Page 51 of Ice Cold Hearts

I sink back into the chair because I can no longer stand, then I take her hand and tug her toward me.

“We need to clean up,” she protests.

“I know,” I sigh. “Just let me hold you for a minute first.”

I tuck her tightly into my chest right next to my heart where she belongs. Emily shifts slightly and presses a kiss to the place she bit my shoulder, and I’m dropped into a kaleidoscope of images.

A girl dancing on a table.

Too many pineapple upside-down shots.

The moon peeking over her shoulder as she rides me.

Biting my shoulder as we came together so she wouldn’t be heard, and that same apologetic kiss.

“The lake house,” I mutter to myself.

She turns into a statue in my arms.

“I knew you looked familiar when I found you on the hospital website. You were at the Warrens’ lake house party that night. You were the girl who fell off the table, weren’t you?” I ask.

Her face goes chalk-white and she nods.

Fear coils at the bottom of my stomach. Did she regret that night?

I need to know so I can fix it.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask.

“When you showed up with Alexei to his appointment, I was just so anxious that you remembered me and that things would get awkward and messy,” she answers in a voice so soft I almost can’t hear it, “but you didn’t recognize me at all. I wasn’t sure how or when to tell you or if you even remembered at all, and I didn’t want you to think I was some sort of stalker. Then all of this happened” —she gestures between us— “and there just never seemed to be a right time.”

I speak to her in the same tone I used on my childhood horse when he got anxious. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. I’m not upset and I don’t think you’re a stalker. I suddenly showed up at your workplace, not the other way around. If anyone’s the creep, it’s me.” I laugh softly. “Besides, ‘Do you remember drunkenly fucking at a party several years ago’ isn’t exactly something that comes up naturally. We were both pretty trashed that night, and I didn’t remember until you kissed my shoulder just now. It’s really not a big deal, I promise.”

She buries her head in my shoulder, and I feel a few tears drop onto my skin.

“You don’t understand.” She sniffles. “It is a big deal.”

This is not what I expected. A couple of laughs. Maybe we’d trade awkward morning after stories, but tears? What did I do to her?

I stroke her hair. “Emily, whatever it is, just tell me. Help me understand.”

She pulls away and takes a shaky breath, but before Emily is able to say anything, my phone rings.

I reach across the desk and grab my phone. When I see who it is, I groan.

“I’m so sorry. I have to take this.” I press a brief kiss to her temple, “Emily, whatever it is, I promise we’ll talk about it, but I’m sure it’s not as big of a deal as you’re worried it is.”

“Yes?” I ask, answering the phone.

“Where are you? How close are you to the office? When can you get here? Are you wearing something nice? Can you change if you’re not?” she asks in rapid succession.

I take a second to process all the questions before I answer.

While I’m thinking, Emily starts rummaging around her desk drawer. I smile gratefully as she hands me a few wet wipes and turn the chair to give us both a little privacy.

“Oliver, are you planning to answer my questions?” Liza presses insistently.

I swear she and my mother could be twins.