Page 22 of A Sudden Romance

“See you next week, then.” He shook Leo’s hand and noticed Iris embracing Martina as she said goodbye.

Paulina emerged then, and Sabastian’s muscles tensed. Her long hair fell over her wrap dress. Maybe she was going somewhere because she’d put a lot of time into choosing her attire.

Hurt crossed her face when she took in Iris before her gaze moved to Sabastian. “You were leaving without saying goodbye?”

Leo and Martina exchanged looks. Then they lowered themselves to their daughter tending to the black kitten. Sabastian wanted to distract himself with the toddlers, but they weren’t in sight.

He cleared his throat. “Paulina, meet Iris. Iris, Paulina.”

Iris strode beside him and reached out to Paulina.

A long moment passed before she accepted Iris’s offered hand, her shoulders sagging. “Nice to meet you too.”

“I love the pattern on your dress.” Iris’s comment seemed to soften Paulina’s eyes when she touched the green print in her white dress.

“Thank you.” Paulina’s lips thinned, and Sabastian’s heart sank.

Iris made conversation, asking what Paulina did, and she told her about Leo’s business.

“I do the books most of the time.”

Curvy and beautiful with dark wavy hair, Paulina would easily find the perfect man, but Sabastian wasn’t that man.

He knew firsthand what it felt like to love someone who didn’t love you in return. Okay, his situation with Iris was different. He’d never confessed his feelings to her like Paulina confessed how she felt about him. She’d even gone as far as kissing him, and while he’d almost kissed her back so she didn’t feel bad, he knew he’d be misleading her. So he’d been upfront. Although he’d had no hope then that he’d ever have the nerve to tell Iris how he felt, he’d been able to tell Paulina she was beautiful and deserved all the love in the world, but his heart couldn’t give her that love because it belonged to someone else.

Now, today, he was another step closer to the love of his life.

“I’m going to let you catch up with Sabastian.” Iris leaned in to hug Paulina. “I doubt he was going to leave without saying goodbye.”

No. No. No! Now Iris would assume he and Paulina were together. But he couldn’t say anything now. Iris was already pulling Martina into another hug, then Alba, and Leo. The couple followed Iris to the sofa to get her coat, leaving him standing there with Paulina. She clasped her hands in front of her, a sad smile tipping her lips.

“Um...” He scuffled his feet, cleared his throat, and thrust his hands in his chino pants to ensure Paulina didn’t reach out and entwine her hands with his. Or worse, like the way she sometimes made herself comfortable to lift his hand and kiss the back of his palm. “I was just bringing the cat to Alba.”

“That’s nice of you.”

Through the corner of his eyes, he could see Iris crouch to put on her shoes.

“Nice to see you, Paulina.” He gave her a curt nod. What else was he supposed to say?

“Coming to the party on Friday?”

“Ask your brother.” He headed for his coat on the sofa, stopping Iris at the door as she was swinging it open. He slid on his coat and shoes, not bothering to button up the coat or tie the laces. “I’ll walk with you.”

The first chance he had with Iris, and Paulina had to put on a display of questions?

“I just...” He put his hand on Iris’s back as they walked to the car. What and why was he telling her about Paulina? Would Iris wonder why he was telling her?

He’d better not say anything, too awkward. Besides, who knew how it would end up coming out, given his nature of tripping over his words in her presence?

If she wanted to know what he was going to say, she didn’t ask, which was for the best.

During the drive, she turned on the radio, keeping the volume low. The song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” played, and Sabastian could think of no better request to God. Besides the baby Jesus’s birth, Iris was the only gift he wanted today, this Christmas, and forever.

Every day felt like Christmas with her.

Something crunched beneath her feet when she retrieved her handbag.

Oops! He’d forgotten the flowers he’d shoved under the passenger seat yesterday. His palms started sweating when she pulled the bouquet out and lifted it toward him.

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