House of Payne: Ice

by Stacy Gail

  “I thought it was cute,” June offered, raising her hand while Franklin laughed.

  “And second,” Sunny charged on, refusing to be deterred, “what do you mean? What’s Mary Pat talking about?”

  “I’m guessing you didn’t get a chance to look at this morning’s paper. Specifically the Entertainment section.”

  “Normally I keep on top of what’s trending in Chicago, but I was too busy this morning preparing for the meeting. A meeting that didn’t happen, but whatever,” she added before she pissed off her employers. Then, when she realized they were still making adoring eyes at the cat on her lap, she sighed and wondered why she even bothered. “What about the paper?”

  “Before I answer, I want you to try to look on the bright side.”

  “The bright side of what?”

  “You weren’t formally named as the woman I was kissing on the front page of the Entertainment section. That’s a bright side, right?”

  Her blood froze. “What?”

  “Since you don’t have long blonde hair anymore, it’s probably harder for people to recognize you. Eventually though, someone’s going to suss out that it’s you, former Mayor Archibald Fairfax’s famous daughter who’s locking lips with her old boss. You should probably be prepared for some aggravating crap that’ll eventually roll your way.”

  She stared at him while wondering if a person could actually explode with shock and horror. “What?”

  “I know, I know. But shit happens, so the quicker you adjust to it, the better.”

  She’d kill him. As soon as she got this damn cat off her lap, she’d kill him.

  “Excuse me.” A server appeared at her elbow, looking as severe as any person with dangly cat earrings could look. “I’m sorry, but it’s against the rules here at Cat Café to pick up the cats and keep them on your lap.”

  “The cat jumped up on her, twice,” Franklin Lennig announced, along with the rest of the table in varying degrees of alarm, and Sunny could only marvel at how they were clearly terrified of even the appearance of impropriety. “Our friend isn’t keeping that cat on her lap. If anything, the cat is keeping our friend in her chair.”

  “As weird as that sounds, it’s actually kind of true,” Sunny gritted out, trying to help. “If it weren’t for this cat, I’d be up and strangling the guy sitting next to me.”

  “So the fur ball is saving my life? Cool.” Again Ice reached over to give the calico cheek rubs. “I knew I liked you, fur ball.”

  The server didn’t look impressed. “Princess Pantaloons has never mixed with our patrons before. She usually hides up there in the corner cat tower and ignores every human being on the planet, which is why she’s been here the longest. No one sees her, so no one wants to adopt her.”

  “What?” Sunny’s borderline-murderous mood evaporated, and she looked at the sweet cat in her lap. “How long as she been here?”

  “Longer than I’ve been here, and I’ve been working here for a year now.”

  “And nobody wants her.” Despite her best efforts to remain professional, her heart cracked, just a little. When Ice had fired her, she’d known what it was like to not be wanted. “How horrible that no one has ever understood her value.”

  “I do.” To Sunny shock, Ice reached for his wallet and dug out a credit card. “You got a carrier for her, right?”

  The server blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

  “All these animals are up for adoption, yeah? So, I’m adopting this cat. And I’ll take that cat tree thing she likes as well. But we’re not calling her Princess Pantaloons from this point on because that name sucks epic ass. No wonder she was hiding from the world. I’d frigging hide too if someone saddled me with a name like Princess Pantaloons.”

  “Spike,” Sunny said, still in shock and now starting to wince as the cat kept kneading. But not even the pins-and-needles pain could stop her from being deeply moved by his gesture, and it took all her strength not to cup his cheek right there in front of everyone. “Her name is Spike. Trust me on this.”

  “You really want to adopt her? That’s great.” The frown on the server’s face vanished with a brilliant smile as she reached for the card. “Will you be interested in other supplies that she uses as well?”

  He shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

  “Ice,” Sunny said, trying for a rational tone when all she really wanted to do was fling her arms around him for being such a softie. “You’re still settling into your new life here in Chicago. Are you sure you want the added responsibility of taking care of a cat?”

