Page 40 of Icing on Top

It must have been written all over my face, because Zoe draped her arms around my neck and leaned in close. I didn’t hesitate to meet her halfway, one hand finally coming to rest on her waist while the other slipped under her hair to cup the back of her neck.

The kiss was all Zoe; sweet and tender, but an undeniable confidence in it as she took control. My lips still tingled even when she pulled away, her hands gliding over my shoulders in the most delicious way before she stepped back out of my reach, leaving me reeling there on the sidewalk.

“Goodnight, Miah.”

“Goodnight, Zoe,” I all but whispered.

I stayed rooted there even after the door shut behind her and she disappeared into the building. For the first time ever, I wanted to figure out how to balance being in a relationship with being a father, and that was a daunting desire to have.

Chapter 16

Zoe

“You kissed him?” Jada’s mouth gaped open. “And on the first date?!”

I frowned at her. “Why is that such a surprise?”

She only gave me a look in return, and even I knew that it was a stupid question. Given my track record when it came to dating, it was a miracle if I let a guy kiss me by the third date. That is if they even made it to a third date. I’d dodged my fair share of kisses, but that had been the furthest thing from my mind last night.

It had already been the best date I’d ever been on—past relationships included—with easy conversation and banter. Hell, if the waiter hadn’t been burning holes into the sides of our heads, we could have easily shut the place down. So when I stood at his height and those golden eyes of his were looking at me like that, every rule I had for first dates went out the window.

“Judging from that moony look on your face right now, I’m going to take it that he’s a good kisser.”

“Good doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

It hadn’t even been that long of a kiss, but I had replayed it in my mind so many times before I fell asleep, that I dreamt of us kissing.

Jada smirked at me from across the kitchen, having abandoned decorating the bridal shower cookies on the counter behind her. No, all of her attention was locked on me.

“Have you planned a second date?”

“I mean, he asked me on a second date, but we didn’t say when or where.”

I still hadn’t really wrapped my mind around the first. Good things didn’t usually happen to me, and this was definitely a good thing. But screw not looking a gift horse in the mouth; life had burned me far too many times for me to blindly accept the possibility of something between me and Miah.

My phone buzzed on the far table where we packaged outgoing orders, and I leapt across the room to grab it. Maybe Miah’s ears were burning and he was texting to plan something. My stomach did a flip-flop of excitement, but then I tapped my screen and it plummeted.

Jada stepped up beside me. “What is it?”

I swallowed thickly, my mouth suddenly dry. I read over the text again. It’s been forever! Understatement of the century.

“Carter is going to be in town and wants to catch up.” My voice didn’t even sound like mine.

“Carter? As in Leslie Carter? Your old teammate?”

I winced before nodding.

Carter and I had played hockey together in college. In fact, we’d been on the same line our last year before we were both drafted for different teams in the PWHL. She was now in her tenth year in the league, and the reminder that I could have been right there with her was a stab to the heart.

When I had my accident, she had tried to be supportive—even when she moved to Minnesota and started training camp with the Vortex—but I never responded to any of her texts or calls. Eventually they stopped.

I’d been so furious about my dreams slipping out of my fingers that I couldn’t be happy for my friend. Every text was just a bitter reminder that she was living the life I wanted. The life I had worked so hard for, only to have it ripped away from me at the last second. Just when I could taste it.

Guilt shot through me like electricity as I read her text again. Even after shutting her out and ignoring her for ten years, she was still trying to be my friend, and I didn’t deserve it.

“Are you going to meet up with her?” Jada asked softly, as if speaking to a mountain lion poised for attack.

And maybe that’s what she thought I’d do; snap at her just like I had all those years ago when she’d encouraged me to let people help. I’d used whatever means necessary to push everyone away, whether it be silence or harsh words that cut deep. I’d been successful for the most part, but Jada had taken the blows without blinking an eye and continued to show up and show me love. I don’t think I would have survived that dark period of my life had it not been for her, Uncle Cal, and Aunt Peg.