111

Adam

Nice Touch

There are a lot of things that can be overwhelming in this life but I never felt pride like that, hitting me in waves during the presentation, metaphorically knocking me on my ass. That was my ice princess. My girl swinging it out of the ballpark, my girl riding through the ten-minute presentation with everything she had.

I'd been cocky, I'd been arrogant, and I'd never known any other type of pride. Sitting in those hard fucking seats, I discovered that pride could be born out of love.

And every time she hit her mark, I nodded along with her.

My ice princess killed that shit.

After the presentation, I hung around back with the bouquet of flowers, waiting. I'd done enough peacocking with her. Now, I wanted her to have this moment alone. I'd wait on the sidelines and once she was ready, I needed to talk to her.

"You owe me one, dude," a senior tennis player joked.

"You hit my car with a scooter, dude, " I countered, irritated. "Last year. If you want to talk about owing people, hit up my mechanic. I'm sure he'd love the tip."

He muttered an apology and the rest of the smiles of the guys around me vanished. Every single person in the room had done something stupid at one of my parties. When I was a host, I had to deal with everybody's shit. This was them paying up.

Kassie and Ryan walked up to me. Ryan threw me a grin. "I'll have to get some of those pictures from the presentation. She had some great ones of you."

"I have copies," I confirmed, eyes flickering back to the crowds up front.

"And the flowers?" Kassie nodded, impressed. "Nice touch."

"Miles grabbed them. Went off to a florist and bought up every blue flower they had." I shifted the bouquet around, taking a good look at it. I didn't know the flower types off the top of my head but they were a wide assortment, all blue. It didn't work out like a normal bouquet because it wasn't one. It was a Piper bouquet.

"We're still going to Gianna's after?" Kassie asked, the second question lying thick in her words. She glanced back with a purposeful look to the little crowds congregated, where Piper must've been.

"Yeah." I nodded. "I'll text you the time."

Ryan laid a hand on my shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Adam."

"Thanks, captain."

The room emptied a little but I stayed, waiting patiently at the end. Off in the corner, I could see a bunch of other RAs, shaking Piper's hand one after another, again and again. A blush played on her cheeks but she was gracious to all of them.

That's just who she is .

"Hey, dude," Zariah murmured and stood next to me for a moment, hitting my shoulder with hers. "I need that shot of you in the apron. See if Piper can email it to me."

June just rolled her eyes and grabbed her by the arm, hauling her off towards the door.

And then, King.

King stood in front of me with his arms crossed. We looked at each other for a long moment and I nodded. There wasn't anything he needed to say. I got it. He got it. And I appreciated the help.

Without a word, he followed after the others, and the remaining people from the room left. A few of them parted in front of me and there she was.

Piper Fontaine. My ice princess.

For the presentation, she wore a knee-length blue skirt and a white shirt tucked in. The shade of lipstick, bright red. Her hair, perfect. Her face, bright.

She looked so beautiful and—goddamn—she was so much more put together than I was. Even if my friends cleaned me up, I still had the dark circles under my eyes and the heaviness of my steps that couldn't be masked. And there she was, shining so bright. Nothing else came close.

Her voice was soft. "Hi."

"Hey," I croaked.

Piper took steps forward, I crossed half of the space between us, but we both kept a healthy distance. But this wasn't about our relationship. I needed to have a real conversation with her about what she needed to be on the lookout for.

"Adam…" She stopped herself. "I have to…talk with the judges…"

Right behind her, I could see the audience. All of her bosses and her bosses' bosses and even the people that they sucked up to, who clearly wanted her attention. Who deserved it more than I did.

I took a deep breath. "My dad called."

Her face cleared instantly. " What? "

"But you have to talk to them. Now. You can't put that aside," I said, my voice firm. "This is that opportunity."

"What do you mean—your dad called?" She reached up to touch my arm and drew her hand back. "When? What did he say? Did he—did he say he's sorry?"

Oh, Piper.

"You need to go talk to them," I urged. "They're waiting for you."

"No. I need to know."

"Go, Piper."

"It's going to be an interview too," she blurted out. "For Roman Hall."

Holy shit .

I took my place back at the wall. "All the more reason. Go. It's okay."

I could see her getting ready to argue with me in real-time, that same kitten anger that I knew all too well from my girlfriend—ex-girlfriend—ready to prove she was right. But I wouldn't let her miss the chance.

"I'm going to be at Gianna's, " I said before I even realized I said it. "We can…talk there."

It was a good choice, neutral ground between us, in a public place. Nothing was going to cloud my judgment. We would have our conversation, I'd tell her what I needed to tell her, and that's it. Done.

Finished.

"Okay," she whispered.

I nodded and watched her leave.