Page 5 of Hotter on Ice

“It’s my sister,” he said to Max. “I should take this.”

Max nodded and clapped him on the shoulder again before walking away. Henning pressed the button on the screen to answer.

“Hi, Suz,” he said, opening his office door. “What’s up?”

“Kids melting down, work and an occasional conversation with Kenny,” she said dryly. “The usual.”

Henning smiled. His older sister’s house was pure chaos, but she was happy. She and her husband Kenny had tried for years for a baby, first by themselves and then with some help. Suzanne was at the point of desperation when finally, little Molly came. And then Liam. Growing up, their parents weren’t much for outward displays of emotion, and though Henning was close to his sister, neither of them were much for probing conversations. Suzanne had never said a lot about the whole experience with infertility, but just stepping into her house, he knew she was happy. Seeing that was still one of the best things in his life.

Henning headed across his office for his desk and sank into his chair.

“I was calling to see if you have plans this Saturday,” said his sister. Dishes clattered in the background. “Molly has a dance recital. Princess themed, of course. And we’ll go out to dinner afterward.”

Henning took a breath and dropped the bomb as gently as possible. “Thanks, but I’m going out of town tomorrow.”

“What?”

The shock in his sister’s voice made him roll his eyes.

“You know, on an airplane,” he deadpanned. “They even letmeon those things.”

She gave a huff of exasperation. “Stop it. You know I’m just in shock that you’re actually going somewhere. Are you...” Her voice turned syrupy, exaggerating the incredulity in her question. “Are youactuallygoing on vacation, Henning?”

“Nope,” he said curtly. “It’s for work.”

“You sit in front of a computer for work these days,” Suzanne said. “Explain.”

“I need to be on the ground for this one.”

She was silent for a bit, and the clattering of dishes died down. “You said you’d never do this kind of thing again,” she said slowly.

Yeah, he did say that. But the last thing he wanted to do right now was discuss why Alya was the exception to that promise. Suzanne was quiet for a long time, so he leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on his desk, waiting her out.

“Where are you going?”

“Northern Sweden. The Icehotel. Danger level is very low.”

More silence. Henning swiped a hand over his face. He knew exactly what his sister was thinking about now, but he didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t love the location of the assignment, but he wasn’t going to let it be an issue.

“It’s cold there,” she said quietly.

He frowned. “I’ve been in the cold since...” Fuck, he really didn’t want to talk about this. “It’s under control, Suzanne.”

“Is there a woman involved?”

Henning choked in his next breath, then disguised it as a cough. “What?”

“You heard me,” said Suzanne. “Is there a woman involved?”

He closed his eyes and massaged his temples. “Yes, the assignment involves a woman, but that question makes it sound like something it’s not.”

“I knew it,” she whispered, but he heard it, loud and clear.

He huffed out a breath. “Whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong.”

“Okay, Henning.” Her words had a hint of that syrupy tone again.

“Look upBehind the Runwayon YouTube. You’ll see what I mean.”