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thing.”
    “I know.”
    “So quit worrying. Tell me about the woman. Is she a bitch?
We looked her up on Jess’ phone. Nice nickname.”
    “No, actually, she’s not. I dunno what she is, but she’s not
a bitch.”
    “Frigid, like her nickname?” Conner laughed and for some
reason his comment rubbed Brady the wrong way.
    “Cut it out, man. You don’t even know her. And that’s the
thing. I don’t think she’s cold at all. I think it’s an act.”
    Conner let out a low whistle. “I’ll be damned.”
    “What?” Brady asked with a growl.
    “You like her.”
    “I don’t like her, I just know we gotta deal with her and I
don’t want things to be uncomfortable.”
    “Don’t bullshit a bullshitter, man. She may be ‘The Ice
Queen’, but you still wanna tap that. Hey, she’s beautiful, I get it.”
    Brady felt another growl trying to work free and knew it
would only give Conner more ammunition, so he tamped down his annoyance. “Look,
just don’t be a dick when you meet her, okay? I think she’s going through some
stuff right now and having a hard time dealing with it. She doesn’t need pricks
like you making things worse.” When all he heard was silence on the other end
of the line, he swore. “Look, I’m sorry, man. I know you treat women right.
You’ve been great with Jessica and I had no right to say what I did.”
    “It’s no big deal. I knew you didn’t mean anything by it,
but I will say this. Be careful. She’ll eat you alive, man. Anyway, just don’t
do anything you’ll regret later.”
    Brady sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Thanks. And
thanks for being straight with me. I needed someone to kick me in the ass.”
    “You always do,” Conner retorted, laughing.
    He hung up and Brady sat back against the pillows. Maybe a
little wining and dining would melt the “Ice Queen”. He smiled a little just
thinking about it.

Chapter Three
     
    After waking from her nap feeling refreshed, Leah called
James to update him on the day’s events. Even though she was an old pro at
doing press tours James still liked to hear from her after each day was over.
He’d always been a worrier, which was secretly kind of nice considering he was
the only person who worried about her at all.
    “Hello?”
    “Hi, James, it’s me.”
    “How did it go? How was the cowboy?” Leah could hear the
amusement in James’ voice and had to laugh.
    “Actually, he’s really nice. He seems to be making a concentrated
effort to make me feel comfortable with this whole thing.”
    “I saw you guys on the morning show. You killed it,
naturally, but what was up with him?”
    “Oh, you mean getting mad at Evan?”
    “Yeah, what was that about? Do you think he actually has watched figure skating?”
    “I’m not sure why he reacted like that…” Leah said with a
note of hesitation. Sometimes maintaining professional distance with James was
difficult since in a lot of ways he was the closest thing she had to a friend
and she found herself wanting to confide in him.
    “I thought Brady was going to punch him for a minute there.
Imagine the ratings.” James laughed and Leah joined in, though the sound was
forced. She hated to admit to James that she was so confused about Brady. James
would just tell her what she already knew. It was a colossally bad idea to get
involved with a cowboy she’d be saying goodbye to in a few short weeks.
    “Anyway,” she continued, deciding an immediate change of
subject was in order, “everything went fine. We’ve got those other interviews
tomorrow and then we’ll be hopping on the plane to the bustling metropolis of
Pueblo, Colorado.”
    James snickered. “Have fun. Let me know when you land.”
    “Will do.”
    After hanging up and throwing her phone on the bed, she
dressed in a simple black, long-sleeved jersey sheath with a silver belt and
matching ballet flats. She felt a little frumpy not wearing a heel, but had to
be careful about tottering around on stilettos