His Dangerous Love On Ice Chapter 171: Olive's Pov

Immediately, her Spanish accent broke through the phone, warm and concerned. "Hello, Olive. I saw your missed calls. I'm so sorry, I've been super busy. What's going on? Are you good?"

I closed my eyes for a second, looking down the hallway where the sound of the TV was coming from, where the twins were probably already engrossed in their show.

"Yes, I was just—" I bit my lip, not knowing what to say and rethinking my decision to call her in the first place.

What was I going to tell her anyway?

That I was going to show up at her apartment unannounced because I was being threatened by an unknown person who'd been tracking me? That somehow my dead brother had been murdered and my hot, complicated boyfriend had known about it and I was trying to dig up the truth secretly but someone was always one step ahead of me?

"Olive, are you still there?"

Fuck.

"Yes, shit, I got carried away." The lie came out smooth, smoother than it should have. "I just wanted to check in on you. And forgive my presumptuousness for calling you more than once. I apologize."

When had I become such a smooth liar?

"Oh, come on, babe. I feel so touched," Paloma said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "You know what? Why don't we meet on Wednesday night? I have tickets to this Italian club—don't even ask me how I got them. Let's go fuck some Italian men."

I almost cringed at her last words, but I reminded myself that I'd done worse—much worse—which reminded me of that night in the club when Zane had pinned me against the wall and fucked me like some kind of beautiful maniac and god, I'd loved every second of it.

"I don't think I can," I whispered, my mind already adding this to the growing list of complications in my life.

I had nanny duties now with the twins that I'd never actually signed up for, and Brenda was going to absolutely murder me if she found out I'd gotten another best friend and went clubbing with her without an invitation—she'd probably post it on a fucking billboard just like she did that one time I forgot to invite her to a work event.

"Why is that so? Is your favorite hockey star player so clingy that he wouldn't allow you out?" Paloma teased.

I chuckled, the sound coming out lighter than I expected, and somehow it reduced the uneasiness that had been sitting in my chest like a weight.

"No, that's not it. It's actually worse than that. I have a very possessive best friend. She'd go absolutely insane if she knew I went clubbing with someone else. It's a rule breaker in our friendship code. She's honestly worse than Zane."

Paloma laughed hard, genuine and warm. "Oh girl, I understand completely. Well, why don't you invite her over? Remember I told you I have three tickets. Plus, I kind of just broke up with my boyfriend, so I need a drinking squad. We're betting a thousand bucks on who gets drunk first."

She said it so lightly, like heartbreak was just another Tuesday, and I found myself smiling despite everything.

"Okay, that actually sounds tempting. I'll inform my friend about this. I think she'll like you."

"Oh, I can't wait," Paloma giggled, and I could absolutely picture the smile on her face.

We said our goodbyes and I ended the call, then stood there for a second thinking about what I'd just agreed to.

I'd just committed to a girls' night out when someone was actively threatening my life and my brother's murder investigation was sitting in my laptop and Judy's funeral was in five days.

I took a deep breath and pushed my legs toward the direction of what used to be my room.

I know it sounds surprising that I had a room here in Walter's new house with his new wife, but that had happened when I was almost twenty-two, fresh out of college, and I'd had a terrible argument with my mom about something I couldn't even remember anymore.

For the first time in my life, I'd chosen Walter over my mother, and she'd gone ballistic. Told me I'd discarded her and was running back into the arms of a father who'd rejected me.

The words had hurt, but watching her hurt had felt somehow more fulfilling at that age, which probably said terrible things about who I was back then.

I sighed and pushed the door open.

The room still looked exactly the same as I remembered—light purple walls mixed with a little bit of dark blue that made everything feel both calming and slightly melancholic at the same time.

A large oakwood bed sat in the middle of the room, and the most beautiful thing I'd always loved was the floor-to-ceiling window that let in so much natural light during the day.

I noticed Walter had changed the light switch since the last time I was here, probably because it had burned out and I'd never bothered to mention it.

I took a quick shower that felt longer than it probably was, just standing under the hot water and trying to wash away the fear and paranoia and grief that had been building all day.

When I finally stepped out and got dressed in some old pajamas I found in the closet, I walked downstairs to find the kids' eyes still wide open even though it was well past eight.

I checked the time on my phone—8:47 PM. Way past their bedtime.

I walked toward them and slumped down in the middle of the couch, and instantly their tiny hands came wrapping around my body, reminding me so much of the last time I'd been here, how safe they always made me feel despite everything else falling apart.

A small smile appeared on my face, and just then my phone rang.

I stared at the screen and my heart skipped at the name displayed there.

Zane.

"Aunty Olive, you are not going to pick up your call?" Eliana said, throwing me an inquisitive look with those green eyes that looked so much like Walter's it sometimes hurt to look at them directly.

"Is it your boyfriend? We want to talk with your boyfriend!" Elijah added, bouncing excitedly on the couch.

My eyes widened at his words, and before I could stop them, they were already grabbing for my phone.

The call rang again as if the universe was trying to prove the twins right.

"It's Zane! Is that your boyfriend? Pick it up! Pick it up!" they both chanted together, and I had to stop myself from laughing because I definitely wasn't expecting this ambush.

The second I picked up the call, their voices came tumbling through the speaker before I could even say hello.

"Hello, Zane! Are you Aunty Olive's boyfriend?"

"Will you be our uncle?"

They both spoke over each other, and I had to press my hand over my mouth to keep from erupting into laughter because this was absolutely not how I'd imagined this phone call going.