Hard Checked (Ice Kings #4) - Stacey Lynn Page 0,88

if that’s why she’s here.

She left me. She divorced me.

My feet have somehow cemented to the carpet because I can’t move when Tessa tugs on my arm again.

“Why?” I scrub a hand over my face. “Why would she want to see me?”

“I can tell her you’re not interested,” Jason says.

I peel open my eyes and shake my head. “This doesn’t make sense. We’re not even married anymore.”

That was finalized months ago because I didn’t fight it. I gave her the scraps she requested and signed everything like the good boy she expected me to be, even when I considered fighting it.

But now? So much is different. I’m different.

“Lavalier?”

Tessa nods. “It’s on the second floor, and it’s not near the casino floors, so you won’t be seen.”

“I don’t give a shit if I’m seen.”

Tessa’s face scrunches. Next to her, Jason slides his arm over his shoulders and holds her close. He’s a lucky bastard to be able to travel with his girlfriend all the time.

“You okay to do this, then?”

“What. See Madison? After months with no clue why? No.” I hold out my suit coat and bag I use to carry my noise-canceling headphones. “Any chance you guys can take this to my room for me? I’ll be up later when this is done.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Tessa takes it. “I can get an extra key, no problem.”

“Thanks.”

“Good luck,” they both say.

I don’t respond. There’s a rush of noise in my ears, fogging my brain as I head to the elevator. I punch the second-floor button with my knuckle, wishing I could put my fist through the metal door. There’s no reason for this, and Madison isn’t one to cause drama unnecessarily. Hell, I’ve always given her what she wanted, the divorce included.

So, the only possible reason for her showing up in Vegas, thousands of miles from where both of us live, is if something’s wrong.

By the time I reached the entrance to Lavalier, I’ve conjured up the worst possible scenarios. Something happened with her family. Something happened with my family. She’s sick.

All of it means my heart is racing and my blood is boiling when I spy her in a corner booth, red hair gleaming from the chandelier hanging over the table.

My lip curls. This whole restaurant has a romantic feel to it from the soft gray booths and candlelit light. Chandeliers drip crystals from the ceilings and cream silks curve along the walls. Servers dressed in all black with sparkling white ties carry food trays with the obnoxious white towel draped over their forearm.

I want a beer and to get to my room and spend the night in sweats. Or meet the team at the sports bar downstairs. This pretentiousness has never appealed to me.

Waving off the hostess who offers to assist me, I move like a rocket, straight for Madison, determined and fearful when I see her hands clasped on the table. She’s fiddling with a ring, and my feet stall, jaw dropping.

She’s wearing her wedding ring.

What in the hell is going on? As I stand there, gaping at her, Madison must realize attention is on her because she turns her head, notices me, and drops her hands into her lap.

Her smile trembles. Her nervousness is clear in the way she nibbles her bottom lip, blinks rapidly.

“Madison,” I say her name and slide into the booth across from her. There are two waters on the table, the one nearest me covered in condensation and soaking the coaster beneath. She’s been here a while. “This is a surprise.”

Like always, she’s beautiful. Her red hair looks recently highlighted and there isn’t a strand out of place. The shirt she has on looks like silk, a bow loosely tied at the high collar at her throat, no sleeves. Her makeup looks like she could have come from a photo shoot recently. She looks like the Madison I used to know, not the one I saw in February. The only sign she’s not completely in her element is the way she scratches her nose and then crinkles it.

Her nervous tell.

“Thank you for being willing to see me, Sebastian. You look great. Playing incredible, I see, too.” She smiles, perfect white teeth shine through it. I remember the girl who had two crooked teeth next to her front two and a gap between those, back before driver’s licenses and braces. Still, she’s beautiful. It can’t be denied.

Instinct urges me to pull her into my arms and hold her, tuck my chin to her shoulder to