mixed up.”

Kitty isn’t a ditz, her entire life is highly organized. Why is she acting like one now? “That was yesterday. I had to come back to prep for the game.”

She nods. “That’s right. Did you have fun in New York?”

I still. Did I have fun? “I went to a funeral.”

“Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry, this wedding prep has me all scatterbrained.” She giggles.

“Are you drunk?” I ask her.

She giggles again. “Maybe. Barbie and I might have had a couple of bottles of champagne on the plane home.”

“Where have you been? I thought you were only going away for the one night, not two.”

Kitty stills. “Oh, yeah, you know what it’s like when Barbie and I get together, we just have so much fun. I was telling Barbie how stressed I was about the wedding with all the planning and stuff, so she suggested we go to Vegas to destress.”

“You’ve been in Vegas?”

“Yeah, we went after Dallas. My photoshoot ended up being super quick so instead of coming home to an empty home …” Frankston was here, I’d hardly call it empty. “… Barbie and I decided to go and have some fun, so we took the plane to Vegas.”

“You’re telling me that while I was at a funeral for a man who was like a father to me and then playing one of the biggest gamesof the season, you were in Vegas having fun because you’re stressed out about the wedding?” I ask her, my voice rising as I push her away from me angrily.

“Pierre?” She gasps, surprised by my response.

I get up from the sofa and start to pace, running my hands through my hair. Maybe my sister is right. Things have changed between Kitty and me, and I don’t know if it is all wedding-related or if it’s something else.

“I don’t know if I can do this …” I mumble to myself as I continue to pace the room.

“Pierre!” Kitty squeals.

“I needed you,” I yell at her.

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