Read The Definition of Icing: A Dallas Demons Hockey Romance (Dallas Demons Series) for Free Online Page B

are shifting wildly in my stomach knowing Nate sought me out, just like I did him.
    “Yeah. I was trying to get the nerve to call you and apologize. But then I got sidetracked reading. You’re brilliant, by the way.”
    I feel a lump form in my throat. Nate sees me. Just from my words, he sees me as a completely different person than most people do.
    “What makes you say that?” I ask quietly.
    Nate pours a glass of wine and hands it to me. “How could I not say that? You talk about the chemistry of chocolate, creating flavor pairings, how to use it in unexpected ways . . . Your intelligence jumps off the screen, Kenley.”
    Tears prick my eyes. Nate saw all of this in my writing. Not by looking at me, not by me getting his attention by eating chocolate, but by reading my words.
    And in the brief time I have spent with Nate, he’s just said something no stranger has ever said to me before.
    “Thank you,” I say, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice. “You have no idea how much that compliment means to me.”
    Nate pours himself a glass of syrah and puts the bottle down. “I don’t know if I should be thanked for stating the obvious, but you’re welcome.”
    He picks up his glass. “Okay, a toast. To new friendships.”
    “To friendship,” I say, clinking my glass against his.
    And as I drink my wine, gazing at this man who sees me, I can’t help but think of how lucky I am to have met him.
    We both take a sip and put our glasses down. Then Nate lifts an eyebrow at me.
    “And if you think just because we’re friends I’m trying chocolate with curry, you’re wrong.”
    I burst out laughing, and Nate joins me.
    “We’ll see about that,” I say. “I enjoy a challenge.”
    “How can you be challenged by something that has zero possibility of happening?”
    “Wrong. It’s so going to happen,” I tease. “We’ll have to see how the night develops, Nate.”
    Nate swirls his wine around in his glass, his eyes locked on mine.
    “I guess we will, won’t we?” he says softly.
    Oh God. He’s perceptive and flirty and even though I know this is flirty with the #friendsonly tag on it, I find myself falling under Nate’s intoxicating spell.
    And I see no way to stop it.
    More to the point, I don’t know if I want to.

Chapter 5
    Ganache: A mixture of chocolate and cream that is out-of-this world luxurious — Kenley
    I can’t ever remember having so much fun at a dinner.
    We’re all seated around the kicthen table, finishing our meal. While I’m just getting to know Harrison, Kylie, and Nate, everything about the evening has felt so natural.
    So wonderfully, refreshingly real.
    Nobody is fake. They aren’t pretending to be interested in what I’m saying. I find myself surrounded by people who are genuinely interested in getting to know me, as a person.
    And none more than Nate.
    He’s next to me, and I’m acutely aware of his presence. The way he studies me whenever I talk, how he asks me thoughtful questions and comments on things I’ve said. I know he’s only asking as a friend, but it still makes my heart leap when I feel his gaze on my face.
    I’ve learned quite a bit about Nate during dinner, too. That he stayed with Harrison and Kylie when he was first traded to Dallas in July, in their guesthouse, and they helped introduce him to the city. Nate shared with me that he has purchased a condo at the W Hotel in Dallas, and he’ll be moving in next week. He talked about growing up in Minnesota, where he lived outside of Minneapolis, and that he has a younger sister named Holly. And from the way he talked about his parents and his sister, I can tell he’s extremely close to them.
    This trade to Dallas must have been so hard on him, I muse. After all, Nate grew up in Minnesota, went to the University of Minnesota, and was drafted by the Minneapolis Black Bears. Not only did something go horribly wrong in his personal life, but he was uprooted and sent away to Texas, which is about as