Page 102 of Icy Pucking Play

"He doesn't hate surprises," Julia calls from the kitchen. "He hates not being in control."

"Again, super reassuring." I adjust the screen for the tenth time. "Maybe this is a mistake."

"Too late now." Ryland appears with his laptop. "I already got everyone's videos. Even Grandad figured out how to record one."

"Really?" Julia sounds skeptical. "Dad managed technology?"

"Well, after Mom helped him for like, half the afternoon."

I sink onto the couch, suddenly overwhelmed. "What if he doesn't come?"

"He'll come." Julia joins us, carrying snacks. "I told him Natalia has a presentation for school that she needs him to watch."

"You used his own daughter as bait?"

"Please." She hands me a glass of wine. "I'm using my entire family as bait. Because someone needs to show my idiot brother what he's determined to throw away."

"I'm not…" I stop at her look. "Okay, fine. But what if this makes things worse?"

"Worse than you both being miserable?" Ryland starts setting up his computer

Before I can respond, my phone buzzes.

Brad:Did you really call in sick just to stage a rom-com moment for the Ice Man?

Followed by:Because if so, I've never been prouder.

"Everyone's very invested in this," I mutter.

"Because everyone's tired of watching you both be stupid," Cynthia says bluntly. "Now, are we doing this or what?"

I look around the room—at Julia arranging snacks, at Ryland queuing up videos, at all the people who somehow became my family.

"Yeah," I say finally. "We're doing this."

"Good." Julia checks her phone. "Because he just picked up Natalia from practice. They'll be here in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" My voice goes squeaky. "But I'm not ready! I need to…"

"You need to breathe," Cynthia cuts in. "And maybe practice what you're going to say?"

"I had a whole speech planned..."

"And?"

"And I forgot all of it!"

"Classic." She pats my shoulder. "Just speak from the heart. That's kind of the point of all this, right?"

Right. The heart. The thing Evan's been trying to protect. The thing I'm about to expose in front of his entire family. No pressure.

"Okay, let's run through the plan one more time," Julia says, pacing. "First, we show the family messages..."

"Starting with Natalia's," Ryland cuts in. "Because no one can resist her puppy eyes."

"Then the team compilation—"

"Which Coach Martinez helped edit," I add. "Though he claims he 'just happened to have footage lying around.'"

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