Page 19 of Ice Cold Hearts
He's here.
I'm torn between wanting to run out the door and running upstairs to hide under my bed.
Am I sweating?
Oh, shit, I think I am.
Why am I getting nervous now?
It's just a date.
A date with three men at once.
Three very famous men, one of which happens to be my daughter's father.
Did I mention yet that he doesn't know?
I think I'm going to puke.
Please don't let me puke in the car.
“Emily, relax. Stop worrying about whatever disaster scenario you've got cooking in there.” Mom taps my cheek affectionately. “Tonight is about having fun, and you're long overdue for it. You've got your location shared with me, right? Even if the club doesn't let you bring it in, I'll be able to see where you are. I'll have my phone right here. If you run into any trouble, they're bound to have a landline, but that's an unlikely worst-case scenario. You're smart, and you've got a safety net all set up. Just shoot me a text if you end up staying out all night so I don't send the National Guard after you tomorrow morning.”
Even though it isn’t what I’m worried about, her reassurances soothe me.
“I love you,” I say, hugging her tightly.
“You too, Sweetheart,” she says, then adds, “Are you sure we can't meet him? I know it would give your father the thrill of a lifetime.”
I chuckle. “I bet it would, but not tonight. Maybe next time if it goes well.”
“That's my girl.” She smiles then shoos me to the door. “Have fun.”
As I walk down to the limo, I’m glad I refused to allow any of the guys to come pick me up at the door. There are at least three neighbors whom I never see outside, trying desperately to look casual. Personally, I prefer the six or so people peeking out from behind their blinds and curtains. They’re at least not pretending to be doing anything other than being nosy. I appreciate the honesty.
I swear I can hear the sighs of disappointment as the driver opens the door and there’s no one immediately in view. At least the guys have enough sense to sit out of sight.
They have had years of practice avoiding prying eyes. I suppose I should have expected that.
What I didn’t expect was seeing only one guy waiting for me instead of three. I give Alexei a puzzled look but hold my tongue until the door closes and the partition goes up.
“I thought we were all going out together. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see you, but from the messages I was getting it seemed like we were all looking forward to this. Did they change their minds?”
Alexei chuckles low in his throat. “Stop pouting, Kitten. They wanted to pick you up. I just strongly insisted that they wait for us at the club.”
“How did you manage that?” I ask.
“I might have insinuated that I’d talk to Coach and get them benched at the next game if they didn’t get out of the car,” he says with more than a hint of pride.
It’s rude to Ian and Owen, but I can’t help but laugh at the audacity of his little plan.
“Why?” I ask.
His eyes turn serious and he moves to sit next to me.
“I figured that since we’d be going out tonight, you’d want to cancel our dinner date tomorrow. I imagine you wouldn’t want to be away from Audrey a fourth time this week.” He quiets me with a look as I start to open my mouth. “Which I completely understand. I’d be concerned if you weren’t thinking about canceling, so you can stop looking so guilty about it. I’m too old for one-night flings, so no matter how tonight goes with the four of us, I’m planning on rescheduling that dinner.”
“How did you know I wanted to reschedule? I didn’t even know myself until I was putting Audrey to bed tonight. She was so upset at the thought of my leaving, even though I told her I’d be gone and back before she even woke up. It broke my heart. I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you without upsetting you or making you think I wasn’t interested, and somehow, you knew already?”