Page 66 of Ice Queen

“Hey!” I whine, but she isn’t wrong. “I just don’t drink. I don’t like feeling out of control.”

“I hear that,” Abby mumbles. Her husband looks up with a questioning brow, but she just blows him a kiss in response.

The front door opens. I didn’t bother locking it with all of us here, and in steps Maria with a drink carrier full of coffee. “Buenas, mis amores.”⁠* She hurriedly walks over to where we’re sitting, handing everyone their drink without even asking who they belong to.

“Another one for you, Princesa.” She winks as she hands me yet another coffee.

My cheeks heat at the name, butterflies erupting from the place in my chest that Markus seems to occupy these days. “Thank you,” I whisper, using my hair to block myself from Scarlett’s questioning gaze.

Cam stirs in my arms, and I put the burrito down, gently moving him until his belly is to my chest with his head on my shoulder.

“They should be back by dinner time. Maybe we should all do something,” Abby adds.

“You know they all like to decompress at home after being away, Tink,” Tate says, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

She crosses her arms, scowling at him, but only for a second. “Gimme,” She holds her arms out, reaching for Cam.

Who knew passing a baby around like a hot potato was so good for the soul?

Maria smiles at each of us before saying, “I’m glad you guys are friends. I told Markus the day you opened that he needed to come over here and welcome you to the neighborhood.”

My eyes narrow, I lean back into the bean bag, and cross one leg over the other. “So it's you I have to thank for the Jolly Green Giant insisting I can’t stay here?”

Her hand flies to her chest. “I have absolutely no clue what you’re talking about.”

“No clue, my ass.” My brows raise.

She clicks her tongue, her arms crossing over her chest. “You shouldn’t be staying here anyway, Kait. This was never meant to be a permanent solution.”

I know that. I should have moved out of here a year ago. But I got comfortable, and uprooting everything just sounded like an awful idea. Plus, I had no friends, my business was online, and I spent all day renovating by myself. I didn’t need to leave.

I give my head a soft shake and turn my attention back to my food and my coffee. Both of which are giving me life at the moment. I don’t think I would have said no to his offer even if the window hadn’t broken. But now, the feelings I have for him are more than just a slow brewing in my chest. He’s taken over my thoughts. He’s infiltrated my senses, and it’s clear he doesn’t want to go down that road with me.

No amount of meddling from the sweet old lady next door, or his best friends, is going to change that. I am firmly in the friend zone. Or maybe the little sister zone, considering how overprotective he gets. But definitely not in the I want to push you up against the wall and tell you all the ways I’m going to make you scream kind of way.

“I’ll call a realtor, Maria.”

She scoffs as she heads toward the door. “You need a ticket to delusionville if you think that man is letting you move back out.”

“I second that,” Scarlett says around a mouthful of food. I just roll my eyes. I’m not playing into whatever this is.

The window guys show up about an hour later, and in true Tate fashion, he stands in between them and us girls and watches with a scowl on his face. “Do you ever get worried his face will get stuck like that?” I ask Abby who is currently bagging up an online order.

She snorts. “No, but have you thought about hiring some help? This is a lot, and there are three and a half of us here.”

I have, mainly because there are so many other things I want to be doing other than running the front of the store. I want to coordinate author events, I want to host community volunteer days at places around town, and I want to be able to step away without everything else stopping while I do.

I run my finger over the paper in my hand. “It’s on my to-do list.”

“Is Markus on your to-do list, too?” Scarlett asks.

“Lettie!” Abby shrieks, elbowing her in the side.

Scarlett shrugs. “Remember that one time we all went to Colorado, and Markus disappeared in the middle of the night?”

My head cuts to hers, eyes wide. They were there? She didn’t tell me that…

Abby thinks for a minute, then nods. “Yeah, we were in Woodmoor.”