Page 41 of A Sudden Romance

That was true. None of Iris’s friends in Pleasant View grew up with money like her. In fact, her oldest friend, Liberty, had been serving an event at The Peak when Iris hit it off with her and they’d become best friends in their late teens.

Sabastian grasped another onion and spun it in his hand, then tossed it up and down like a baseball, his mind now whirling with what he could do to convince her he could be the man for her.

Yeah, as if that were even possible when he still lived on her parents’ property.

“You’d better tell her how you feel soon. Don’t her siblings come into town like tomorrow?”

“Some are arriving Sunday.” Tuesday was the official date of the reunion and the beginning of their planned events with a big family dinner, but this morning, Regina and Kyle mentioned two of their kids arrived on Sunday.

“You’re running out of time, amigo! You know—”

“Ahem.” Paulina stood in the doorway, rubbing her hands together as if getting ready for a task. “Don’t worry. I didn’t hear anything.”

Her lipstick was the same color as the sparkly burgundy V-neck dress sweater that rounded her curves. “I’m done with work for the day.” She used her bedroom as her home office. “Put me to work.”

“I’m good.” Sabastian started peeling the garlic, preferring to work alone.

“You’re dressed fancy for someone who’s going to get their hands dirty.” Leo stepped back and crossed his arms, then eyed his sister.

“What’s with that look?” Paulina fisted a hand and hurled it at her brother.

Leo ducked, then sped past her, and left the kitchen. He knew how Paulina felt about Sabastian, and no doubt, he’d encouraged his sister to move on with someone else, rather than wait for Sabastian to change his mind.

“Hey.” A soft hand touched his shoulder, and while it should send tingles the way Iris’s touch did, it didn’t affect him in any way.

He turned to face her. It was the least he could do. “What’s up?”

She sucked in a breath and held up both her hands in front of her. “How can I help?”

There was no harm in having her dice the tomatoes and blend them. The sooner he got through the meal preparation the better. He tipped his chin toward the tomatoes in the sink. “You want to wash and cut the tomatoes?”

The water running as she washed the tomatoes was a welcome noise. But it was short-lived. She gathered a handful of tomatoes and placed them on the cutting board. “Are you staying for the party?”

“No. In the midst of the busy day, I forgot to tell my bosses about this party.” When he’d called Leo from the store, Sabastian had informed him he wasn’t staying.

Knives hitting the cutting boards and water bubbling on the stove split the silence until Paulina spoke as if she’d thought through her statement. “I like her.”

“What?” He paused but kept the knife hovering over the garlic, so he could grasp what she was saying.

“Iris.” Paulina put the knife to her side. Her lips thinned. “I see why you’re crazy about her.”

Anyone could see how special Iris was. From the moment he’d first wanted her, he’d known he’d have competition, but dealing with it when she was in Pleasant View wasn’t something he’d prepared for.

Still, he eyed Paulina. Martina and Leo teased him, and Iris’s name came up every so often. But he’d never told Paulina about Iris. Just how had Paulina known Iris was consuming his mind? “I don’t understand.”

“I understand what you’re going through.” Paulina turned to face the cutting board. “It’s not easy loving someone who doesn’t understand how you feel.”

So, she knew. His chest ached for her, but he couldn’t do anything about it. So he put the flat knife over the garlic and pressed it.

“I hope things work out for you.” She sounded genuine, even if sad.

“I know things will work out for you too.” He meant it. Someday, someone as special as she was would find a man worthy of her love.

If only he could fix her heart somehow. Giving her an embrace about now would be the right thing to do, but would also be the worst thing he could do for both of them. The time he’d hugged her to console her after her grandma’s death, she’d ended up kissing him on the lips. That hadn’t ended well.

One had to respect her, though, for expressing herself more than he’d managed with Iris. He’d had the opportunity to kiss her on the sledding hill or even ask her out on a date. Yet he didn’t. Perhaps she wouldn’t be out with another man right now if he’d kissed her.

He tried not to let Iris get to him as he made the marinara sauce, then Alfredo sauce and scooped in the chicken. He then cooked spaghetti and poured it into four medium disposable pans. He splashed hot water in the bottom of each of the two big pans before positioning the medium pans with spaghetti into the water pan.

---