Page 45 of Daddies on Ice
For a while, everything feels normal. The girls giggle, and stories flow around the small table.
The RV rocks gently down the road and I lean back, hands in my lap, and smile.
The next morning, I wake to my phone notifications.
Before coffee, shower, or anything, I tie my hair up, sit cross-legged on the bed, and work.
First, I call the local noon producer I sometimes have coffee with, tell her about our mechanical troubles, then throw the hook I know she‘ll bite.
“We’ve preserved evidence, and I’ll share updates when we get them.”
“Evidence?” she asks excitedly.
I smile though she can’t see it. “Later. I can’t say more now.”
I typed a generic press release last night, so I spend a few minutes sending those via email.
By noon, I’ve sent all releases, showered, got Becky ready, and we had a late breakfast.
After yesterday’s fiasco, I feel accomplished.
My phone rings and Carl’s name pops up on the caller ID.
“Hi Carl,” I answer with a grin.
“Come to my room, now,” he says, his tone suggesting he’s unhappy.
My smile slips. “Okay. Let me drop Becky with Ash, then I’ll come by.”
The line goes dead. Great, now what?
Carl has propped the hotel door open with a shoe, so I push the door open and step inside.
He wears a black T-shirt showing muscular arms and chest, and track pants highlighting thick thigh muscles.
His hair is damp from a recent shower. A laptop lies open on his bed alongside a legal notepad with scribbled notes.
He grins at me and the tension I’d been holding eases. “They caved.”
“Who caved?” I ask with raised eyebrows.
“Hawkthorn. We’ve got a rematch.”
“That’s great news!”
He nods. “Since we have a game tomorrow and still need to travel, the rematch is scheduled for the end of our tour.”
He crosses to me in two strides, then stops suddenly, as if thinking better of getting too close.
“It was your press release that did it.” Pride gleams in his eyes. “That noon broadcast from your contact really worked. The media isn’t talking about us forfeiting, they’re sensationalizing it with the hint of sabotage. Perfect.”
My smile spreads into a grin. “Thank you. I’m glad it worked in our favor.”
Silence spreads between us and a look comes into Carl’s blue eyes.
When his gaze roams over my body head to toe, I realize what it is.
Hunger. Desire.
