Page 58 of Crack the Ice

I’m probably the worst person to have this conversation with, considering I lost both my parents, one by choice, the other not. But I know who’s great with this, especially because her parents are the most in-love couple I’ve ever met.

“Give me a sec.” I pull out my phone, hoping like hell she answers and doesn’t leave me in a spot to have to try to convince a twelve-year-old girl who should believe in fairytales that love is real.

The phone rings twice before a crackly sound comes in over the line. “Cess?”

“Hold on,” her voice sounds miles away. The rustling continues but gets less and less. “Hey, sorry,” she says, clearer this time.

“Is everything okay?” she asks, her concern bleeding through the phone. It’s then that I look down at the device on the counter and wonder when the last time I tried to reach out to her was after she left. Fuck. Now isn’t the time. We’re moving forward, not backward.

“Yeah, I was talking to Lily. She wants to know if true love is really a thing.” I pause. “She thinks she’s going to meet someone one day and they’re going to die. Wants to know if it’s even worth it. I figured I wasn’t quite the person to ask, but you have the best example, so I figured you were.”

There’s a quick intake of air, and I can just picture her covering her hand with her mouth the way she does when she’s outraged. “Are you guys busy? I just got to their house. You can bring them over if you want. My mom would be over the moon.”

“Really?”

She chuckles softly. “Yeah, Mavy. Come on over. I guarantee she’d love to see you, too.”

I look to Lily, who’s looking at the phone with stars in her eyes. “Okay, let me grab Cade, and we’ll head that way.”

“I’ll leave the front door unlocked. Just walk in. We can surprise them.”

“Sounds good, see you in a bit.”

My thumb presses against the red circle on the bottom of my screen before I look back at Lily. My little girl is now vibrating in her seat.

“Want to go meet Cecy’s parents? They’re the ultimate love story. And her mom is grandbaby crazy since Sammy and Kait got married, so I’m sure she’d treat you both like her grandkids.”

Her eyes widen comically. “Really?! We only got to meet our mom’s mom a few times. We’ve never had grandparents.”

Fuck! My head falls back behind me, and I silently ask the universe why them? Why make them suffer so much? If they need an example, if they need to be around a loving family, I’ll give that to them. The more people they have in their corner, the better.

“Yes, Lils. Now get your shoes on, and tell your brother we’re going on a road trip. I’m going to clean this up, then we can leave.”

She jumps off the chair, squealing as she runs down the hallway. This is either a great idea or a really stupid one.

TWENTY-ONE

CECILIA

“Whatever happened to Liam?” my mom asks as she saunters into the living room.

My nose crinkles as I look up at her. “Mamá, please. He was awful.”

“What? I didn’t ask you to date him, just to keep him entertained. He didn’t say much the next day when he came in for his fitting.”

“I told him I had to go to the bathroom, and he said, and I quote, ‘Don’t fall in.’ Then, if that wasn’t bad enough, he was appalled that the daughter of the great Selina Samuels would lower herself to be a baker instead of a fashion icon he could have on his arm and pump full of babies.”

“Dios mio!”⁠* she gasps, slapping her hand over her heart. “What a vile human.”

My head falls back against the couch as a laugh tumbles from me. I know my mom wasn’t trying to set me up. She knows better than to meddle in her kids’ love lives, but sometimes the people she works with are… over the top. “I may or may not have walked out on him.”

“Cecy!” she yells, trying to sound stern, but the smile she’s hiding behind her hand gives away how proud she is that I didn’t put up with his shit.

I shrug. My dad rounds the corner a moment later and takes in the two of us, brows pinching together as he tries to figure out why my mom is doing her best not to let her laugh escape. “¿Qué pasó?” ⁠*

“Mom had me entertain Liam the other day. He told me not to fall in the toilet when I went to the bathroom.”

My dad’s jaw hits the floor. God, he and my brother could be twins with this facial expression. “Please tell me you told him he was a child?”