Holiday Hockey Tale The Icebreaker's Impasse (By Ivory Row) novel Chapter 35

Easton

Cole’s in bed after a long day at the zoo. He passed out fast. I grab the monitor from my room and head for the kitchen intending to grab snacks so we can hit the game room for our workout and a movie. I texted Luci some photos of Cole, but she’s in the middle of her girls‘ night. No response yet, which is what I expected.

Jackson and Becker follow me. “You have another date yet?” Jackson prods me as he catches me checking my phone again.

Becker grins. “Yeah, does she know she’s off the dating market?” I elbow him.

“Haven’t had time to get to any of that. I overwhelmed her enough yesterday.” I say honestly.

Kingston already stands in the kitchen with Baker. He eyes us meaningfully. “Your mother has company again tonight.” He says lowly.

“Again?” Becker asks.

The sound of heels coming our way makes me want to ignore them. It’s probably Vivienne. I hear Becker curse and turn fast. It’s even worse than Vivienne.

Ambra Dennis

My rebound girlfriend from hell.

She stands there smiling coyly at me. She’s what you’d call visually stunning. Tall, around five eleven, and leggy like a model. She’s got a larger chest than most models and her face is flawless. With big green eyes and thick, red hair that hangs right to her shoulders, she commands second glances. Makeup is usually perfect along with her designer clothing. Tonight she’s wearing a jade green silk dress that’s strapless and it drapes around her to her knees. Gold heels with straps that wrap up her feet and around her ankles seem ridiculous for visiting my mother. Like I said, stunning visually unless you know her even remotely and realize her beauty is a mask hiding a monster. She’s hideous in my opinion, and I honestly feel bile rise every time I recall dating her.

“Hi Sexton, how are you?” Her voice comes out seductive and all I can muster is revulsion at the cringe nickname.

“Ugh, we all just ate so keep s**t like that to yourself.” Becker growls at her. He hated her not long after we started dating.

She gives him a tight smile, laying her hands on her hips. “Becker, still a mouthy bastard aren’t you?”

“At least I use my mouth for wit and not what you do with yours.” He fires back coldly.

And the mask slips showing the temperamental b***h she is. “No wonder why no one wants you and only your brother.”

“Why the f**k are you here? Does hell know you got out again? I’m sure you don’t have permission to be this close to normal people?” I ask coldly.

“I came to see you. I heard you might be missing me.” My mother, she has such great taste in people. Ambra exaggerates her hip movements to come closer causing my lip to curl. She’d shoved Cole away from her angrily because he got his sticky fingers on her dress. He was two and it was her first time to see him. When he hit the floor, she almost died at multiple hands.

Jackson nudges me. “You’ve been missing misery and despair? Here I thought you were pretty happy.”

“Funny…. Always that brotherly solidarity. Where’s the kid tonight? Does the little dormouse take him home with her?” Her bright red lips pull back in a sinister smirk as my blood runs cold. Luci’s demeanor last night….

“You saw them?” My voice is icy.

She examines her nails idly. “Her and the boy. He’s grown a lot. You chose well. The maternal type who shielded him behind herself from me when I tried to say hello. She was spitting nails at me with those ordinary eyes and had the gall to tell me not to speak to him. Your mother made sure she knows her place. Though she still defied her and sent him to Baker. Afraid of what he’d hear. I told him I’d be seeing a lot of him soon. He could be advantageous for photo ops.”

My mind seriously debates if it’s acceptable to hit her. Female or not.

“Step the f**k off Ambra! If you don’t, I will go see what damage a hockey stick and a few flying pucks can do to that precious convertible of yours out there.” Kingston breathes out furious. He doesn’t take threats to Cole well at all.

“Whatever. Your mother won’t allow that. Easton, you should think about what we could offer each other right now.” Do some women drink delusional coffee daily?

“You mean like unending darkness from you and the overwhelming urge from me to shove you off the nearest cliff? Get the f**k out or I’ll make sure my father takes care of any future you hope to have no matter where you go.” I don’t often use Dad, but it’s justified here.

The mask slips totally off now as she sneers before raging. “You’ll wish you had me on your arm. I’m the most up and coming model in the U.S. right now.”

Becker scoffs. “Not sure if anyone told you but it’s a big, big world out there, Ambra. And easy to travel from continent to continent these days. Why should Easton limit himself to the U.S.?”

Jackson folds his arms. “And if you’re so up and coming, what do you need Easton for? Maybe his last name.”

Kingston glares at her. She tried to seduce him after we were together which went over like a ton of bricks. “Sounds like she might not be able to live on her up and coming budget.”

Ambra definitely has expensive tastes and her father had cut her credit cards up more than once.

She glares at him as he laughs and attempts to walk out haughtily, only to almost slip on the floor as she turns into the foyer.

“Sorry Miss Dennis, I didn’t realize anyone was coming and I had to mop up a sticky spot.” Baker says mildly eliciting Becker to howl with laughter. I wait to hear the door shut, knowing

where I need to go.

Becker closes his eyes before talking in a high pitched voice. “Ahhh, now this house is clean.

All evil spirits have left.” He waves his hand in front of him grinning.

“Listen for Cole for me. Need to check on Luci.” I can only imagine what nonsense they told her last night. No wonder she was subdued after dealing with a dragon and a damned succubus the devil wouldn’t want around.

Jackson waves me off with an urgent look. “Why are you still here? Move!”

I toss him the monitor and sprint to the garage. Struggling with staying under the speed limit, I debate calling her. In the end, I wait. Might get no answer. Her light peeks through the blinds in the front window. I’m buying her curtains tomorrow so no one knows when she’s home. “Luci.”

I knock on the door, calling her name.

She opens it, staring at me worriedly. “Is something wrong?”

I push her back inside and lock the door behind us. “You met Ambra.”

Her face hardens at that name. “Met is probably the wrong word, Easton. Did you have a type for outrageously beautiful models?”

“She’s a f*****g hag, Luci.”

Her nose scrunches up in confusion. “Is there a second one? Because the one I met is stunning. Even I could see why you’d be attracted to her.”

“No. She was an angry rebound that shouldn’t have happened. I wish I’d never touched her or taken her anywhere. She upset you.” I can see it. Which means whatever she said hit a nerve.

“She upset Cole. Took a while to convince him she was lying..”

I cup her cheek, forcing her to look at me. “She upset you. What did she say?”

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