Page 116 of Icebound

Smooth, Tremblay.

“Rhode…” She tries to step back, but I tighten my arm. I’m not letting her go. “You shouldn’t be hugging me like this.”

“Like what?” I smirk, trying to look arrogant even though it feels like someone pulled a ripcord in my throat. “Like I still want you? Like I want to know if you decided to walk the stage at graduation? Like you’re the only thing that’s been on my mind for the past few weeks?”

Wyn groans. “This is like watching a car crash. I’ll take the notes so you can go, Nina. I’m sorry about my pathetic brother.”

“He’s not pathetic.” Nina leans back, but not before I see the dark circles under her eyes.

I want to kiss her for that comment. This girl’s always got my back.

“Are you sleeping?” I ask, reaching out to brush her face, but she lurches away from me, and damn, that hurt more than tearing my shoulder. Guess she really is over us.

“I’m fine.” She digs through her messenger bag and pulls out her notes, handing them to Wyn.

“We need to go or we’ll miss our reservation,” flannel guy says, reaching for Nina’s arm.

“Reservation for what?” Fury heats my spine as I imagine them huddled over some candlelit table, but then Nina steps away from him.

“We’re fine, Noah. We’re not meeting the event coordinator for another thirty minutes.” She faces me, fidgeting with her bag. “We’re just going to check out the space for the charity auction. Nothing else.”

The rage in my chest settles when she gives me a sad grin like maybe she misses me too, and that look hits me right in the heart. It’s not the sex I miss most with her.

It’s these moments.

The silent conversations only we understand. The times we laugh at the same jokes. The smiles she gives that are only for me.

Nina’s eyes zone in on my shoulder brace, and she leans in, stroking a finger over the black fabric, seeming to get lost for a second before yanking her hand away. “Is everything okay? How’s rehab?”

“The sling comes off in a few days.” I cough, giving the art guy my best scowl. “My shoulder’s healing fine, so I should be cleared for fighting soon.”

Nina laughs, a real one, and dammit, if I weren’t thinking about throttling the guy, I’d want to make her laugh again. She squeezes my good arm, eyes rebounding between mine like she can’t figure out what to say.

“What?” I ask.

She stands up on her toes, kissing my beard, and I hate that I can’t feel her lips. “I’m glad you’re doing better, but we really need to go. Bye, Rhode.”

The asshole tries to put an arm around her waist, but she dodges out of the way again. Nina strides into the sunlight like an angel, and I jerk forward, fully intent on going after her and demanding she take my pathetic ass back, but Wyn yanks me by my sweatshirt.

“Stop, Ro. You’re not doing this right now. You need to get your shit together, and you need to figure out exactly what you want first. If that’s the League, you need to let Nina go, but if it’s her, you need to figure out what you’re doing with your contract.”

“You’re not going to think less of me if I don’t play hockey?”

Her blue eyes turn gentle. “No, Rhode. You’re my big brother.” She lightly punches my good shoulder, snickering. “I’ll always think less of you.”

I hook my arm around her neck. “I love you, Wyn, you know that? Even when you meddle in my life.”

“Yeah, yeah. I love you too. Now, go figure out what you want.”

“I know what I want. Nina. I just don’t think she wants me.”

Wyn pulls my arm tighter around her neck. “Oh, please. She showed up here, which means she wanted to see you because she misses you. So, you know what you’re going to do? You’re going to shave, wear a suit, and show up at her big event. Now come on, I’m hungry. Let her go for now.”

That’s the last thing I want, but she’s right. I’ve got to figure out my own life before I can be a part of Nina’s.

“I was always going to show up for her,” I say, staring out the restaurant until Nina gets in the car with the asshole.

I can’t think about her with him or I’m going to break my other shoulder by doing something stupid, so I force myself to focus on the lunch from hell.