Home Ice Read Free

cleared the ice, and for the next hour, she went through her old routine on autopilot while her brain was stuck on the hockey hotshot who knew nothing more than her name but still wanted to defend her honor. Was he for real?
    Still thinking about those chocolate eyes that gave away every emotion as he had it, she wound up and jumped, spinning through the air. She landed and went into the next sequence. It wasn’t until she went into the backward crossovers that it hit her. Relief flooded from head to toe, followed by a bigger wave of fear. What if she couldn’t do it again?

Chapter Three
    Vaughn Manor
    Dylan pulled up the horseshoe drive and parked behind Madden Vaughn’s Escalade. Having your best friend for a roommate was awesome. Most of the time. Except Madden’s girlfriend, Saralynn, had more or less moved in, and he and Mad didn’t get much hang out time anymore. But Saralynn was currently at work as head of the Sinners’ PR department, and it looked like Madden was working from home today.
    Dylan swung in the front door and dropped his hockey bag by the coat rack. “Marco!”
    “Polo!” The reply echoed from the kitchen.
    “Hey, man. Tell me there’s leftovers. I’m starving.” Dylan went straight to the fridge.
    “Yeah, spaghetti and meatballs in the back on the middle shelf. Saved you some.”
    “Thanks.” He grabbed the Tupperware, cracked the lid, and stuck it in the microwave while retrieving a fork. Madden was sitting on a stool at the island, his eyes glued to the laptop in front of him while he shoveled spaghetti into his mouth. Multitasking.
    The microwave beeped. Dylan collected his food and sat beside his friend to eat. Hard to stop thinking about Lorelai in that bright purple leotard that didn’t do a great job hiding … anything. Not that a single inch of her was worth hiding. The back of his neck warmed, and he could only hope it didn’t spread to the rest of his face. He had no right thinking of her like that. They’d barely just met, and damned if he’d be anything like the ass who was taking advantage of her.
    “Earth to Cole.” Madden was staring at him.
    “Huh?”
    “I asked how practice went. You okay, dude? You looked like you were … having a moment.”
    If his face wasn’t red before, it sure as hell had to be now. “Oh. Practice was practice. I met someone after. Lorelai Kelly.”
    “Oh yeah? I’ve seen her around the arena but never spoken to her. Is she as stuck up as they say?”
    “She’s not stuck up.” It came out a little stronger than he intended. Damn.
    Madden’s eyebrows climbed, and he grinned the way he did when he knew he found good fodder for beaking. “Holy shit. You’re in love with Princess Ice Capades.”
    “I just met her. She’s guarded but nice.”
    “On the eyes.”
    “A nice person. But yeah, she’s pretty too. And how ’bout I tell Saralynn you said that?”
    Madden held up his hands. “Hey. I take it all back. So Lorelai is nice and pretty. You’re sure about the nice thing? Everything I’ve heard points the other way.”
    “From people who don’t really know her?”
    “From other skaters in the show and … yeah, you’re right. It’s not fair to judge on hearsay. You like her, and your good character radar is finely tuned. After all, you picked a hell of a best friend.”
    Dylan snorted.
    “You want to ask her out?”
    “I don’t know.” Did he? All he knew was his pulse picked up at the thought of running into her again. “She’s interesting. And she’s not just a Vegas show skater. She was an Olympian. She said she’s training again.”
    “So you have that in common. Two Olympians. That could either go really well or horribly wrong.”
    “Thanks. I don’t know if I want it to go anywhere right now.”
    Some of the teasing drained from Madden’s face. “You haven’t dated anyone since Tricia. She broke it off a year ago. I know you’ve been busy, but maybe it’s time to get back out there.”
    Dylan had