Page 63 of Ice Darling
“Call me Ren.”
I swallow hard. Why does his voice sound so low and raspy? Why isn’t he breaking eye contact? Why can’t I?
“Ren?” I wonder aloud. “Short for Renthrow?”
He lifts one shoulder.
“But your first name is Viking.”
He groans. “Don’t call me Viking. Only my mother insists on it.”
I snap out of my daze and grin wide. “Now, Ihaveto call you Viking.”
He shudders.
“Viking—”
“Cordelia…”
“If you’re not doing anything more important, like perhaps raiding a village or pillaging a ship on the open seas…”
“Don’t.”
“…Would you do me the honor…”
He shakes his head, a self-conscious grin on his face.
“…Of fixing a car. If it’s not too much trouble, Mr. Viking, sir.”
“Okay, okay.” Laughter rumbles from deep in his chest. “You’re enjoying this too much.”
I can’t help but laugh too.
He smiles down at me, his eyes going soft.
I realize how close we are in the doorway, and my throat works through a swallow. “I was just kidding.”
“I have a bit of time before I pick up Gordie from chess club.” He checks his watch. “I admit, I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”
“Do you know what a wrench is?”
He rolls his eyes. “I have a vague idea.”
“Then you’ll be fine.”
I send Renthrow to get me the keys to his truck, and he returns with the item I requestedanda bunch of wires.
“This was magically left on my hood when I got home today,” he explains.
“Magical indeed.” I accept the wires and inspect them. They’re exactly what was torn out of his vehicle. “This’ll make my job easy.”
Renthrow follows me to his car and pops the hood like I instruct him to. I lay out the wires on the front bumper to get a clearer understanding of what I need to reattach.
His footsteps get closer, and I’m suddenly thrown into shade.
“What exactly are we looking at?” His voice sounds right next to my ear.
I twist my neck and find the tall hockey player gripping the popped hood of his vehicle and leaning slightly forward. He’s so close to me, his chest is flush with my shoulder.