  “I’m sure she wants you to be her human, Sunny, so that means Spike and I are going to get along great.”

  “Ice? Sunny? Oh my God. Ice and Sunny.” Before Sunny could question him further, the server pearl-clutched, staring at them with eyes about to pop out of her head. “You’re Ice and Sunny from Skull and Bones Ink L.A., right? Holy crap, I can’t believe I’m meeting you guys! Sunny, I totally love your hair, you look so hot as a brunette, and—oh, my God,” she gasped loudly, taking a shocked step back and pointing right at Sunny. “It was you! You were the woman Ice was making out with under the mistletoe, right? I saw it on my phone this morning, and… Oh my God, you guys are freaking together!”

  “That didn’t take long.” Ice shook his head while the server called all her coworkers over in her excitement. “By the end of the day, all of Chicago’s going to know it was you with me under that mistletoe. Should we give everyone something more to talk about?”

  “Don’t you dare,” she hissed even as he curled an arm around her shoulders and leaned in.

  “When it comes to getting you where I want you, Sunny day, I’ll dare to do anything. It’s about damn time you woke up to that fact.” He gave her no chance to answer before he claimed her mouth with his.

  PDAs had never been her thing, and she told herself she would have done her best to escape it if she hadn’t been trapped under a cat.

  But that didn’t explain why she responded the moment his lips touched hers.

  Or why she shivered and pressed closer.

  Or why she wanted more when he slowly broke contact.

  A hell of a lot more.

  “So,” Sunny murmured while Mary Pat sighed, Barry gave an uncomfortable clearing of his throat and more of the café’s workers gathered around their table with their phones out to take pictures, “is this how it’s going to be between us from now on?”

  “No,” came the velvet-edged response meant for her ears alone. “This is just the beginning. You might want to think about preparing yourself for what’s going to come. And what’s going to come, Sunny, is you.”

  Oh, boy.

  Sunny remained locked in a fog of distraction throughout the remainder of the day, so much so that for the first time, she was the first one out the door when five o’clock finally rolled around. The only thing she wanted to do was plant herself in a nice, quiet place and figure out what the hell she should do about Ice.

  She wasn’t an idiot. Most women probably would have loved the chance to go to bed with a gorgeous male specimen like Atticus Eisen. But for her, it was a huge problem. She might talk a good game when it came to getting her freak on and then walking away, but now things were different. Reality was knocking on her door, and it was a reality where she might get her idiotic heart decimated all over again.

  She was such a spineless wuss, she thought, pushing in through the mudroom door and into the kitchen. After the shitty way he’d treated her in California, she knew she should avoid him. She knew it. The logical side of her even wanted to.

  But just as much, she wanted him with a fire that couldn’t be snuffed out. She was starving for him in ways she hadn’t even known were possible. Damn it, why hadn’t anyone told her she could actually hunger for someone until it was a physical ache?

  If she just relaxed and let nature take its course, they’d have sex. Crazy, sweaty, magnificent sex. That was great, of course. Better than great.

  The pr
oblem, at least for her, always came after.

  Chances were good that she wouldn’t be able to walk away undamaged. After all, she’d never been able to do that before. She and Ice always seemed destined to go their separate ways, and when they did, she was the one who wound up suffering.

  Why would this time be any different?

  Because Ice was different, she thought as she hung her keys on a peg board near the mudroom door. From the moment he showed up again, everything about him had a laser-focused intensity that snagged her interest and made her believe he was serious about everything he did.

  That was dangerous thinking. Personal history proved Ice couldn’t be trusted.

  But…

  She still wanted to believe in him.

  “Sunny Elizabeth Dubois Fairfax, stop whatever it is you’re doing and tell me what the hell is going on.”

  Startled, Sunny whirled around as her mother stalked into the kitchen. If she was as pissed as she looked, keeping her away from the knives was high on Sunny’s list of priorities.

