Page 87 of Crack the Ice

“Yes, Ma’am,” I say. “What can we do for you today?”

She smiles, but it’s all business. Her blonde hair is pulled up into a ponytail with not a single flyaway in sight. Her navy pencil dress is free of wrinkles, and the ridiculous heels she has on fully round out the boss bitch look she’s got going on.

If Wilson’s tongue wasn’t attached to his mouth, it’d be on the floor. My elbow meets his ribs, and he quickly schools himself, but not before Sunny catches it. Her eyes narrow ever so slightly.

“Nothing yet, just making my rounds. Getting reacquainted with the lay of the land.”

“This land is your land, this land is my land–” Andrews starts to sing, earning him a smack in the back of the head from Wilson.

Sunny bites down on her lip, doing her best to smother her laugh. It’s definitely going to take some time to settle into this new dynamic, but I’m glad she’s here. She’s going to make one damn good team owner.

“You coming to book club later?” Monroe asks.

Before she can respond, Lily bounds up behind her. “Please! It’s mom and dad’s anniversary. We’re going to have a party, an introduction to the framily.”

“Initiation,” I correct softly. “Initiation to the framily. You already know everyone. You don’t need an introduction, Lils.”

“Right.” She snaps her fingers before pointing at me. “You can be initiated too! Or are you part of it already?”

Sunny sighs, a battle being fought in real time on her face. Professional boundaries or team bonding. It’s funny to see her try to fight it, because much like the rest of us, we’re hopeless when it comes to Lily Jackson.

“Okay, I’ll stop by for a little bit.” She holds her hand up, letting Lily give her a loud high five before she looks back at us. “Is that okay?”

“Of course, Ms. Collins.”

A shiver runs through her at the same time her lip pulls up into a sneer. “God, I hate the sound of that from you guys.” She looks between the four of us before giving her attention to the ball of energy in front of us. “See you later, I’ve gotta keep moving. You looked good out there, Lily.”

“Bye!” We all call after her.

Turning toward the guys, I take my glove off and push my hand through my hair. “Good practice. I’ve got a meeting with Dr. Williams. See you at the house later?”

The chorus of “yeses” and “good lucks” eases the tension growing in me ever so slightly. I know that if I’m going to make this work, I need to do this. She’s worth it, no matter how uncomfortable it may get.

Here’s to a better future.

THIRTY-ONE

CECILIA

I’ve just put the pie into the oven when the kitchen door slams open, smacking off the cinderblock wall behind it. My hand flies over my chest as I jump back from the oven, turning to whoever is responsible, which I already know the answer to. Lana’s been a bull in a china shop since she walked in this morning.

“Can you not destroy the bakery?” I ask, wiping my hands on the front of my apron.

“Oh, like you destroyed more than a decade of friendship by making out with my brother? Did you know he was going to go on a date with one of my friends? He’d agreed to it days before this happened. I’ve been trying to get him to agree for years. She’s been in love with him since high school. But no, Cecy comes along, and suddenly no one else matters. Cecy always gets what Cecy wants.”

A sickening wave of fear rolls over me, my vision tunneling until the only thing I see is the floor and the only sound is the agonizingly loud, ragged pulls of breath moving through my nose. There’s no way she’s telling the truth. He wouldn’t. Right?

My eyes move rapidly back and forth in front of me, my hands balling into fists at my sides, as I do my hardest to breathe, though my chest seems to be constricting further with every puff of air. Did I miss it? Was I too hopeful that I missed something important? Or did I ignore all the red flags again because my heart has wanted this man for so damn long.

“See?” she scoffs. “You even know how selfish you’re being. If you can’t have Mav, no one can. I don’t know how I didn’t see how manipulative of a person you were before.”

“That’s enough, Lana,” Mav’s voice booms through the back of the bakery.

My eyes cut to his, but I can’t see him through the line of tears gathering behind my eyes. He’s here, but he should be at therapy or practice. Why is he here? His arms wrap around my shoulders, and the second my head hits his chest, my knees buckle. My body knows it’s safe, even if my brain can’t quite figure out where to go right now.

“Oh, look who it is, Cecy’s savior. Poor little Cecy. Can’t protect herself.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Lana? This isn’t like you at all,” Mav spits, arms tightening around me.