Read Heat it Up: Off the Ice - Book One for Free Online

of her talking like that to me on the phone. She sounds like a girl talking to her boyfriend. “Can you believe that the Easter Bunny is Santa dressed in a disguise?”
    I laugh, and the coffee goes the wrong way. I start coughing. “Do you always fake things this well?”
    A blush sweeps across her cheeks and damn does she look hot. But it doesn’t stop me from laughing again.

Chapter Six
Kyle
    My grandfather used to tell me things happen for a reason. We might not always agree with them. We might fight them every step of the way. But in the end, it is what it is and a wise man will embrace them, learn from them, maybe even get knocked on the head by them.
    Somehow, I don’t think what Sofia is asking me to do is what my grandfather had in mind.
    “Will you do it?” Sofia asks, once I stop laughing at the way she blushed at my comment. “Will you kiss me in front of my grandmother so she thinks you’re my boyfriend?”
    “If you do something for me.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I’ve been in the city for two weeks now and haven’t seen much of it. I’ll kiss you, but you have to explore Helsinki with me. Show me your favorite places.” And keep me too busy to hang out with Nik. My father’s right. When I’m with Nik, I do tend to get drunk. Sofia’s the perfect excuse I need to keep me out of trouble.
    She looks clearly dubious of my intentions.
    I can’t tell if that means sex with me is a no go, or a possibility if I play my cards right. “Just as friends. Promise.”
    It takes a few seconds but she nods. “Okay, but can we do this now before my grandmother gets any more crazy ideas?”
    Sofia and I finish our coffee, then I drive her back to Vantaa.
    “We don’t have much time once we enter the apartment before my grandmother pokes her head from the kitchen,” Sofia explains as we travel down a main street. Apartment buildings and pine trees border both sides of the road. “I want her to catch us in the act.”
    “So what you’re saying is don’t waste time with niceties once we’re inside?”
    “That pretty much sums it up. Yep.” She points at a building. “Over there.”
    We drive past a hut on the sidewalk. Small metallic windmills spin in the breeze from a bucket next to the open window. On the other side is a display of magazines.
    I point to it. “What’s that?”
    “It’s a kiosk. You can buy all kinds of things from them, like stamps, bus passes, drinks, and ice cream. I used to love going to it as a kid, whenever my family visited my grandparents.”
    I turn into the parking lot. “I take it you used to come to Finland often?”
    “Every year until I was fifteen. This is my first time back since then.”
    “Why did you guys stop coming?”
    “There’s a spot.” She points at it. I wait for her to answer my question. When she doesn’t after a few seconds, I drop it—her message clear.
    We climb out of the cramped rental car, and she leads me to the far side of the building, to the entrance with an “A” printed on the square light above the door.
    “I wouldn’t be surprised if my grandmother’s watching us.”
    I thread my fingers with Sofia’s. Despite the warm ambient temperature, her hand is cold. “Are you nervous?”
    Her eyes snap to mine. “Why would you say that?” Her shaky voice is a giveaway to what I suspect she’s about to deny.
    “You just seem nervous.” One side of my mouth slides up. “Have you never kissed a guy before?”
    “Sure I have. Remember? I used to have a boyfriend.” She looks away.
    I want to push the topic but this isn’t the best time for that. Not if we’re about to put on a performance worthy of a standing ovation.
    Sofia doesn’t remove her hand from mine, at least not until we’re at the main entrance and she has to unlock the door.
    We walk up the stairs to the first level. Unlike the apartment buildings I’m used to back home, this one is open in design. The stairs aren’t hidden in a dark stairwell. Windows run