Page 56 of A Sudden Romance

She shivered. “But all this work for something so beautiful that won’t last.”

Then he led her inside and into one of the sections. Ice walls surrounded them in a crystallized chamber. Were they alone? After a glance confirmed it, he swooped her into his arms and dipped his head for a heart-melting kiss. A moan escaped her as she melted into him. She lifted onto her tiptoes and trailed her hands down from his face to his shoulders, then curled her tender fingers around his neck. His heart rate skyrocketed as he savored the softness of her lemon-flavored lips mingling with his. His muscles quivered beneath the fingertips she raked through his hair. His lips delved hers, storing up sweet memories as if the kiss could last him through the many days her family surrounded her.

He reluctantly separated his lips from hers, then pressed his forehead to hers, their breath still mingling, his heart still racing. “I’m losing control.”

“I like when you lose control.” Her warm words dusted his lips.

She emboldened him, no doubt. Loving her seemed to be absorbing all the fear in him. It wasn’t like him, someone who hadn’t kissed in forever, to kiss a girl in public. “I want to kiss you again, but I fear our fantasy castle couldn’t survive the heat.”

“Oh, I think it can.” She rubbed her forehead against his, then tipped her lips up in an invite he couldn’t resist.

There was more kissing to make up for lost time. But at least, he’d taken her out on a date while he had the chance to. Something he was so grateful for the next day when three of her siblings arrived Sunday afternoon. While she spent time with them, he only communicated with her from across the table or room in stolen glances.

When she came to help with breakfast on Monday morning, her sister, Hailey, joined them. Two’s company, but three’s truly a crowd. The idiom never had more meaning than when Hailey separated him from Iris.

That and her two brothers taking her skiing the rest of the day made Monday the longest day of his life. He missed her even more.

Then, on Tuesday afternoon, still figuring out how to spend time with her during the reunion, he started to pull out ingredients to prepare for the first big family dinner. But he had to stop. The hallway leading to the garage bustled with sudden chatter, laughter, and activity. He tightened his grip on the lettuce. It had started. He’d lost his last hours of possibly being alone with her. He temporarily abandoned his station to welcome the family members.

“Sabastian, my man!” Logan grinned, emerging with luggage in tow, his fiancée on his heel carrying a valise. Logan and Serafina’s relationship had started as friends, then transitioned to something more. So, perhaps Logan, Iris’s most protective sibling, could understand Sabastian’s relationship with her developing into something more? Still, he stiffened at the prospect of telling Logan, of all her brothers, he wanted to date her.

Behind them, Julia seemed to be in a heated argument with Nate and Wade. Two other brothers spoke in low tones beyond them. All the siblings were here, except for Eric who lived in town and would show up for the tree decorating tomorrow, the true kickoff for the reunion.

“So good to see you.” Sabastian pulled Logan into a side hug, then Serafina, before moving to the next brother until he greeted everyone.

Soon, Iris and Hailey and their mom, dad, and other two brothers emerged from the family room having heard the commotion.

“Julia.” Iris’s brows creased as she hugged her sister. “I thought you weren’t—”

Julia, slightly taller than Iris, shook her head, her eyes darkening as if she didn’t want Iris to spill a secret of some sort. After hugging Iris, she stopped to greet Hailey.

With Julia’s prickliness, Sabastian sometimes found himself eavesdropping as if he could stop her from lashing out at anyone she needed to vent on. He didn’t like her lashing out at Iris. That was all. Loving Iris from afar, he’d always ached whenever she was hurting or upset. In the family, Julia mostly upset Iris.

The parents greeted their kids, and Iris greeted her brothers, hugging one at a time. Compared to Julia’s icy manner, the way they lit up as they kissed Iris’s cheek squeezed his chest.

“Hey there, little one.” Nate ruffled her hair before she slapped his hand away.

She punched his shoulder. “This is what you’re going to get each time you call me little.”

Nate chortled. The famous race car driver looked so relaxed in his home environment, nothing like his intense persona in car magazines or interviews.

“Hey.” A curious flare flashed in Nate’s blue eyes as he whispered loud enough for Sabastian and some of Iris’s siblings to hear. “I heard you went on a date with Grey?”

“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you spoke to Mom already.”

“He called me.”

Sabastian’s stomach clenched, and he was about to add Nate to the top of his hate list before Nate continued. “He was apologizing for asking you out. He’s forgiven, though, since you turned him down.”

“Who’s Grey?” someone asked.

And Iris threw her hands up. “Oh, just mind your own business.”

Her gaze then found Sabastian’s, and her soft smile seemed just for him before she looked away when another brother hugged her.

No doubt, the guys loved all their sisters, but they had a soft spot for the family youngest. Could also be that Iris showed a tender affection toward her siblings that Julia and Hailey struggled to portray. Having grown up in different backgrounds could explain their harder shells. Something he could well understand.

Iris then scooted to Serafina and hugged her tight. “I was saving the best for last,” she said, and her gaze again flitted to him in the circle with her brothers. She gave him a secretive smile, and he winked before refocusing on Wade who was saying something about skiing.

---