Hands Off The Ice King novel Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Chapter 87

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Hope’s POV

The two cousins stared at each other intensely. Liam had a smirk on his lips, his arms crossed over his chest. Meanwhile, Levi glared at him, his jaw ticking.

I was right in between them, and even I felt suffocated beneath the weight of their gazes.

The air had turned strangely heavy, thick with a tension that neither of them seemed willing to break first.

I turned to Matthias for help since I had no idea how to stop these two and whatever silent competition they were having. However, it seemed he was enjoying the whole thing because he merely smiled at me, looking thoroughly entertained.

Fortunately, Beth came through the door leading inside. She stopped in her tracks the moment she saw the four of us frozen like statues, a frown forming on her face.

“What… are you guys doing?” she asked, her eyes briefly flickering toward Levi before settling on Liam.

“Mr. Moretti,” she greeted professionally. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

Liam finally stepped back and offered her an easy smile.

“Nothing to be surprised about,” he replied. “My manager told me to use this entrance because she didn’t want me getting bombarded by the media.”

“I ran into Hope on my way here.”

His gaze drifted toward me, and his smile widened.

“It seems we were bound by destiny.”

A quiet scoff came from beside me.

I turned to Levi. He was still glaring at Liam with the same unreadable expression, his eyes sharp enough to cut through steel.

“Anyway,” Liam continued casually, “I’ll be heading over to my team now.”

With that, he saluted Beth playfully, ignored both Levi and Matthias, then looked at me one last time.

He gave me a wink and another smile.

I could only shake my head at him. Predictably, that only made him grín even wider.

When he finally walked away, I realized Levi was still holding my wrist.

His grip tightened ever so slightly, but it wasn’t tight enough to hurt me.

“Hey,” I muttered softly, trying to snap him out of whatever thoughts had consumed him. “Your can let go now.”

His eyes shifted to mine. For a long second, he didn’t move. Instead, he gently pulled me a little closer before inspecting my face with concentration, as though checking for something only he could see.

“Did he say something to you?” he asked quietly.

Well…

Chapter 87

He asked me to be his date.

But I decided keeping that to myself would be the smarter choice.

I simply shook my head.

“I’m fine,” I muttered.

His eyes lingered on mine for another monent before he slowly let out a deep breath.

Finally, he released my wrist. The warmth of his hand disappeared immediately.

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When I looked over at Matthias and Beth, they were both staring at us with unmistakably knowing expressions. The second they realized I’d caught them, they quickly looked away and returned to wearing perfectly neutral faces. Fortunately.

Beth turned back to Levi and pushed a hand through her hair.

Judging by how messy it had become, she’d probably been doing that all evening.

“Did you really have to push the cameraman away?” she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Now everyone’s talking about that.”

“That’s good,” Levi replied without much concern. “It’ll take their attention away from my body for once.”

Beth pursed her lips.

“I wish. Instead, they want a scoop on that too.” She sighed. “This probably isn’t dying down anytime soon. Margaret isn’t happy about it.”

“Margaret’s never happy about anything.”

“I can’t even argue with that.”

She exhaled again before pointing toward the entrance.

“Well, the damage is already done. Get inside and have your photos taken. Aiden’s already there.”

Then she looked him up and down.

“At least your face can do some damage control.”

Levi merely raised an eyebrow.

“Chop, chop.

She gestured more insistently toward the venue.

For a brief second, Levi looked at me again. Then, without another word, he finally nodded.

“Fine.”

The moment he started walking, Matthias bounced after him.

“I want to take my photos too!”

Just then, Beth’s phone rang. She answered it quickly, speaking politely as she waved at me once before disappearing inside the venue herself.

Just like that…

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Thu, Jul 16

Chapter 87

I was alone.

I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

“What the hell just happened?” I muttered under my breath.

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“Where have you been?” Lia exclaimed the moment she spotted me.

She and the others were seated near the back of the venue alongside what I assumed were other staff members.

The players occupied the front tables with the coaches and managers.

Of course, Delaney was sitting right there, too.

Honestly, I preferred being at the back. In fact, I was more than happy staying here.

“I thought the media ate you alive.”

I pursed my lips.

I had actually stayed inside the staff room for quite a while. I needed some time to gather myself. I even texted Freya, asking if maybe I should just go home instead.

However, she just told me that the world deserved to see my beauty.

I still had no idea what she meant by that. But after thinking about it, I decided to stay. Mostly because Lia had repeatedly told me the food tonight was amazing.

At that moment, Aiden finally looked up from his camera. The expensive equipment nearly slipped from his hands.

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