Melting the Ice(128)

            If he even planned to show up for that.

            She grabbed her coat and shut down the studio, then grabbed a taxi, giving the driver Drew’s address.

            She paid the driver, but asked him to wait while she went up to the door and pressed the buzzer. When Drew answered, she waved the driver off.

            “It’s Carolina.”

            “Oh. Sure. Hang on while I buzz you in.”

            She rolled her eyes when he hit the buzzer. She went inside and headed to his door. He’d already opened it and was leaning against the doorway. He didn’t have a shirt on, only a pair of low-slung sweats. His hair was wet, the ends curling around his neck. Despite her profound irritation with him, she couldn’t fight the surge of desire that kicked in as her gaze instinctively followed the droplets of water sliding down his chest.

            Forcing her attention to his face, she saw him smiling.

            “This is a nice surprise.”

            “You didn’t answer your phone.”

            He frowned. “I must have been in the shower. Or maybe at practice. I just got home about twenty minutes ago and jumped in the shower right away. Sorry. Come on in.”

            She took off her coat while Drew went into the bedroom and came back with a shirt on.

            “Do you want something to drink? A beer or a soda or water?”

            “Water would be good, thanks.”

            He was being formal. He hadn’t hugged her or kissed her. She didn’t like it. It was like they had taken ten steps back in their relationship and she didn’t know what was going on.

            He handed her water and grabbed one for himself.

            “Take a seat,” he said, motioning to his sofa.

            She sat and took a sip of water. “What’s going on, Drew?”

            “What do you mean?”

            “I mean you’re ignoring my calls and texts. You’re ignoring me. You came in for your final fitting, and you didn’t even tell me.”

            “Oh, yeah, that. I only had a few minutes and you weren’t there. Your staff took care of it, and I had to hurry out of there. I told you I’ve been busy with games and practice.”

            “We have the photo shoot to schedule and I’m running out of time.”

            He didn’t say anything. She studied him, saw the tension on his face and the way he held his body.

            “Tell me what’s bothering you,” she said. “Is it the road games?”

            “You’re not really here to talk about hockey, are you?”

            “I’m here to talk about you, about what’s been going on since we were last together. You’ve been avoiding me.”

            “No, I haven’t.”

            She cocked her head to the side and leveled a serious look at him. “Come on, Drew. Let’s be honest here. If you’ve changed your mind about doing the ad shoot, at least tell me.”

            He stood and paced, spending more time looking out the window than at her. A bad sign. Carolina stayed on the sofa, because it was obvious Drew didn’t want her close. The thought stabbed through her, the hurt palpable.

            “I don’t know. Work’s been tough, you know? We’ve lost some games and we’re all trying to figure out what’s not working for the team. It’s all I’ve been able to think about lately.”