Page 47 of Put a Rink on It

“Hey, Ma. What are you up to?” I attempt to keep my voice breezy. She’ll know something’s up in my tone.

“Catching up on my daily soaps.”

Letting my instincts be my guide, I say, “Could you come over for a little while? There’s, uh, something we need to talk about.”

“Everything okay?” She leaps into mom mode. She’s not the person who jumps to worst-case scenarios, a trait I admire and love about her.

“Yep. It’s good news, but big.”

“Am I going to be a grandmother again? I don’t want to be caught off guard. Though you’re much older than sixteen, don’t live at home, and I’m rocking the Mimi role. But still. Are you pregnant?”

Juliet giggles beside me. “Good one, Ma.”

“Hello to you too, Ettie.”

“I’m not pregnant.”

“None of us are getting any younger, and it’s been too long since we’ve had a baby, so I wouldn’t be upset if you were.”

“I’ll take it under advisement. So we’ll see you soon at my house?”

“Walking out the door as we speak. Is anyone else joining us?”

“Nero,” Juliet announces, not being able to help herself. I shoot her a glare.

“The plot thickens. See you in a few. Bye.” The call ends without a chance to respond.

“Think she has an idea?”

“With her, it could go either way. She seems to know things without us telling her.”

“But that could be good. Maybe she won’t be so mad.”

“Yeah, maybe.” I sigh.

Guess we’re doing this.

Here goes nothing.

CHAPTER 15

marina

Nero casually leans up against his car, his feet crossed at the ankles, as if he’s not here to throw a bomb at my mother and sister. Black sweatpants cover his muscular legs, and a Nautilus hoodie is his coat. His hat is backward, but it does little to dismay the nerves gathering in my abdomen at the sight of him or because of what we’re about to do. Maybe both.

Probably both.

How’s it possible he’s gotten hotter since I last saw him hours ago?

I throw the car into park, shut it off, and rush out, speaking before my door is fully closed. “Ma’s on her way, but we need a story. How long have we been secretly dating? Why get engaged now? Why did we keep it a secret? Why⁠—”

Nero cuts off my diatribe by pressing his lips to my mouth and gathering me into him. The action should be more jarring, but it’s not. I melt against him, relishing the contact, my worries fading away. It doesn’t matter that we don’t have answers for the barrage of questions coming our way, nor that kissing him isn’t a usual part of my life—forget the fact it’s fake and for show—because at the moment, this feels right. I’m not sure what it means, but his being here gives me the strength I need to share this secret.

He pulls away first, his lips quirked into a half-smile. “Hey. I got this,” he states with confidence, with no waver in his voice. It’s like how he plays hockey—sure, self-assured, arrogant.

From the corner of my eye, I spot Juliet, her face impassive. “Holding you to it.”

Juliet stalks toward us, stopping with barely two feet of space separating us. She plants her feet and crosses her arms over her chest, her vision bouncing between the two of us. I should know what she’s going to say—something like being angry about keeping a secret so huge—but she’s always been a bit of a wild card in unpredictability. Now could be the time she goes completely off the rails.