Page 20 of Winter Glam in Amsterdam

"Thank you," I say, staring at his hand on my arm. He quickly lets me go, but I can’t shake the feeling of his fingers wrapped around my arm.

"So yeah, sex and parents—not really two topics I want to mix," I say with a nervous giggle, trying to continue our conversation from before, only now it feels unnatural.

"I get it. Well, not quite the parents thing, but it's not like I would want to volunteer about my sex life to Adam or Jackson either."

"Why not your parents?"

"They’re dead," he says matter-of-factly, and my eyes grow wide. Talk about putting my foot in my mouth. "Back when we were kids, Adam and Jackson had to jump in and became Reed’s,Zoey’s and my legal guardians, so something like parents, I guess."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn’t know," I stutter, but he shakes his head.

"It’s not like I advertise that fact to every beautiful woman I meet." He shoots me a wink and I feel myself blushing.

No, Summer. He wasn’t completely wrong when he brought my brother into the mix—there’s no way I’m going to start anything with a friend of his. Luca loves to meddle, this would not end well. Not at all.

"It must be weird to have that new addition to your family unit," I change the topic instead as we turn into the street of our hotel. "I know I felt weird when Millie first came into the picture," I admit, eyes darting around to make sure nobody else we know hears. "You know, all these years, I'd had my brother more or less to myself. But, oh well, it's Millie. Meeting her one time was enough to threaten my brother to not fuck it up."

"Understandable. She's a sweetheart," he admits. "Our family… well, that's complicated. My younger sister Zoey is off to college now, and I think it's got all of us really conflicted because she's the youngest, and we all feel super protective."

"Oh, poor her." It slips out of my mouth before I can stop it.

"Why’s that?"

"I mean, I have one brother who feels somewhat protective over me." I shrug with a sheepish smile that I try to hide behind my scarf. "Two if you count Asher as honorary brother, though we’re not that close. I couldn't imagine having to deal with four."

By now, we've reached the hotel lobby, and he's already pushing the button for the elevator.

"Well, thank you for letting me tag along, even though you wanted to spend the afternoon by yourself. I appreciate you sharing your educational adventure with me."

"I'd say you're welcome, but it's not like you really gave me a choice now, is it?" I grin and follow him into the elevator, pushing the button to my level. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that."

The doors open on his floor, and he shoots me a wink as he steps out.

"And if you ever need someone to try out your newfound inspiration, my room number is 417."

And with that, the doors close while I stare after him, mouth agape, my cheeks filling with heat.

"Well, can't ever tell me again that I'm direct now," I mumble as the elevator continues upwards.

Now that’s a hint if I ever got one.

Summer

“So.” My brother falls into step with me, nudging me with his arm and a wide grin on his face. "I heard Mom and Dad made you do some proper sightseeing.”

I roll my eyes. Mom and Dad took me to the palace this morning, for some ‘quality family time’ as they called it, while Millie and Luca went for a date on an all you can eat boat ride.

I love how close everything is here. You can reach everywhere by walking. No wonder cars are sparse here. I mean, the palace is located right in the middle of the city. No pompous giant garden around it or a high, armed wall, the way you’d picture it. Just bam, you look out the tram, and there is a palace.

It also means we regularly run into each other while exploring the city. Just like Luca found me after leaving the palace with Mom and Dad.

“Proper sightseeing?” I glance up at him. "What's improper sightseeing? Randomly walking through a city is arguably more unique sightseeing than joining a queue with a thousand other tourists to go where everyone does. Or doing an all you can eat pancake boat ride." I give him a pointed glare, but it just makes him chuckle.

"I wasn't talking about that," he says with a smirk. "I was talking about the Red Light District and, from what I heard, a sex museum. How do you even find those places?"

“Oh God,” I mutter under my breath. “Now, for the record, I open my eyes while walking and that’s how I found the museum.” I giggle awkwardly, feeling my cheeks warm. "So, Walker number three spilled I assume?"

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