Page 93 of Irresistibly Risky

“But he was there?” Grey questions, still unable to wrap his head around it.

“He was,” Gary confirms, popping the chip in his mouth and chewing while I make some noise about the game. He swallows, takes a sip of his beer, and then continues. “I was sitting in the stands with a teammate of mine. Wynter and her mom were backstage, or whatever it’s called, waiting for her turn to skate. I looked to my left, and up in the very top row, hidden in the shadows, was Joe. I got up and sat beside him, and for the longest time, I didn’t say anything. I just sat there and waited him out. I wanted to threaten him. I wanted to tell him what a piece of shit I thought he was. But I held my tongue, knowing he was up to something.”

“What did he do?” Callan asks as he polishes off his beer.

“He told me he wanted to see her skate in person, but that he didn’t want her to know he was there.”

“But why?” Zax questions. “I don’t understand it. Why bother flying all that way if you’re not going to make your presence known?”

“He didn’t do it for her. He did it for himself. She was his offspring, and he was a competitor. A champion. He was also at her medical school graduation, where she gave a speech to the class since she graduated on top. Same deal.”

I wipe a hand across my forehead and absently point at the television, just in case we have any curious eyes on us. “What you’re saying is he basically stalks her for his own ego, which I can totally buy. I mean, he knew she moved up to Boston. He knew what practice she was working for. Do we not think he knows about Mason?”

“No reason to think that right now,” he says. “To the best of my knowledge, he’s followed her career but hasn’t tracked her as a person until she moved up here.”

“Does her mom know?” Lenox asks, which, as always with him, is another good question.

Gary shakes his head. “It would have upset her too, and I didn’t want to ruin those special days for them. Plus, Wynter and Sonya are very close. She never would have been able to keep that from Wynter.”

“But you’re telling Asher this for a reason,” Zax surmises, glancing over his shoulder at the women and then back to us.

“All those times he showed up, he made sure it stayed a secret,” Gary maintains. “He didn’t want to be in her life. He just liked how her accomplishments made him feel. So why after all these years has he suddenly changed his mind and made himself part of her situation?”

I scrub a hand over my face and shrug. “I don’t know. I don’t think Wynter does either, and he’s been evasive when she’s asked.”

“You work with him,” Gary asserts. “Your career is almost based on him. Joe is methodical. He doesn’t do anything without a reason. I don’t know what his reason for bringing Wynter back into his life is, but I know he has one. Now you’re as wrapped up in it as she is.” He shifts in his chair, pinning me with this dark gaze. “It might be nothing. It might just be he’s finally learned the error of his ways after all these years and regrets the choices he made with her. Or it could be about something else. Just keep an eye out. That’s all I’m suggesting.”

My friends and I exchange looks. We’re not strangers to this sort of thing. We grew up as famous rock stars, our every move tracked by the paparazzi and fans. Now—with the exception of Lenox, who lives off the grid, and Callan, who is a doctor—we’re all still famous. Grey and I most of all.

But this is different.

This feels different.

I don’t get the sense that Gary would say anything if he wasn’t suspecting that Joe was up to something, and he’s right. Why now?

* * *

Me: Where are you?

Me: Wynter? Where are you? Why can I not find you when I know you’re in the apartment?

With a growl of frustration, I wander from room to room. I had been hoping to coax my pretty lady back up to the roof for a naked swim, but I can’t find her, and she’s not returning my texts. Mason is asleep. Big man passed out early tonight—I think it was all the swimming and being passed around like a joint at a concert from person to person all afternoon.

But that means it’s adult time, and it’s barely eight, and where the fuck is Wynter?

The door to her old room is closed and I tap gently on the wood and then plant my ear against it. I don’t hear anything, but I give it a try anyway, turning the knob and entering. The light is on, and I hear noise coming from the bathroom.

“Ice queen?”

She doesn’t answer, but I notice the sound of water sloshing. There’s a white robe on the bed, and I touch the soft cotton, debating if I should go in the bathroom. She’s obviously taking a bath, but why not do it in my bathtub unless she wants privacy?

Something on the floor catches my eye, and I bend down, finding a chain for a necklace I’ve seen her wear, but it’s missing the jade stone that’s usually dangling from it. I search the floor and even under the bed but come up empty. When I stand back up, I notice the nightstand drawer is open a tiny crack, and I wonder if maybe it fell in there.

I slide the drawer further open, and a shit-eating grin splits my lips. No jade stone, but there is a very pretty pink vibrator in here.

Oh, ice queen. You naughty, sexy woman. Lifting the smooth silicone device, I run my hand over it. It’s not very big, a few inches at most, and shaped like a bullet. My head swivels toward the bathroom and the enticing sound of Wynter naked in the bath.

With a wicked grin on my lips, I walk toward the bathroom and slide the door open. “My queen?”

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