Frozen Flames: A Rekindled Ice Hockey Romance (Elite Eagles Series Book 1) by VH Nicolson

Author:VH Nicolson [Nicolson, VH]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kristina Fair Publishing Ltd
Published: 2023-11-22T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Lily – Two Months Later

I’m numb.

I can’t taste the hot chocolate I’m drinking.

Or the food I ate at dinner. Alone. Yet again.

Nothing’s changed.

The day after the dinner party at Candy and Brayden’s, everything went back to normal.

We couldn’t even take one day off.

I was summoned to work that afternoon by a very outspoken bride-to-be who demanded she see me and refused to leave the office until she did. Ash was asked to go into work following a career-changing injury one of the players encountered. At the first hurdle of trying to reconnect, we failed.

Although he did make good on his promise, making love to me all night, showing me how much he adores me. He didn’t lie about kissing every inch and freckle, either.

That was eight weeks ago and we’ve barely seen each other since. Like a lighthouse, we call out to one another but keep missing the signal.

Sitting out on the patio in the bitter night, I pull the blanket in close around me, not that it matters.

I don’t feel the December cold.

I feel nothing.

But shame.

And deep loathing for myself for what I am about to do.

A loud bang from the front door alerts me to Ash returning from work. I tap my phone to check the time; ten o’clock.

Yet another sunrise and sunset without each other.

“Lily,” he shouts, seeking me out. Eventually, he finds me sitting outside on the wicker dining set I spent hours selecting. Pointless now when I come to think of it. There’s only been a handful of times I’ve sat out here.

“What the hell are you doing out here? It’s freezing.” He shudders, sitting on the seat across from me.

“I didn’t want to sit in the house by myself.” I’m done being alone. So done.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

He’s always sorry. I’m always sorry. We are forever apologizing to each for being busy.

“It’s fine.” It’s not.

“Are you flying somewhere tonight? I didn’t see anything in the calendar?” He swipes at the screen of his phone, double checking he’s not wrong about the suitcases lined up in the entryway.

“No,” I answer flatly. “I’m moving out.”

His head snaps up.

Silence.

Paralyzed, he does nothing but stare at me.

He knows. He knew it would come to this.

I fill him in on today’s events. “I went to the doctors today. I’m not depressed or blue or down or going crazy.” I thought I was at one point. “She thinks I’m burnt out.”

I’ve worked myself into a state of exhaustion.

He remains silent.

I was hoping Ash could come with me when I went to my appointment today, but yet again, he couldn’t make it. Of course, it wasn’t his fault, but something to do with a media interview being unable to be rescheduled.

My voice rises in frustration. It echoes around the vast expanse of our beautifully manicured and quite frankly pretentious backyard. “The doctor doesn’t think there is anything wrong with me other than my body is stressed. The doctor suggested that I may be going through an early menopause or there could be something wrong with my thyroid.

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