Page 76 of Ice Daddy
Then she hugged Lance, and he squeezed her tight in his strong arms and wouldn't let her go. She didn't want him to, either. “Thank you so much, Lance. This means a lot to me.”
“You don't have to thank me. I needed to do this.”
When she finally separated from Lance, he wiped at her cheek.
“Paige, you're crying.”
She nodded. “Yes. Sorry. It's just—you know—we've been so cramped in that apartment of mine for so long.Ugh,sorry, I'm being an emotional wreck.”
Lance hugged her again. “Hey. It's okay. Don't worry.”
Paige was sure her mascara was running. “Do you have a tissue?”
“Sure. Come with me.”
Lance took her down the hallway to the other bedroom, leaving Ella to watch Irie.
“This is my room.” He took a tissue from the box on his nightstand and passed it to her.
She dried her eyes and looked around the room. It was immaculate. “Wow, you're so neat and tidy. I wouldn't have guessed.”
He laughed. “You would've guessed right the first time. I'm actually kind of a pig.”
“Oh,” she said dryly.
“But I'm willing to change.” His hands went to her waist. His eyes hardened with determination. “Paige, I'll do whatever it takes to get you and Irie with me.”
“Lance …”
He leaned in for a kiss. Paige didn't stop him, her hands flat on his muscular chest. His lips touched hers, and he kissed her softly, reverently,meaningfully.A jolt arced through his lips to hers, leaving the electric taste of a lightning storm in her mouth. She lost herself in his kiss again—thoseluscious, sensuous,dangeroushockey player lips.
Their heads turned when Ella suddenly appeared in the doorway, holding Irie in her arms. “Oh sorry!” she muttered, and she was gone in a flash.
But Lance and Paige stayed separated. He smiled at her. “Paige, I wanted to ask you something.”
She stared into his eyes. Her answer was already on the tip of her tongue:I'll do it. I'll do it! I'll move in with you, and we'll make a happy little family with Irie, absolutely, yes, yes, yes!
But instead of asking her the question she wanted to hear, he pulled three tickets from his pocket.
“Would you come watch my game tonight? I've got a ticket for you, Irie and Ella. Front row, right where all the action is.”
“Um.” She blinked at him, and then blinked at the tickets. “Yeah, sure, I guess.”
He beamed. “Great.Great.That's perfect. Man, that makes me so happy. Listen, I hate to rush out of here now that I've finally got you and Irie here—but I have to get going or I'm going to be late for warm-ups.”
“Oh, er … okay.”
“You can hang out here for as long as you need. Maybe Irie needs a nap? When you get hungry, let Ella know, she'll take you out to dinner, okay? Then she'll take you and Irie to the game.”
Paige didn't quite know how to answer. “Oh, um, alright.”
The hockey player grabbed his things and was off in a hurry.
Did I just get burned by him again?
Chapter 34
Lance
