Heat it Up: Off the Ice - Book One Read Online Free PDF Page A

our grandmothers are beaming. I get the feeling neither plan to give up on this scheme to get me together with Joni.
    Ha! I’ve got news for them—it’s so not going to happen. I just have to figure a way to prove to them that my heart isn’t open for business.

Chapter Five
Kyle
    I enter the sports center, my duffel strap slung over a shoulder. The pretty blond receptionist, who’s flirted with me several times, smiles at me. I nod and hand her the membership card. She waves it under the laser beam, confirming I am indeed a member. As if she didn’t know.
    After I finish working out, I head for the showers. If Sofia keeps to the same schedule as Friday, I still have a little time. I came here yesterday, hoping to see her again. I even asked someone working in the fitness center if he had seen her, but he didn’t know who I was talking about. From what I could tell, the cleaning staff doesn’t socialize with the fitness staff.
    As I approach the sauna, showered and fully clothed, I see the sign Nik and I missed. A sign that I’m guessing says ‘Sauna Closed for Cleaning.’ But unlike last time, it guards the door, which has been left open a crack.
    “I hear American girls love sex. Lots of sex,” a male voice says. Laughter from more than one guy sets me on edge.
    I reach for the door as a familiar female voice says, “Come near me and I’ll spray you in the balls.”
    I open the door wider.
    Three guys are standing in front of her, caging her in. They’re large and look like they’re friendly with weights—large but not as bulked up as Nik. And they’re all dressed in jeans and t-shirts, despite the intense heat of the room, which means they didn’t enter the sauna thinking it was open to the public.
    “I’d listen to her if I were you,” I warn.
    The guys whip around at my voice, their surprise at seeing me evident on their faces. It vanishes when they realize they outnumber me.
    “This has nothing to do with you,” the guy in the center, who looks to be their ringleader, says. He’s shorter than his goons by a few inches, but he’s also the most muscular.
    I clench my hands, muscles on high alert. I’d rather not fight these losers, but if it comes down to it, I will.
    “Are you okay?” I ask Sofia.
    She nods and a stray piece of hair flops from her ponytail. I push away the sudden need to tuck it behind her ear.
    “I’m fine.”
    She shifts the hose away from the ringleader, so it faces the corner, then turns the water on. It bursts out the nozzle in a high-pressure stream, much like when she accidentally hit me the other day.
    The guys wisely back away. The ringleader glares at me before the three of them leave. As soon as their backs are turned, Sofia slouches and the hand holding the hose starts shaking, the adrenalin aftershock kicking in.
    “Thank you,” she whispers. “Those are the jerks I was telling you about.”
    I place my hand on her upper arm, needing to do whatever I can to make her feel grounded, make her feel safe. “Are you almost finished for the day?” I want to talk to her but not here. Not when the sauna is so goddamn hot. Sweat trickles down my back and I’ve only been in here a few minutes.
    “I just have to finish up in here then hit the shower,” she says.
    “Do you want to go get a coffee after you’re done?”
    She doesn’t answer right away, and I’m beginning to think she’s going to say no. “Okay. I should be ready in about twenty-five minutes. Is that all right?”
    • • •
    I wait for Sofia outside the main entrance. The door opens for the hundredth time and the blond receptionist steps out. She spots me waiting on the bottom step and her face lights up.
    “Hi,” she says. “I did not realize you were waiting for me. I would have been quicker if I had known.”
    My lips twitch into an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I’m waiting for someone else.”
    The main door opens and Sofia exits wearing a yellow sundress. I turn back to the