Page 84 of ICED
“You okay?”
His voice is rough with sleep, but alert. Watching me.
I nod too quickly. “Yeah. Just tired.”
His hand moves gently, fingers brushing the skin just beneath my ribs. Not pushing, not prying, just there.
“You don’t have to pretend with me, you know.”
I glance at him, caught off guard. He doesn’t press.Doesn’t ask. Just meets my gaze with something quiet and steady.
“I’m not going anywhere, Maya. Not unless you tell me to.”
And for some reason, that’s what nearly undoes me. Because I don’t want to tell him to go. I just don’t know how to let him stay.
The sound of tiny feet padding across the floor wakes me.
Lila stands by the sofa, blinking at us with a curious little smile. “Mummy, my tummy is hungry for breakfast.”
Owen’s hand strokes my back, lazy and slow, and he presses a kiss to my temple.
“We’re up, sweetheart,” I say, voice hoarse. I sit up, grabbing the throw blanket to cover myself. Owen rises and pulls on the trousers he wore to the baby shower, before heading to the kitchen.
“Pancakes and strawberries,” he calls. “And I can make you a Bear face with banana ears.”
Lila giggles and skips off. I follow, my cheeks warm, but my chest light.
While Owen makes pancakes, I switch on the kettle and make two cups of tea. When I hand Owen his, he leans over and kisses me, much to Lila’s delight.
Lila squeals. “Bear! You kissed Mummy!” her little hands clap in delight but she’s soon distracted by her pancakes again.
Owen chuckles then mouths that he’s sorry. “How about we have another skating lesson after breakfast? We can swing by my place and pick up my skates first.”
Lila squeals again but for different reasons this time. We watch as jumps from her chair and darts down the hallyelling behind her as she goes. “Mummy get dressed! We going skating!”
The rink is quiet this morning, just a few other early skaters carving slow, lazy circles into the ice. Lila’s nose is pressed to the car window as Owen parks the car. She’s practically vibrating with excitement.
“Bear! Bear, are we going to do the twirly bit again?” she asks as he helps her out of the backseat.
Owen chuckles, zipping up her little puffer coat. “We’ll work our way up to it, Jellybean. First, we master the penguin walk again.”
She nods solemnly, like this is Olympic-level business.
By the time we’re inside, Lila is tugging on Owen’s arm and pointing out every single detail she remembers from her last visit. He listens like it’s the most important information he’s ever received.
I sit on a bench near the edge of the ice, coffee in hand, and watch as Owen kneels in front of her to lace up her skates. He’s so gentle with her as he’s double-checking the tightness, tucking in the laces, adjusting her helmet strap with the kind of careful touch that makes my throat tighten.
“Alright, ready?” he asks once she’s all set.
“Ready!” she says, beaming up at him.
He takes her hand and steps onto the ice with her, steadying her little feet. They move slowly at first, tiny, clumsy shuffles like a cautious baby deer, but Owen’s encouragement never wavers.
“See? You’ve already got better balance than Ollie,” he teases, and she laughs.
“But I’m not even going fast yet!”
“Speed’s got nothing on style, and you’ve got buckets of it.”
