Page 34 of Top Shelf

“Well.” Reid glances down as Ivy tries to feed him his own hoodie string. He dodges it and kisses her hand instead, making her giggle. “That’s a very weird problem to have. Chase should be here—he loves weird problems.”

“He already knows.”

Reid’s eyebrows tick up. “So you came here because?”

Because Chase told me ridiculous problems might need ridiculous solutions, and Mamma says I shouldn’t be a handleless door. Because every time Freja calls, I hear the lake water lapping.

But mostly because Reid Hutchison knows what it’s like when life changes against your will, and you choose what matters anyway.

I pick up my mug and put it down again without drinking. “You are nearly married, and you had... complications.”

Reid’s mouth flattens for a second. “That’s one word for it.”

“But you and Carina made it work.”

“We did.” His thumb brushes Ivy’s curls where she leans against him, suddenly sleepy. “But not because marriage solves anything. Marrying Carina is something I wanna do because of everything else that happened first.”

I open my mouth, but before I can answer, the front door opens and closes.

“Reid?” Carina calls.

Ivy’s head pops up. “Mamama!”

Carina appears in the doorway wearing leggings, a zip-up, and running shoes. Her dark hair is pulled into a short ponytail, and her cheeks are flushed from the cold outside. She has two coffees balanced in her hand and a paper bag tucked beneath her arm.

Her gaze sweeps over me, Reid, Ivy, and the coffee barely touched on the table.

“Hi, Viktor,” she says, bending down to kiss Ivy’s head, then Reid’s. Her hand rests briefly at the back of his neck before she straightens, and Reid’s fingers brush her wrist as she moves away. “Everything okay?”

“Vik’s grandfather left him the family property in Sweden, but with a condition. He has to get married, or it’ll transfer to his cousin Anton.”

Carina’s eyes widen, and she sets the coffees down. Ivy reaches for her, and she takes her without hesitation, settling her on her hip. “Well, can’t you just buy Anton out?”

“He does not want only money.”

She hums at the same moment my phone vibrates on the coffee table. Freja, again.

I ignore it, and Carina looks from the screen to me with a frown. But before she can say whatever she’s thinking, her own phone rings from where she placed it next to her keys. I reach for my coffee, taking a slow sip and sitting in silence with Reid while we listen. Carina doesn’t have the luxury of ignoring phone calls as a surgeon.

“Oh,” she says, picking it up while still balancing Ivy. “It’s Heidi.”

My head lifts before I can stop it, and Reid catches the movement. Carina does too. Apparently this house is full of people who notice things I would prefer they did not.

She answers while shifting Ivy higher on her hip. “Hey, you okay?”

There’s a pause, then Carina’s face changes. Not enough that someone else might catch it, but enough for me to.

“No, don’t apologize. I’m home.” She walks toward the kitchen, but the house is open enough that her voice carries through. “Did Zoe send the revised wording? Good. Yeah, that’s cleaner.”

I look at my coffee and try not to listen. I also hear every word.

“Okay,” Carina says. “So the deposit’s still the most immediate problem.” Another pause. “Heidi, the fact that the number is ugly doesn’t mean you did the math wrong.”

Reid’s eyes move to me, and I stay still.

Carina lowers her voice, but not enough. “No, don’t call your parents if you already know they’ll make you feel small. That’s not a funding strategy.”

The kitchen tap runs, and a cupboard opens. Ivy babbles at Carina, who murmurs back, then returns to Heidi. “You have the bank on Monday and Lulu’s two contacts—that’s not nothing.”