Page 122 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
“They pretty much have had to tailor their whole lives—their marriages, their careers, when they have kids—around their husbands’ jobs as hockey players. I don’t want that.”
Ingrid looks sad, but she nods anyway. For a while she’s quiet, but then she speaks.
“The past few days make so much sense now.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Ever since you’ve been back, you seemed a bit off. Like, you were acting all happy and energetic, but it felt like it wasn’t genuine. Like you were hurt and trying to hide it. And now I know why.” She pauses. “I don’t remember you being this sad over any guy you’ve dated before. Definitely upset. But sad?” Her blue eyes are tender as she looks at me. “You’re heartbroken, Maya.”
“I am,” I say, my voice weak. “Being with Theo…it felt different.”
She squeezes my hand. “So this thing with Theo is not like anything else you’ve experienced before?”
“It’s completely different. He’s amazing. He’s not at all what I thought he was. Behind that cocky humor, he’s all sweetness and heart. He’s funny and kind and thoughtful. I fell hard for him.”
When I glance up, Ingrid is looking at me expectantly.
“Do you think that maybe you’re making a mistake by ending things with him before you even tried to make it work?” she asks gently. “It sounds like you really care about him.”
“Ingrid, I can’t. The only way for our relationship to work is for one of us to give up something. I won’t ask him to give up his career after working so hard to get it back. And I won’t give up my dream for him.” I think of my mom and what she went through, how she sacrificed her happiness waiting around for my dad all those years.
When I look at her, I can tell she’s disappointed. But she nods her understanding anyway.
I wipe my face with my free hand. Ingrid digs a packet of tissues from her bag, moves to sit next to me on my chair, and hands me the pack.
I tell her a snotty, “Thanks” before dabbing at my cheeks.
She pulls me into a side hug and I wrap my arm around her. I hold my best friend tight, grateful for her support and understanding in this moment.
“If you’re upset at me for breaking things off with Theo, I understand,” I say to her. “I’d even understand if you didn’t want to be friends anymore…”
She makes a “psssh” noise as she hugs me tight. “Stop it. I love you, Maya. Yeah, I wish things ended differently between you and Theo, but that doesn’t have any effect on our friendship. You’ve been there for me a million times. I’ll always be there for you.”
“I love you, Ingrid. Thank you.”
She rests her head on my shoulder, and I rest my head on hers. We stay like that for minutes, until the reminder on my phone goes off.
I sniffle and wipe my nose. “Your dinner meeting. You have to get ready.” We stand up, put our stuff in our bags, and head back to our rooms. On our way, my phone buzzes with a text from Austin. When I read it, I stop walking.
Emergency trip to Phoenix. We need to talk
When I show the text to Ingrid, she looks surprised.
“You should text him back.”
Chapter42
Maya
My cousin Austin squints at the menu at Terras, the restaurant in Civana.
“What the hell does plant-forward mean?” he asks.
“It means they serve mostly fruits, veggies, and grains.” I sigh, annoyed.
He frowns and leans closer to the menu. “It’s so dark in here.”
“Mood lighting. It goes with the décor.”
