Page 29 of Ice Cold Rival

Mom meant well, but she believed romantic relationships were a waste of time. After the quickie marriage and subsequent divorce with Dad, she swore she was done sharing her life. Dad, on the other hand, loved relationships where he didn’t have to put in any effort. He’d been seeing the same lady for almost a decade, but she was more like a set piece hand-picked by Gram. I wasn’t sure she had any original thoughts.

Either way, not great role models for life advice despite the massive amount of money between them. At least they seemed happy in their choices.

“I’m always careful, and I’ll call Gram tonight so she stops harassing Stacia.” Cold air wafted over my back as the door opened behind me. “Hey Mom, I have to go. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

She hung up, never one to linger unless she was billing by the hour. I dropped my head, suddenly exhausted, and a small hand landed on my shoulder.

“I wondered what was taking you so long.” Eva rubbed a quick circle, then sank down next to me. “Want to talk about it?”

“No. Not now.” Not ever. I didn’t talk about my family drama with my friends. It was one of the ways I was careful. Except the other night with Kenzie when she’d fallen asleep during my dramatic reveal.

“Okay,” Eva chirped, resting her head on my shoulder. “Mase knows now, by the way. So do the others.”

“Fuuuck,” I let out. Last night, I’d told Eva about Kenzie as practice for today—which explained who my mom’s little bird was—but I hadn’t considered she’d share with the rest of the group right away. “I thought you were good at secrets.”

She laughed. “I am when I know they’re supposed to be secrets. Next time warn me first. He’s fine, by the way. Said he couldn’t care less.”

I tilted to look down at the top of her head. “You know he does. Change sets him off.”

“I know,” she jerked her chin at the house across the street. “Mrs. Lipnicki is watching through the blinds again. What story do you think she’ll concoct this time?”

Somehow, the normalcy of discussing our neighbor’s conspiracy theories lifted my spirits. “C’mon.” I stood, pulling her up with me. “Let’s go inside before she calls Gavin.”

Eva snorted. “Good luck getting him to answer. He’s doing some team bonding thing this weekend. No phones allowed.”

I hugged her against my side. “I’m glad we could entertain you here then.”

“Me too, but you go ahead. I’m going to sit here in the blessed silence for a few more minutes.”

I nodded, letting her sink back down without me, then opened the door to chaos.

11

Everyone had gathered in the living room to underscore the craziness of my current life.

Henry quacked loudly as she hopped around Cole’s feet. Mase held Sunny tucked into his chest, while Stephen and Marco lined up to toss another strawberry half at Cole. I seriously considered just closing the door again and waiting outside for Kenzie.

I wasn’t a quitter, though. So instead, I made sure both ducks were accounted for before joining the insanity. Marco let loose with the strawberry, Cole dodged it, and Henry made a diving catch.

Mase shook his head. “I’m taking Sunny downstairs—I don’t care what Eva said about the playdate.”

I cocked my head. “Playdate?”

All eyes turned to me, and Marco set down his next strawberry. “Eva explained to us how important it was for Henry to get some quality time with her baby, and Stephen wanted to see his god-duck. He was supposed to play with the ducks while Avery took the rest of us out to brunch, but her dad needed her at the last minute for a house renovation thing. The playdate may have gotten out of hand when we all joined in. Really, it’s Cole’s fault.”

Cole sent him an incredulous look. “Right under the bus, huh?”

Marco was fairly new to our group, but he’d shown no qualms about jumping in with both feet. “You were the one who said Henry could teach Sunny how to catch strawberries.”

I entered the fray and snatched the bowl of strawberries away from him. “I’mthe one who taught her that trick.”

Henry waddled over, greeting me with a quiet quack as usual. She rubbed her head against my leg, but I knew she was eyeing the bowl in my hand.

“Hey, baby girl, I missed you too.” My relationship with Henry wasn’t quite as close as Cole’s, but I loved the damn duck as much as he did.

When I’d invited Kenzie over yesterday, I’d assumed I’d introduce her to the roomies, give the ducks some cuddles, then scoot her on up to my room where I’d reluctantly tell her about Kane’s newest lies. What came after, to my highly active imagination, involved getting her to make the same sexy noise she’d made when she bit into her queso burger last week.

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