Page 43 of A Sudden Romance

Iris cut into her salmon, its crispy outside falling away to a tender pink center. “I’m sure they’ll do something nice.”

Dad forked some asparagus. “I imagine the construction traffic will start to be a problem soon?”

Mom answered, but her words floated in the background as Iris’s mind wandered to the annoyingly shy chef. She was so done with their unspoken tension and heated exchanges. This silence between them had grown as thick as the pull of attraction and awareness.

Things had been different since Wednesday. Sabastian had to be jealous she’d gone out with Grey. But why didn’t he say something to stop her from going?

Like her, he might be going through the motions of the two of them spending so much time together. Obviously, she didn’t know him well. Was he moody at times? She expected him to be quiet—it was his nature. But getting upset and ignoring her calls when she’d rushed back to get ready for Leo’s party? Totally unacceptable.

Since Sabastian wasn’t at the party tonight, Leo must’ve been left scrambling for dinner for his employees.

She chomped into her asparagus with too much force, jarring her teeth. But seriously, it was infuriating that, within almost two weeks, she could hardly remember what her previous dates had been like. How had Sabastian captured her mind and a portion of her heart?

There was a strong man behind his quiet intensity. He didn’t have to say much to get her heart racing. What she wouldn’t give to know what he was thinking, though!

“Honey. Iris?” Dad’s voice broke through her thoughts, and she jerked, the fork sliding out of her hand and clinking against the plate.

“Huh?” Her gaze flickered to Mom, who was dabbing a napkin on her mouth. “Sorry, um, you encountered construction? Traffic?”

Her cheeks flushed over her inattentiveness. She’d better march to Sabastian’s house and give him a piece of her mind if she wanted any peace or sleep tonight.

“Your mom said you went on a date today.” Dad’s blue eyes, intense beneath the pendant lights, searched hers. He was probably more curious than happy about her date.

“It wasn’t exactly a date.” She refocused on her food. She’d told Mom about the coffee meeting with Grey being a favor since he’d come to meet with Sabastian. Okay, she’d also gone to try to diffuse her unexpected attraction to Sabastian. After all, she’d needed to make sure it wasn’t just because she hadn’t been on a date in a long time and she’d now react to any man that way. “It was just coffee with one of Nate’s friends.”

“And Nate knows?” Dad’s brow lifted. Yes, he knew her brothers did a good job warding off her suitors.

“He doesn’t have to know anything. Like I said, it was just coffee.” She doubted she’d ever sit across from Grey again. He was a nice man, passionate about food-related adventures, but she barely paid attention to anything he said. The only time Grey’s conversation intrigued her was when he talked about Sabastian’s culinary skills and how they’d loved his food. Otherwise, her mind kept flashing images of Sabastian’s dejection when she mentioned meeting with Grey.

“You haven’t touched any of your dinner.” Mom pointed a fork at Iris’s plate.

“I’m sorry.” She squished her face. “I’m not hungry.” She was, sort of, but her appetite had vanished when she couldn’t get ahold of Sabastian earlier. “Would it be okay if I excuse myself?”

“Are you okay, darling?” Mom’s brow lifted. If Iris wasn’t forthcoming, Mom would follow her to her room and sit with her until she blurted whatever was eating her up. Having a psychiatrist for a mom didn’t make it easy to brush things off. Mom was good at reading minds, and most of the time, she guessed what her kids were thinking.

Iris pushed back the chair to stand. “I need to talk to Sabastian.”

Dad and Mom looked at each other, then at her. Questions gleamed in Mom’s golden eyes while Dad cocked his head. “He left for the night.”

“And he may not come back tomorrow if I don’t fix things with him.” Iris blew out a dreadful breath as she scrambled for the right words, the reasons she couldn’t wait until tomorrow. “I’m so mad at him right now.”

“Whoa.” Dad held up a hand. “He’s mad at you? Sabastian never gets angry.”

Apparently, he did.

“Did you criticize his cooking?” Mom eyed her, a soft smile twisting her lips.

“I love his food.” Suddenly cold, Iris hugged her arms across her chest. “Plus, I rarely criticize anyone.” Only at work if one of her team members didn’t put effort into their designs or presented a sloppy client pitch.

“I need to fix things so when I leave at the end of the month you two still have a chef.”

“A chef who might be leaving us for a TV show.”

She waved Dad off. “The TV show is a temporary thing.”

“It involves winning fifty grand,” Mom said. “When he wins the next round, he’s starting a restaurant somewhere.”

Her parents had the same confidence Sabastian was capable of winning. But, either way... “Sabastian loves it here.” Surely, he had no intention of leaving. And their family loved him too, but they’d be happy to see him pursue his dream. His exceptional talent deserved recognition where he could serve more people than just her family and experience some adventure and excitement after a dozen years at The Peak.

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