Page 33 of Top Shelf
She drops the wooden block onto my boot, pats my knee once, then toddles toward her toy basket like a small drunk queen. Her dark hair curls at the back of her neck, and a sock is missing.
It is strange to see Reid like this. For years, I knew him as a goalie who barely spoke unless he was coerced into it. Now he wipes crumbs from his daughter’s shirt with his thumb while coffee steams on the table and a cat plots murder from the couch.
“So.” Reid sits down across from me. “You said you needed to talk?”
I look into my coffee. “Yes.”
“Is this about Heidi?”
“What?” My head springs up. “No. Why would it be about Heidi?”
His eyebrows move slightly, which is irritating because he has used the exact same look at every brunch where my eyes have gone to Heidi before I could stop them. “Just checking.”
I sigh, and Gremlin’s tail flicks beside me. She enjoys my discomfort.
“When my grandfather died a few months ago,” I say, setting my mug down, “he left me Solvik, our family property in Sweden, with conditions.”
“What kind of conditions?”
“The stupid kind.”
Ivy returns with another block and places it on the coffee table between us, and tries to climb onto Reid’s knee. He lifts and settles her there without looking away from me.
“If I am married by Midsommar, the property transfers to me. But if I’m not, it goes to my cousin Anton.”
Reid’s eyes narrow at me, while Ivy leans back against his chest and chews on the side of her hand.
“That,” he finally says, “is absurd.”
“Yes. I have had the same reaction.”
Reid shifts Ivy higher on his lap. “Why?”
“Farfar believed family stability mattered. He wanted the property protected by someone settled enough to steward it.” The words sound worse out loud. “He was sentimental and stubborn and possibly losing his mind, though no one is allowed to say that because he is dead and beloved.”
Reid’s mouth twitches. “Understood.”
“Anton is next in line, and he wants to develop it. He calls it sustainable.”
“And you call it?”
“Cutting my home into pieces.”
Reid leans back, and Ivy twists to grab at his hoodie. “Does Anton know you’re trying to stop him?”
“Yes.”
“Is he sticking to the rules?”
“Not really.” My jaw tightens. “He has started preliminary enquiries to see what can be done the day the transfer is his.”
Reid makes a low sound. “That’s slippery… And you don’t wanna get married?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
I shrug a shoulder. “I don’t have anyone I want to marry, and I don’t believe in paperwork for love. My parents have loved each other their whole lives in ways that make a room feel full and warm. They have a great marriage, but the paper is not why.”
