Icebreaker by Deirdre Martin Read Free Book Online Page A

families. Adam, not tired and not particularly eager to return to an empty apartment, told them he’d call a cab later and went to sit at the bar. He ordered a single malt scotch, taking in the surroundings as he savored his drink. He liked this place; it had a real family feel, with pictures of customers past and present on the walls, as well as a few pieces of undeniably tacky art (paint by number gondolas? The Leaning Tower of Pisa?). It reminded him of one of the restaurants in his hometown, Robkey’s Bar and Grill: unpretentious, good food, decent prices, and a place people could bring their kids. He’d heard through the Blades’ grapevine that the team’s watering hole, the Wild Hart, had a warm feel to it as well. He’d yet to check it out, but a drink with the team might be a good idea; it would give them a very small taste of his human side. Even so, he wouldn’t let his guard down too much. It was too big a risk to the “awe” element Ty wanted him to cultivate.
    Adam lifted his eyes to the TV above the bar to watch Monday Night Football . The game wound up going into overtime, and by the time it was done, there was only one other guy at the bar, nodding off over his whiskey. Adam felt a clap on his back as Anthony Dante pulled up the barstool beside him.
    “You survive your initiation by pasta?”
    “Apparently so.”
    “I hear my brother’s a good coach,” said Anthony, telling his bartender to pour him a scotch.
    “Haven’t been here long enough to tell, but that’s the rumor.”
    “Helluva hockey player in his day,” said Anthony proudly. “Tough.”
    “He was,” Adam agreed. “I went toe-to-toe with him more than once on the ice. He was a real grinder.”
    Anthony took a sip of his drink. “No family to rush home to, huh?”
    “Nope. You?”
    “I’m married to another chef. In fact, she owns and operates the French bistro across the street, Vivi’s. She’ll probably be over in a few minutes; then we’ll drive home together.”
    Adam nodded thoughtfully. “Married to someone in the same profession. That must be interesting.”
    “That’s a polite way of putting it,” Anthony chortled. He threw scotch down his throat. “Put it this way: there’s never a dull moment at our house.”
    “Telling your brother he looked like Shemp really got under his skin,” said Adam, still amused by the comment.
    “I knew it would,” Anthony said with a smirk. “He’s such a vain bastard.”
    “I take it you’re a Stooges fan.”
    “Huge,” said Anthony.
    “Me, too.”
    “Yeah?” Anthony looked pleasantly surprised. “Ever notice women hate the Stooges ?” he asked philosophically.
    “I have noticed that.”
    “They think it’s mindless crap. They don’t have an appreciation for the art of physical farce.” Anthony shook his head despairingly. “I’ve got the complete DVD collection, right? But I can only watch it when Vivi’s not around. She hears one ‘Nyuk nyuk nyuk’ and she goes mental.”
    “Totally doesn’t get it.”
    “You should come over one night to watch. I’ll make a pizza, crack open a few brews . . .”
    “That’d be great.”
    Anthony drained his drink. “I gotta get back in the kitchen. Gimme your number, I’ll shoot you a call.”
    Adam gave Anthony his number.
    “Great meeting you,” said Anthony.
    “Ditto.”
    “See ya.”
    “Yeah.”
    Adam gave the bartender a nice tip and asked him to call a cab. It had been a pretty good night. Great food, good company, and to top it all off, he’d hit it off with someone who wasn’t a hockey player. He wondered what Sinead O’Brien would think of his liking the Stooges . She’d probably think he was a cretin. A vision streaked through his mind of her all prim and proper in her office, asking him, “I hear you like The Three Stooges . Do you think their violence influenced the way you play hockey at all?” The image amused him greatly. She wanted more info on him? Wanted to peel back the layers of