Page 108 of Ice Queen

“I’m going to head back down. Don’t doubt your instincts, Kait,” he says, backing out of the room before I can say anything.

Arms sling around my shoulders, and a kiss is quickly pressed to my cheek. “¡Mi hermana⁠*!” She yells. “I missed you.”

A little bit of the anger I had walking in here ebbs as her arms tighten before she grabs my hand and pulls me to the glass where her mom is. “Mamá, Papi, look who I found.”

Her mom turns around, a smile already on her face, whether that’s because I’m here or she’s just happy to be watching her son play, I don’t know. “Mi amor,” her hands land on my face as she gently pulls me closer. “It’s nice to see you.”

She kisses my cheek before turning me to a man almost as tall as Markus. “This is my husband, Mateo.”

He reaches out to shake my hand, I slide my hand in his, and he raises it to his lips. “It’s nice to meet the woman who has my son tied in knots.”

My eyes widen, hand falling to my side. I’m not sure if twisted in knots is a good thing or not.

“He loves you,” he clarifies. “Calls his Mamá all the time to ask for advice. Which I don’t know why he would do that when he should be calling me.”

He pushes a hand through his hair, flipping what little he can. Cecilia snorts, and Selina just laughs and places a hand on his side. “I mean, have you seen the woman I scored? I’m the king of this game.”

I can’t help the smile that forms on my lips. “Well, I certainly know where Markus gets his humbleness from.”

His dad’s smile drops as his mom and sister burst into laughter. Mateo’s smile grows, eyes shining as he looks back and forth between his wife and daughter. “Dios mio⁠*,” he says when he looks back at me. “You certainly are perfect for him.”

He pulls me in for a hug, kissing the top of my head like my father used to do all the time. “Welcome to the family, Kaitlyn.”

Our conversation is cut short as gasps sound through the box, followed by a few “come on’s.” Turning toward the glass, the play moves in slow motion. Lucas sends the puck down the ice toward Markus, who passes it to Greyson, Hannah’s husband. My eyes move to where we were sitting before to see the girls with their hands clasped under their chins, watching intently as they move closer to the goal.

One shot, blocked. Second shot, too high. Lucas gets the puck again and moves around the back of the goal before sending it back to Markus, who shoots it for a third time. My breath catches, my hands tightly squeezed together in front of my chest. I lose sight of the puck, but it doesn’t matter because the goal horn blares to life, and my hands fly into the air seconds before Cecila wraps her arms around my shoulders.

Tears spring to my eyes when I see him look to where I was sitting before, only for Scarlett to turn her head toward the box. He follows her line of sight, and when his eyes land on us jumping, a smile crosses his face. One of pride, one of happiness. One I hope is mirrored on my own face, if he can even see us from where he is down there.

He’s doing it, despite everything that’s happened; he’s focused on the game. He’s doing his job, and he’s not letting Wyatt take this from him, too.

“Kaitlyn?” My name is whispered in shock from behind me.

I turn, catching a head of blonde hair. Ah, just the person I needed to see. I wrap my arm around Cecila’s wrist and pull her with me. “Hey, Savannah. I was looking for you.”

Her brows knit together, eyes bouncing between Cecilia and I. “Me?”

I get the hesitation. She dated Wyatt’s best friend in college, and when things went south with the two of them, Wyatt sided with Savannah. I didn’t know she was a team owner’s daughter, though, so I can’t say he didn’t side with her out of selfish ambition. Plus, she and I were never really that close. With him isolating me and all.

I nod. “Yeah, apparently you got bamboozled, too.”

“Uh-huh,” she says slowly. “Let’s talk over here.”

I look over at Cecilia, whose confusion mirrors Savannah’s. “You’re going to want to be part of this conversation.”

“Okay,” she says, no questions asked.

I draw on her quiet strength as we walk into an empty corner of the box. This is her brother. The man I love. One of Savannah’s father’s players. All of us should be on the same team, but I don’t know how deep Wyatt is with Savannah these days.

“It’s good to see you,” she says. “Are you okay? I haven’t seen you since the last fundraiser. What happened?” Her brows furrow, genuine concern lacing her words as if she truly doesn’t know what really transpired.

I hold my hand up, my head shaking slightly. “Everything that man told you was a lie, Savannah.”

Her lips part, a sharp gasp passing through them. “What?” she whispers.

“I ran from him,” I state. “Markus helped me, but Savannah, he’s going to ruin this organization if he stays here.”

Her jaw hardens, and Cecilia moves to face me. “That’s the man who destroyed your dress?” she asks.