Page 75 of Ice Queen

“Do you have pictures? I love seeing my creations in the wild.” Her hands scoop up mine, and I feel the tears start to form.

“Qué pasa?⁠* What did I say?” She squeezes my hand, looking over at Markus apologetically.

He doesn’t waste a second before he’s beside me with his arm wrapped around my shoulder. I lean my head against it, not sure what to say here. How do I tell someone their dress, which I’m sure took a lot of time to make, was torn to shreds without a second thought?

“I never got to wear it outside of the house.” I give her the half-truth.

“Do you still have it?”

I nod, swallowing roughly. “Yes, but it’s not wearable anymore.”

Her head falls to the side the same way Markus’ does when he’s trying to figure out what to say. I beat her to it, deciding it’s better to just rip the band-aid instead of running around in circles.

“My ex didn’t like it.” Markus’ hand tightens against my shoulder. “It’s in a box in my closet, torn beyond repair.”

“For pucks’ sake,” he mutters under his breath before he’s stalking down the hall to his room.

Selina steps in front of me, her hands running up and down the outside of my arms. “Cariño⁠*, did you get away from that man?”

I nod.

“You’re safe here?”

I nod again.

The door to the garage slams so hard that I jump. I take a shuddering breath, unsure how such a perfect night turned into a tumultuous morning. Soon, I find myself sandwiched between his mom and sister.

I wipe my eyes, embarrassed that I’m the cause of whatever is going on now. “I’m sorry, I’m sure you had a reason for coming over here, and I went and pissed him off.”

“He’s not pissed,” Cecilia laughs as she pulls away. “You just activated guard dog mode.”

She pulls me by the hand back to the stove and starts mixing new batter. “Let me teach you how to do this.” Pushing the bowl of batter over to me, she whispers, “With fewer distractions this time.” Her eyebrows wiggle, making me bite down on my lip. Okay, apparently, they know exactly what we were doing.

Their mom sits on one of the barstools and watches as Cecilia helps me make pancakes and bacon. I don’t even know where that came from because I didn’t see it earlier. After that, she teaches me how to make fried eggs, making sure to tell me it’s Markus’ favorite way to eat them, especially over rice and tomato sauce. “Arroz a la cubana,” she says it’s called.

“Cecy,” her mom says as she bites into her food. “When did you become such a chef?”

Cecilia rolls her eyes. “I prefer to bake,” she says, not looking up from the egg in the pan. “You’d know that if you didn’t have a heart attack every time someone cooks in your kitchen.”

Selina gasps. “I do not, I just like things to be a certain way. When you cook in there, I can’t find anything.”

She snorts. “You don’t cook anyway, Mamá.”

Standing next to her, I watch the two of them interact. A wave of sadness washes over me as I realize this is what I could have had with my own mom had I not been such a stubborn prick.

My mom was always asking if I wanted to cook with her, and I said no every single time. At one point, I told her she was annoying and to stop interrupting my “leadership classes.” AKA the online debate games I used to play in high school, where I let all my teenage angst out on unsuspecting strangers… and my mother.

“I don’t think he’s going to be back before we leave. I just came to bring him his suit. It’s almost time for the playoffs, can you believe it?” Selina claps, lightly bouncing in her seat while Cecilia wipes down the counter.

“It’s hanging by the door. He’ll see it.” Sliding the chair back, she wraps her arms around me. “I’m glad you’re here, you’re good for my boy.”

“Yep, someone needs to keep him on his toes,” Cecilia adds, hanging the towel back over the oven handle.

“Let me know if you want to try anything else next time. I’ll come back over. We can have a girls’ night, huh, Mags?” She scratches Maggie under the chin before turning to hug me.

“Don’t let his less-than-appealing, overprotective nature put you off; it comes from a place of love,” Cecilia adds before following her mom to the door.

The door shuts behind them, and then there are two.