Page 14 of Iced Out
There was a rustle beside me, and then his hand slid into mine. No words. Just a tether.
And in that moment, under a sky painted with a thousand silent promises, I believed him. I believed that we could both choose something bigger than our bloodlines. That hockey could be his oxygen. That art could be mine. That we were two people caught in a world too heavy—and we were somehow holding each other up.
I rolled onto my side and pressed my lips to his. Soft. Slow. The kind of kiss that didn’t just sayI want you.It saidI see you.It saidme too.
He smiled against my mouth. “Make your wish.”
“I already did,” I whispered.
A few weeks later, in the locker room after morning warm-ups, I waited until everyone cleared out. Luke’s bag sat in the corner, unzipped, his gear already half-spilling out like always.
I reached around my neck and unclasped it—the delicate white-gold chain he’d given me after that one night under thestars, the same one I never took off. A single star charm dangled from the center, catching the light like it remembered that night too.
I slipped it into the small zippered pouch on the inside flap of his bag. No note. No big moment. Just a quiet offering. I didn’t want him to know right away. I wanted him to find it later. After the game. When he needed a reminder of what we’d promised each other in the dark.
Luke
The cafeteria buzzed long after Mila had walked away. I didn’t say a word. Didn’t defend myself. Didn’t stop her. I just stood there. Let her accuse me. Let her tear into me—and maybe she had every right to.
“You good, man?”Theo nudged my shoulder as the team filtered out of the cafeteria.
“Fine.”
He didn’t believe me.“You didn’t say a damn thing.”
I shrugged.“Didn’t seem worth it.”
Jax scoffed behind me.“Looked like she hit a nerve.”
“Shut up.” I fought the urge to spin around and tear into Elise. But that wasn’t me in this situation. Not anymore. Not in front of everyone when I couldn’t back Mila. Not after what she’d done—or why she’d left. And especially after my father’s mandate.
The room drained of people. Only the four of us remained, the space feeling hollow. They shut up—not because they respected me but because they knew what I was capable of.
And because they knew what their own families were tied to. Chase’s dad worked closely with mine. Jax’s father handled contracts through Lorne—the cleaner behind King Enterprises’ more “strategic” moves. If anyone understood what it meant to have your hands tied by blood and legacy, it was them.
But I felt it. Cracks spreading. Mila knew my weakness. She’d tapped it. And my father? My brother? That looming empire? It was a twisted web I’d been crawling through without warning.
I locked eyes with Chase. His look said it all—he saw the fracture forming beneath the wall I’d erected. He heard the silent echo between Mila’s words and my silence.
“Elise’s next move?” he asked quietly. “Are you going to back her?”
I didn’t answer. Because no one could know what this war was doing to me. Not yet.
CHAPTER SIX
LUKE
Sunlight streamed into our kitchen, taunting me—making everything look warmer than it felt. I slid onto a stool at the sleek marble island, ignoring the green smoothie Mom had left behind before dashing off to tennis or brunch or whatever social camouflage she wore that day. Coffee mattered more this morning.
Drew leaned against the counter across from me in a crisp button-down, sipping the coffee I wanted. Claire, his fiancée, flipped through her tablet, picking at fruit with delicate precision. They looked… staged.
“Morning, bro.” He looked up from his phone with a grin that hovered somewhere between smug and too rehearsed. “You look like hell.”
I grunted. “Didn’t sleep.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got bags under your eyes darker than your jersey. Are you skipping lifting or just prioritizing brooding?”
Claire glanced up, her voice soft but too curious to be casual. “He’s probably just adjusting to school again.” Her brown eyesflicked to mine. “I saw Mila Callahan’s mom in town. Guess Mila is back. That must’ve been… a surprise?”
