**SEQUEL TO BREAKING THE ICE**
Liam Astor is home. Home where his family is. Home where is skating partner stayed. Home where he trains every day to make his Olympic dreams come true. Home, where he had to throw himself into his career, so he doesn'...
I get his text just as I'm walking through the door to my parents house.
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I glance down at my phone to re-read it over and over all throughout dinner.
This is supposed to be a celebratory dinner.
Logan is home. She's the one we are supposed to be celebrating. For her promotion in the Astor Investments Group. My sister has devoted a lot of her time and energy into the family business, and now she's becoming the COO of the NYC branch. Voted by the board. At the tender age of twenty-seven.
My parents were over the moon.
The second person we're celebrating is a sort of last-minute arrangement. Chloe and I have placed first three in Grand Prix events before, but never at the final. Until this year.
I was meant to skate in the final and return just in time for my sister's celebratory dinner. When Logan heard I won, she insisted the dinner was for both of us. It was a very nice, very Logan-like gesture.
Too bad I can't focus on anything beyond Eli's texts.
He used to call. Whenever I won something, he would always call. I never realized how much I craved the sound of his voice, lowered over the phone as he told me how much I deserved it. Until that call never came.
He still texted, though.
Maybe he's busy. He has a career too. He travels a lot. Maybe he's with his teammates and can't get on the phone. Not with me, at least.
Of course I know neither of that's the reason. For the past couple of weeks, I haven't been able to think of anything but the real reason.
I started drafting half a million texts, always to delete them and hide my phone away in my pocket for five minutes before pulling it out again, rinse and repeat. I let my finger hover over his name on my contact list many times, thinking about calling, explaining, asking for another chance.
Text or call, what would I even say?
I'm sorry I told you I love you, please don't ignore me. I don't love you, not at all, I didn't mean it. It was an accident, something from the moment, not a real 'I love you'.Please forget I said anything. Let's go back to how we were. Please don't ignore me again.
There's no way to put it.
I should never have said it in the first place. I've kept it locked inside so tightly, I even forbade myself from admitting it inside my own head. Why did it have to come out?
The only moments I can actually forget are when I'm on the ice. The plus side is I've been more dedicated to my skating than ever. Especially after my conversation with Chloe.
I thought about talking to her. Telling her everything after swearing her to secrecy. Something keeps me from doing it, though. Some sort of unspoken promise I made to Eli. An unbreakable vow of loyalty. A trust I'm not willing to break. A betrayal I can't bring myself to commit.
