Page 23 of Carved in Ice (Made of Steel 3)

“God, please pretend I didn’t say that. I didn’t mean it. I was just trying to say Serrano out loud a few times to get used to it.”

“Mhm.”

“I was!” I lightly nudged his shoulder.

“Actually, I think Summer Serrano has a nice ring to it.”

“You do?”

“Once we get out of this mess, maybe we can make it official. I know how much you like changing your name.”

I wanted to laugh at his joke. But he'd kind of just proposed. Hadn’t he? It felt like my heart was going to beat out of my ribcage. I had only ever dreamed of marrying one boy. My heart used to beat for Miles. Now? I exhaled slowly. Now I could picture it with Eli. I could as clear as day. Eli wasn’t just some childhood fantasy. He was real. He had moved to New York to help me. Hell, he had given up his career to help me. He wasn’t some childhood dream, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t the man of my dreams.

“I do like changing my name,” I said. “Sometimes I forget that you’re 26 and ready for so much more than boyfriend and girlfriend labels.”

“I’m patient. There’s no rush, Summer.”

But I wanted that happy ending. I felt like I deserved it. Like I had waited my whole life to get to smile again. The white picket fence. The kids. It felt like a knife cut through my heart. “You’re really okay with the fact that I can’t have children?”

“We’ve already talked about this. We can adopt. Some cute little kid that needs us.”

I loved that idea. And I loved him. I truly did. Why had I spent so much time pushing him away? He was so much better than sad memories, so distant and cold. My future finally felt bright. “I’d really like that. And maybe we can move back out west? I hate New York.”

He laughed. “Me too. We can go to some small little town and start fresh. Maybe I can even get reinstated eventually. Or we can do something together. I know how much you like hot chocolate. We could open a bakery or something.”

“Very funny. But that actually sounds kinda perfect. We’ll have a hot cocoa shop with several little kids running around.” It was not at all what I originally pictured for my future. But it sounded fantastic now.

“Several, huh?”

I laughed as he pulled me on top of him.

Chapter 11

Wednesday

“The Helspet Mafia meeting is confirmed for tomorrow night,” Liza said as she switched off her laptop and pulled her earbuds out of her ears. “I was able to pick up audio at the deli down the street. We have a location and everything.”

I had thought she was listening to music during our whole meeting. That made a lot more sense.

“Perfect. So our plan is to find William Crawford and extract him,” Eli said.

“Peacefully,” I added.

“Right. This is it, Summer. We’re finally going to get some answers.” He gave me a reassuring smile.

I had felt relaxed for the past couple of days. But hearing Eli say that made me feel even better. I smiled back at him. Everything was finally coming together. My mind was no longer consumed with thoughts of revenge. It was filled with thoughts of a future that was actually bright.

“Great,” V said. “We can go through particulars tomorrow morning since Sadie has an appointment in a few minutes.”

“Actually,”

Eli said. “Summer and I have been talking and we think it’s best if she stops seeing Dr. Miller. She said last time wasn’t very helpful. And we’ve been talking a lot of things out. She definitely doesn’t need him.”

I grabbed Eli’s hand under the table. I had asked him to help get me out of my next appointment. Thank you. I squeezed his hand.

V looked down at Eli and my intertwined fingers beneath the glass table. “The two of you have been talking it out?” he asked.

“Mhm,” I said. “Really, I feel so much better about everything. It’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

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