Page 20 of Home for the Holidays

“Oscar! It’s so good to see you.” Zac’s voice was filled with affection, like he missed his older brother way more than he realized. It was great to witness; he had made it seem like he was Mr. Perfectly Fine being away from his family for so long.

“You’re the jerk who hasn’t been home in forever. Adrien is going to flip when he finally gets up.”

“Dude,” Zac said as he pulled away, “where is Karen? She here? And Nora? She’s, like, six now, right? How crazy.”

“Well, yes, but”—Oscar paused and pushed Zac to the side—“are you going to introduce me to this lady standing behind you?”

Zac let out a deep laugh as he pulled Iris closer to them. “This is, uh, well, this is my Iris.”

His Iris? She could barely contain her eye roll. Out of place didn’t even begin to describe how she was feeling at that moment. If she could have snapped her fingers and disappeared, she would have done it in a fucking heartbeat, wishing Zac good luck upon her exit. “Hi,” she finally said as she held out her hand, but Oscar skipped the formalities and pulled her into a hug, which only made her squirm more.

“Iris, it’s so nice to meet you.” Oscar let go, then pushed her from him gently as he looked at Zac. “You could have let us know you were bringing a girlfriend,” he said out of the corner of his mouth. “We all thought you’d just bring, y’know, a ‘friend.’” Iris narrowed her eyes at the use of his air quotes.

“I know.” Zac smiled, but he faltered at first. She watched his expression, the way he seemed to be dissecting Oscar’s admission too. When he handed her a cup of coffee, she tried to get his attention, but he was lost in his own thoughts.

She sipped from the mug and realized the coffee had Baileys in it. Whatever higher power was listening to her inner thoughts deserved every ounce of praise. “Okay, you know the way to my heart.”

“Of course I do.” Zac whispered near her ear. “Who loves ya?”

“Apparently you do.” She took another sip. Was it too early to down this cup of alcoholic coffee? Yes. Absolutely. But her morning had gone from weirdly awesome to incredibly awkward in the span of ten minutes. She deserved the absolution for however long it was going to last. “You owe me,” she said as he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek again. “Don’t forget that.”

“I love you.”

She needed to play the part and say it back, but all she could think of was Heidi at the bakery, Heidi leaning her head back as she came, Heidi fluffing her hair, Heidi, Heidi, Heidi…How much do exorcisms go for these days?Whatever the price, she’d consider paying it to not obsess over that perfect smile and those haunting, dark brown eyes for the rest of the trip with her fake boyfriend.

“Adrien, get up,” Oscar shouted up the stairs. “Zac’s home.” He slapped the banister. “Mom’s gonna flip. You know that, right?” Oscar said as he flipped open the box of pastries and took out a bear claw. He took a huge bite before telling Iris, “Mom’s been dying for Zac to settle down forforever. She’s gonna be thrilled.”

Settle down? Geesh.He was only twenty-seven. What was the rush, Mama Nowak?

“Don’t worry. She’s going to love you,” Zac said in response to Iris’s shocked expression.

A guy with shaggy, bleached blond hair came flying down the stairs and into the kitchen. He was wearing black long johns with tiny Pride flags all over them. “Zac Attack!” he shouted as he ran into Zac’s arms. He had the same scruff as Zac and Oscar. She could tell instantly that they were all related, even though they had different features. Their mannerisms were similar, which made Iris love them all. The best part about all of it was seeing how Maddie kept trotting happily between the three of them. It was almost like she was excited to have her three brothers back together. It made Iris smile from ear to ear.

“That’s Adrien,” Oscar said as he leaned over into Iris’s space. He sniffed her coffee a couple of times. “Is there Baileys in there?” His eyes lit up. “Nice. That’s a great idea.” He pulled the Baileys out of the fridge and poured a decent amount into his coffee before coming back to her side. “It’s five o’clock somewhere,” he said as he toasted with his mug.

“I think Zac thought it’d help my nerves.” Iris took a sip. “He wasn’t far off.”

Oscar leaned into her arm. “Don’t worry. If he loves you, we love you. There’s only been one girl we haven’t liked, and that was in high school.”

Iris looked at Oscar, at his dirty-blond hair and brown eyes. He was just as beautiful as Zac. “Good to know.”

“Adrien, this is Iris.” Zac waved her over. “She’s a little shell-shocked.”

“Of course she is, you asshole,” Adrien said. He pulled Iris into a hug. “I’m sorry he’s such a jerk. I’m so glad you came with him.”

Iris chuckled through the sensation of an impending panic attack. “Thank you. I’ll forgive him eventually.”

“Where’s Shaun, Adrien?” Oscar asked.

“Who’s Shaun?” Zac playfully punched Adrien’s arm. “Did you bring a friend too?”

Iris almost choked on her coffee. Oscar froze, his coffee cup halfway to his mouth.

“Girlfriend, sorry. It’s new.”

“Oh?” Adrien wagged his eyebrows. “It’s gonna be old if you don’t watch yourself, bro.” He nudged Zac. Iris took a deep breath when Zac made eye contact with her. She wanted to laugh. It was only a matter of time before one of them screwed up. She was just glad it was him this time and not her. “So, yeah, Shaun’s actually myboyfriend.” Adrien’s smile was adorable as he admitted it.

Iris was beaming inside.I fucking knew it.

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