Page 55 of Secrets on Ice

We ride the elevator up, one floor past Emmett's, and stop in front of the apartment’s door. Our door.

"Should we carry each other over the threshold?" Cassidy teases.

"Just open it," I tell her.

She does, and we walk into a whole lot of nothing. Empty rooms, bare walls, afternoon light pouring through windows that run the length of the living room, the city stacked up on the other side of the glass all the way to the river. Our footsteps echo. It smells like fresh paint. Nobody says anything for a moment.

“Wow.” Cassidy gasps.

“It looks just like yours.” I turn to Emmett.

“They all have similar floor plans, that’s for sure,” he says.

“I love the light that it gets,” Sully says. “My old apartment doesn’t get much natural light.”

“Sully, which bedroom is yours?” Cassidy asks.

“I don’t know.” He shrugs.

“You should have the primary, seeing as you are kind of paying for it at the moment,” she says.

Sully said that he would cover the rent until we got on our feet, which is truly generous.

“I think that’s fair,” I add.

“I’m hardly going to be here when the season starts.”

“Still, I wouldn’t feel right,” I tell him.

“I mean, I’m not as nice as Em, but it’s the right thing to do.” Cass smirks.

“Take the fucking primary. I know you want to,” Sully tells his sister, which makes her scream as she runs down the corridor to find it. “All the rooms are great sizes and have bathrooms, so …” Sully tells me.

I walk the empty living room slowly, and my brain does the thing it always does in an empty space, laying rugs, hanging art, and arguing with itself about sofa placement. This room wants warmth. It needs texture, lamplight, and a dining table that seats twelve, because Emmett’s friends are always popping in.

The doorbell rings, and Emmett goes to answer it while Sully comes to stand beside me at the window. "Well? Does it pass inspection?"

"It’s awesome, thank you.”

He shrugs. “Are you already decorating?”

I chuckle. “Yes, of course.”

“Good, I’ll give Cass my credit card and you can get whatever you need for the home.”

“You’ve already been generous.”

“Hey, I’ve been living in an apartment that looks like a frat house, you said, so …” he teases. “I’m moving out of my bachelor era, I think.”

I raise my brows. “Really?”

“I’ve got to grow up at some point, don’t I?” he confesses.

“Here you are looking to settle down, and Cass and I are about to walk into our single era.”

He seems surprised by this. “You’re already thinking about dating?”

I scrunch up my face. “Hell no. I’m not sure I’m ready for anything. I mean, I’ve only ever been with Kevin and …” I realize what I was about to say. Sully’s eyes widen because I was about to say his name. His eyes flick past me to Emmett, who is tipping the concierge. “Anyway, you know what I mean. I’ve been out of the dating pool for way too long.” He nods and vanishes to help Emmett with our luggage. Well, that wasn’t awkward. It took me a long time to not be awkward around Sully after we slept together as teens. And I haven’t felt awkward around him in such a long time because of my husband. Why would Sully be interested in a frumpy divorcee when he has sexy puck bunnies throwing themselves at him daily? Exactly, and now you’re roommates. I’m not interested in Sully. I’m just … going through it right now, and I’m all over the shop. Sully is a friend, a good friend, nothing more. You’re being weird now. I am. Not sure why. Get it together, Em.