Page 69 of Ice Cold Hearts
I feel Emily’s eyes on me. When I glance at her, she’s staring so intensely at me she’s either having serious intestinal distress or she wants me to get a move on with our conversation. I’m assuming it’s the latter.
I clear my throat. “So, we all know that a salacious piece of trash is circulating about us and speculating about our relationship. The only reason it’s worth mentioning at all is because the guys and I know this is the beginning of hell. I know you’ve been trying to hold onto the bright side, Kitten, but it’s only going to get worse. There are going to be more articles, more sneaky photos, and more prying into our lives. We’ve been talking in a separate text thread, and we all agreed to give you an out.”
The look in her eyes breaks my heart.
“An out?” She looks between us. “But you just said you wanted me to be your girlfriend. I… I even told my parents. I don’t understand.”
I thought I’d be able to do this. I was so sure I could be the cool head in the room, but when I open my mouth to try and explain, nothing comes out. My throat feels like it’s closing up and my mouth is full of sand. Helpless, I look over at Ian.
He gives me a reassuring smile and nod.
This has never happened to me before. I’m glad he’s here to back me up.
“It’s not like that, Kitten,” he says, moving to sit next to her. “When we agreed to make things a little more official between us, there was only some vague interest in the media. Nothing more than trashy tabloids and rumors.”
She snorts. “And Gossip Gretchen is reliable news?”
“She’s got the largest blog following in the Tri-State area. The second she publishes something, it becomes an overnight obsession. Whoever is behind Gossip Gretchen is scary accurate. It’s like they get their hands on information almost right as it happens. Like last year, she knew our team was trading Hunt to the Slapsticks before we did. It’s definitely someone in one of our industries or very close to someone who is.”
“Like Liza,” Emily mutters.
I find myself nodding in agreement. I’ve never liked how that woman keeps trying to sink her claws further and further into Oliver. I wouldn’t put something like this past her.
“Hey, look, I know she can be a lot to handle, but at the end of the day, Liza’s professional. She wouldn’t do something like that,” Oliver protests.
Emily rolls her eyes but lets it go.
“Where Gretchen goes, the media follows,” I say, finally finding my voice. “She either did it herself or bribed one of our shittier neighbors to do it.”
Like Weiss, maybe. If I ever get proof…
“The point is, you’ve gotten a glimpse of what’s to come in a way that you didn’t when you agreed to be our girlfriend,” Ian says, refocusing us. “It’s only going to get worse from here, so if this is too much for you, as much as we all care about you, it would be best to part ways.” He takes a shaky breath. “So, Emily, what do you want to do?”
Please don’t go.
The desperation I feel should surprise me, but it doesn’t. I was determined to keep at least one barrier between her and my heart, but she managed to sneak in anyway. I should have known she would.
“I want to know what you three want,” she says after an awkward amount of silence.
“We asked you first,” Oliver tries to tease.
“Please?” Her voice is soft.
Ian speaks first. “I’m not going to lie, I’m still learning how to not be bothered by the media and jerks on the internet, but when you’re with me, all that fades into white noise. As long as it’s together, every step of the way is going to be more than manageable.”
“I’m not ready for you to propose to me yet.” Oliver laughs insecurely. “But unless you tell me to go, the only way they’ll be able to separate us is to pry us apart with a crowbar.”
Her soft brown eyes fix on me. “And you? What do you want?”
“I don’t want to sway your opinion,” I say, glaring at Ian and Oliver. “I want to stay unbiased and do whatever it is you want.”
If I say that enough times, that might be true.
Emily shakes her head at me. “Alexei, this is when you should be the most biased.”
I stare hard at her, unwilling to budge.
She must sense it because she sighs and says, “We have some more serious things to talk about.” Emily starts picking at her cuticles. “Like Audrey’s father and other long-term things, but I don’t want to start all that mess with someone who’s not going to be all in with me. I don’t want an out.”