Page 99 of Forbidden Flame

“I’m always good,” she said.

He laughed. “I’m sure you are.”

Then he was gone. He was probably worried about running into his family. I checked my messages. Dad had texted that they were eating at the lodge’s restaurant. “Let’s go find your crazy uncles.”

Izzy took my hand, seemingly unaware of the tension and our need to keep us a secret from our families. I was grateful for that.

We easily found the large table where my family sat.

“Where’ve you been?” Jameson asked as he slid over to accommodate us.

Izzy ended up sitting in my dad’s lap.

“We explored the town, met with Santa.” I scrolled through my phone to show him the pictures.

“What did you ask for?” Jameson asked Izzy who was eating fries off Grandpa’s plate.

“A daddy,” she said simply. I hoped she wouldn’t mention that Cole could be her daddy. I never would have asked for her to keep our relationship a secret.

My brother’s jaws tightened, and Teddy shook his head. “We’ve all got your back, Iz. Whatever you want. You come to one of us.”

“Mommy said you’re my crazy uncles.” She said that with glee in her voice because she knew she’d gotten me into trouble.

“She did, did she?” Teddy’s eyes narrowed on me.

“I call it like I see it,” I said, accepting the glass of ice water the waiter dropped off for me.

“You’re not too old for me to put you in a head lock,” Teddy grumbled.

“You wouldn’t dare. I’ve had tons of self-defense training.” My brothers insisted on it when I went to college.

Teddy just gave me a look.

“I wish Aunt Fiona, Uncle Axel, and Uncle Ryder were here,” Izzy said.

Aunt Fiona was a bit of a mystery to her. She visited occasionally for a short time. Izzy adored her, but she was never around long enough for her to get to know her aunt. Axel was in the military and currently stationed in Germany.

“I wonder what’s going on with her,” Jameson said.

“When she calls, she doesn’t say anything, other than she’s busy working. Izzy asked her to come home for Christmas, and she said she wasn’t sure she’d have the time.”

“She’s been with that company long enough to get some time off on the holidays,” Dad said.

If anyone could get her to visit, it was Izzy. But Fiona left when she went to school and never looked back.

“I think she had trouble with your mother’s death, and she doesn’t like to be home where she’d be confronted with memories,” Dad said.

The table fell silent because we rarely talked about Mom. I assumed it was because the guys had trouble talking about their emotions. I’d learned at a young age not to bring her up because it made everyone sad.

Teddy shook his head. “That’s not an excuse for not coming home to see us.”

“It makes it hard for her.” Dad always defended her.

I think he had a soft spot in his heart for Fiona. He’d always admired how determined she was but lamented that she’d work so hard she’d miss the joys in life, like friendships and a boyfriend.

She hadn’t mentioned much of a social life when we talked to her.

“Maybe she’ll come home to see Izzy.” I couldn’t think of a better Christmas than one where my whole family would be together and maybe I could be open about my relationship with Cole.

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