  “You scared the daylights out of me.” Plastering a hand to her chest, she eyed her mother warily. “What’s going on?”

  “That’s what I’d like to know.” Claire stopped at the kitchen island and slapped a newspaper section down on the granite top. With a sinking heart, Sunny looked at the grainy color picture Ice had told her about—a true clinch in the style of the victory kiss at the end of World War II. Despite being in some serious hot water, she had to admit the photo wasn’t half bad. “That’s you. That’s Atticus Eisen. That’s a kiss. Explain.”

  Irritation ground against her already-frayed nerves. “It’s been a long and incredibly frustrating day, Mom. Now is not the time to get into this.”

  “Now is exactly the time to get into this, because this—” she picked up the paper and waved it around “—is happening now.”

  “Actually, that happened yesterday. Love those Christmas trees at MSI, don’t you?”

  “This isn’t a joke, Sunny. I have enough to worry about, what with your father’s health and dodging questions from nosy reporters about why we’re not throwing our annual Christmas gala fundraiser this year. I don’t need this worry on top of everything else.”

  Sunny winced. That stuck a needle of guilt right in the center of her heart. “Have the media been that bad? If so, you and I can figure out how to word a press release—”

  “I’ve already put out a release online saying that due to health considerations of someone in the family, you would be representing the Fairfaxes at the Christmas gala being held this year by the Vances.”

  “Me?” Appalled, she stared at her mother. “I don’t do politics. You know that.”

  “It’s for the family, and I’m not going to discuss it now. Not when there’s this going on,” she added, again gesturing with the paper.

  Sunny took in a calming breath. “Before we do a deep dive on this, I need to know something. What are the odds that you’re going to drop this subject?”

  “Less than zero.”

  Right. “What are the odds of you believing that there’s nothing going on?”

  “Cut and paste my last answer.”

  Sunny sighed. “There isn’t anything going on, Mom.”

  “It certainly looks like there is. Darling,” Claire tried again when Sunny huffed out a frustrated sigh, “you deserve better than this man.”

  “Mom—”

  “I’m serious, Sunny. I believe my daughter deserves to have a man who’s strong enough to put her first, always, even if he has to make tremendous sacrifices to do it. The man you call Ice will never do that, darling. You know this, because he’s proven it to you time and again. How many more times does he have to cut your legs out from under you to prove he’s unreliable and self-serving?”

  Damn it, she hated it when her mother was right. “I’m not stupid, okay? I haven’t forgotten what happened in L.A. and I’ll admit I’m confused about what he’s doing back in my life. But you have to trust that I’ve got my eyes wide open when it comes to Ice.”

  “It doesn’t look like that from here.”

  Again, that was a fair statement. “My history with Ice isn’t the greatest, I’ll grant you that. And along those same lines, I’ll admit he’s the one man in the world who can make me do stupid things. But—”

  “No buts, Sunny. He does have the power to make you do stupid things, and he gets away with it because he’s your weakness. No one understands how a woman can fall for a man who doesn’t love her back better than me. I’ve lived my whole life in that self-imposed prison. I don’t want that for you.”

  That dagger hit home so sharply Sunny caught her breath at the pain of it. “Ice is a different man than the one I knew in California. He’s changed.”

  “In what way?”

  “He goes out of his way to make sure he’s planted himself in my path, no matter what path that might be,” Sunny said, trying to explain it. “He’s made up some of the most ridiculous excuses you’ve ever heard just to be around me, from delivering artwork to ideas for frigging cat toys. Every time I turn around he’s there, like he’s intent on making me understand I can count on him being there.” Then she shook her head, wishing she could offer something more than feelings. That wasn’t going to cut it with her mother. “I just need to see what this new Ice is all about, rather than playing it safe and closing the door on him forever. I don’t want to live a lifetime wondering if I missed my chance at finding happiness with him.”

  Her mother looked at her with such world-weary resignation it hurt Sunny to see it. “Are you even listening to yourself? You’re actually going to give this man yet another chance? The man who publicly humiliated you by firing you from the show you created, as if you were nothing? Where’s your pride, darling?”

