Page 68 of Ice Contact

“What is this place?” I ask, taking in the interior of the building. Brick walls line the corridor, highlighting the brass art deco lighting. I see several tenant spaces for everything from a café to jewelry store to a spa as we walk through the long hallway, only heightening my curiosity. At the end, I seeMilwaukee Sound Studioand a gentleman waiting on the other side of the glass door to welcome us. I feel like a swarm of butterflies are flying around in my stomach, my nerves and excitement surging like a wave of electricity.

“Mr. Larson, welcome to Milwaukee Sound! And you must be Olivia,” he says as he extends his hand to introduce himself. “I’m Dan, the owner of the studio space here. Follow me; I’ll take you to where you’ll be for the evening.”

“Hayes, what is this?” I ask, my heart racing and my mouth bone dry.

That damn smile and those damn eyes smolder at me again as Hayes says, “You’ll see.”

Dan leads us down another hallway and into a room markedStudio 1. As he opens the door, I see a single table with a white tablecloth in the middle of the room, set with two chairs side-by-side, place settings, and a dozen roses. There are no overhead lights on, just the soft glow of candles of varying heights lit throughout the space. Turning slightly, I notice themost stunning grand piano across the room. Pressure builds in my eyes as I see a glass wall overlooking a control booth.

“Hayes…” I whisper, too scared to talk any louder, “what is this? Why are we here?”

He takes my hand, his soothing touch always a calming force, his soft gaze filled with anticipation. “We’re here for a few reasons. First, remember the errands I was running a few days ago? This was one of them. I came to check out this space for you. This is yours to use to record in whenever you like. Just call Dan up; it’s all paid for.”

Dan walks over, extending his business card to me. “Here’s my info. Just call or shoot me a text and we’ll get you on the books. We can set you up with studio musicians, recording engineers, mixing, mastering, you name it, we do just about everything here in house. I’ve heard you sing at Riders games and at Walt’s. I can’t wait to work with someone as talented as you.”

“Thanks for setting this all up, Dan,” Hayes says, shaking his hand.

“Anything for Hayes Larson. We’re so excited to have you here in Milwaukee. My kids can’t wait to go to the game next week. Appreciate the tickets! I’ll leave you two to enjoy your dinner; holler if you need me.” Dan nods as he leaves the room, a small smile on his face.

“Hayes, you can’t do this. When did you have the time to even arrange all this? It’s too much. I…I don’t even know what to say. I mean, obviously thank you, but seriously, this is way too mu-”

“Olivia,” Hayes soothes, cutting me off. “Nothing is too much for you. You deserve every good thing in this world, and I’m going to do my damnedest to make sure you get it.”

It’s impossible to hold back my tears, my sobs catching in my throat. I’m overwhelmed by the love and boundless care thisman pours out to me every single day. I reach up to grab behind his neck, pulling him close for a kiss.

God, I love this man.

“Have a seat,” he says as he leads me over to the table and pulls out one of the chairs. The minute we are both seated, his arm around my shoulders, a waiter comes in to pour wine as another server comes in with our food.

I eye the plate in shock, my mouth watering at the smell. “Hayes, is this the same salmon meal we had at The Harbor?”

“Called in another favor. You’d be amazed what people will do for free hockey tickets and a pre-game ride on the Zamboni,” he says with a wink.

“When do I get to ride the Zamboni?”

I gasp as he grabs my hand placing it between his legs.He wasn’t kidding when he said he liked this outfit.Leaning in, he whispers in my ear, “Olivia, I think we’ve determined what you like to ride, and it’s not an ice resurfacing truck.”

Heat courses through me at feeling his hardness, my thighs involuntarily squeezing together.I love the way he always makes me feel wanted.A wicked smile creeps across my face. “Well, you’re not wrong. I’m all about fulfilling some fantasies, especially on top of that grand piano, but there also seem to be a lot of windows and security cameras in here.”

“Good point,” he says raising an eyebrow with a pouty look. “We’ll revisit this topic later tonight when your legs are wrapped around my shoulders. Now, excuse me while I order a piano for rush delivery to the apartment,” Hayes says as he leans in to press his lips to mine, silencing my laughter.This man.“Now let’s eat this salmon before it gets cold.”

The only sound for the next few minutes is the clinking of silverware against our plates, as we reminisce about our first meal together. “This is without a doubt, the best date I’ve everbeen on in my life. I still can’t believe I get to record in here. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to properly thank you for this.”

“You are so talented, siren, I want you to share your music with anyone and everyone who wants to hear it. Whatever I can do to help you achieve your dreams, I’m going to do. And there’s something else I’ve been thinking about,” Hayes says, silence filling the air around us. I rub my hands up and down my thighs, unsure of what is going on. “I want you to sing for the Riders again, and I know we haven’t talked about it since the accident.” He hesitates again, his throat bobbing with a heavy swallow. “Do you remember what I said to you that day? That we were going to come up with a plan and it was going to be the best plan there ever was?”

“Yeah,” I say, choking back more tears. “I remember. But I’m okay giving that up if I can be with you. When I got that call from the hospital, and I thought you were…” I stop, not able to finish. Not able to go back to that terrifying moment. “I don’t ever want to lose you. Never. I couldn’t survive it. I love you so much.”

He reaches over to grab my hand, his touch always a calming presence. “I love you too. More than I thought I could love another person,” he says. “I did some thinking, and I came up with a plan. What if…what if you could have both?”

“I mean, that would be great, but I don’t think the Riders will allow it. You can’t socialize with or date a player, and there’s no way they’d bend the rules for me after everything that happened with Cayden.”

Hayes stands up, scooting his chair back, reaching into his back pocket for something. Bending down to get on one knee in front of me, making my breath catch in my chest.

“Hayes, what are you doing?”

“You’re right, Olivia. You can’t date a player,” his eyes catch mine, something I don’t allow myself to hope for shining in theirdepths. “But I did some investigating, and it turns out youcansing if you’re married to a player.”

My throat tightens, my pulse racing.Did he just say married?

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