Page 20 of Icebreaker

"Hush," Sven insisted, waving a serving spoon at his son. "Quinn has never heard the tale."

I leaned forward. "Please, now I'm curious." Axel responded with a conspicuous eye roll."

Sven smiled. He dished out generous portions of the luscious-smelling casserole. "Well, it goes like this. When Axel was seven years old, he went through a very picky eating phase. He wouldn't taste anything but plain noodles and butter. It was about a year after his mother passed, so that could have been part of it."

"Dad, come on, do we have to go through this again?"

The plea failed to move Sven. "One night, I decided to be creative. I made this casserole, a Swedish tradition, layered with potatoes, onions, and anchovies. I told Axel it was a magical dish, and he would have special powers if he ate it."

I grinned as I pictured a tiny Axel suspicious of the serving spoon but secretly dreaming about being Superman. "Did it work?"

"Absolutely!" Sven smiled from ear to ear. "Axel cleaned his plate and asked for seconds. It quickly became his favorite meal, and he asked for it on his birthday every year."

Axel's face flushed red. He also laughed. "What can I say? I was just a kid and gullible."

"And now he's a gullible adult who still thinks food has superpowers." Maja nudged him with her elbow. "Remember when I convinced you that eating a whole hot pepper would cure your hiccups?"

Axel glared at his sister. "I remember spending an hour with my head in the sink, chugging milk, and cursing you."

Maja laughed. "Oh, let it go. The whole thing was hysterical. Your face was so red, I thought steam might erupt from your ears."

I felt wistful as I watched their gentle exchange, envying their sibling banter. It made me miss my sister, Maggie, terribly.

As if she could read my mind, Maja turned toward me. "Quinn, Axel told me you have a sister, too. Are you close?"

Her question didn't sound neutral. There was an undercurrent of wariness, and I sensed there was a correct answer to the query. I looked back at her. "Yeah, Maggie and I are tight. She practically raised me after our parents died. I was a teenager, but it's still hard to imagine how I would have survived without her."

A flicker of empathy appeared on Maja's face. "That had to be hard…losing your parents at an age when so much is wild already."

While I swallowed hard, Axel reached out to rest his hand on my knee under the table, showing support. "Yes, it was, but I think it made us both stronger. We learned what really matters in life."

"And what is that?"

I answered without hesitation. "Family—the people who love you and are there to support you no matter what. They matter most."

Sven softly grunted his approval. When I turned toward Axel, his soft, loving expression left me breathless.

He squeezed my knee. Next, he nodded in agreement and looked at me, his soulful brown eyes boring deep into my heart.

From across the table, Maja watched our interaction closely, but I couldn't read her reaction. All that I saw was a small, cautious smile.

"Well said." She raised her glass in a toast. "To family…in all its forms."

We all clinked glasses. It was a significant moment, one of those when time stops briefly to acknowledge a step forward.

For the rest of the meal, I basked in the warm glow of the Karlsson family. I heard more stories, and they shared more laughter. When Axel's hand touched mine under the table, he wove our fingers together. It was a powerful statement of his desire to be one.

Maja leaned forward as Sven and Axel cleared plates and carried them to the kitchen. "Quinn, what exactly are your intentions with my brother?"

My gut clenched, and my palms started to sweat. I'd dreaded that question all evening and thought I might have avoided it. Maja's approval was crucial to the development of my relationship with Axel.

I did my best to keep my voice calm as I answered her. "I care deeply about him. He's important to me."

She nodded, acknowledging my comment, and then her gaze intensified. "Everyone who knows him well does, but he's been hurt badly in the past. I have to know that you understand what you're wading into. It's not just that you're teammates. That's complicated enough."

I blinked, and she took a breath. Her love for her brother was abundantly clear.

"Quinn, it's the difference in your ages, too. You're at completely different stages of your lives and careers. Axel needs to settle down and know he can build something stable and lasting. Can you handle that level of commitment, or is this just a major crush? I'll understand if you say yes, it's a crush."

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