  Ouch. “I’m not going to lose my heart to him, Mom. But I am losing my temper with you, so we need to drop this before things get out of hand.”

  Her mother opened her mouth to counter, only to be interrupted by the sedate bonging of the front door. With an irritated sigh, Claire turned and headed for the foyer, tossing over her shoulder, “We’re not done with this yet.”

  A strange premonition skittered along Sunny’s spine, compelling her to follow in her mother’s wake. Her fears were realized when she reached the foyer just in time to see Ice walk across the threshold.

  Shit.

  Chapter Ten

  The explosive atmosphere pressed down on Ice the moment he stepped into the Fairfax home. A hell of a lot of history had happened in that historic brownstone, from the mayoral inauguration party for Archibald Fairfax the first time he’d been elected mayor of Chicago, to the engagement party of Archibald’s industrial kingpin grandfather to a member of Monaco royalty. Even Frank Lloyd Wright had had dinner there at the beginning of his career, looking for financial backing on a project that led to the building of his first house in Oak Park.

  But as impressive and powerful as the Fairfax family’s storied history was, he had to give credit where it was due. Of all the grandeur that these gilded, wood-paneled walls had witnessed, nothing was more grand—or intimidating—than Claire Dubois-Fairfax.

  Simply put, she was a magnificent piece of work.

  “Claire. Long time no see. You’re looking well.” There. That was civil. He owed Sunny’s mother civil, at the very least.

  “I didn’t invite you in.” Claire’s tone was only slightly warmer than the frigid night outside, but considering it was below zero out there, that wasn’t saying much. “Do you know why I didn’t invite you in? Because you’re not welcome here.”

  Which explained why he was there. “Claire—”

  “Yes, Ice is welcome.” Wearing a neutral expression that was weirdly identical to Claire’s, Sunny made her way toward them from a side hall, her footsteps echoing against the marble flooring. “Unless I’ve somehow misunderstood and I no longer live here, and therefore can’t have people come over for a visit?”

>   “Hey, Sunny day. Thought I’d drop by to give you my address and number in case you want to visit Spike. You don’t seem to be answering my texts, so an in-person visit seemed like the only option,” he drawled, watching the irritation flash in her eyes as she took the offered piece of folded paper. “I’m glad I had the chance to drop in, though. Now would be a fine opportunity to clear the air with you, Claire, so what do you say? Let’s get to it.”

  He watched Sunny’s eyes widen in alarm. “Uh, there’s no need to—”

  “Yes, by all means, Atticus. Let’s clear the air.” Claire shut the front door on the wintry Chicago night and crossed her arms. “I don’t want you in my daughter’s life. I think you’re a selfish, shallow, unreliable man who thinks only about his own needs, and that means you’d be bad for her. You’d actually be bad for any woman walking this earth, but they’re not my concern. Sunny is, so unless you can prove otherwise, I don’t want you anywhere near her. My daughter is a treasure beyond compare. She deserves better than you.”

  Damn. “I have to hand it to you,” he said, nodding. “There’s clearing the air, and then there’s setting it on fire.”

  Sunny tried stepping in. “Mom—”

  “But I get where you’re coming from, Claire. I really do.” He held up a hand, freezing Sunny in place. “This is about Sunny, so making sure she’s safe is the one and only thing that matters.”

  Claire tilted her auburn head. “I’m glad you understand at least that much.”

  “And you’re right in just about everything you said,” he added, lifting a shoulder. “I am selfish, I’ll be the first to admit it.”

  Slowly she lifted a brow. “Well, then—”

  “I’m selfish when it comes to my happiness. The thing you need to know is that I’m only happy when Sunny’s world is safe and free from any threat. I’ll set fire to my own world and walk away from its ashes without a backward glance if I find out there’s something in it that could hurt her. My world means nothing to me if Sunny’s not happy.”