“You saw me a few weeks ago.” I chuckled.
“Sebastian needs to let you out more,” Serfina teased.
He rolled his eyes at her. “When has this girl ever not done what she wanted with me?” he countered.
“Sebastian,” Soran called.
“Hey, Soran,” Sebastian said as they shook hands.
He turned to face me. “Lovely to properly meet you, Aria.” He smiled, his dark eyes lighting up as he took hold of my hand and placed the other on top, shaking it.
My eyes caught the tattoo on his hand. Two hundred and sixteen. It wasn’t a tattoo you’d find from a tattoo shop here; it looked like someone had done it at home.
“Yes, this is a much better setting than the office,” I said.
“Soran,gyan,” a woman’s voice called.
I looked past Soran to see a woman walking towards us. Her hair was loosely covered by a headscarf, but you could make out that it was thick, glossy, and tinted a deep red through the black in the light. Her eyes were a warm chestnut brown, but there was a spark of fire in them, and she must have been around five foot four with a petite figure.
“There you are.” She smiled at him and then met my eyes.
“This is Aria,” Sebastian introduced me. “This is Berevan, Soran’s wife.”
“Çhawakant zor jwanin,” she said, and pulled me in. Her embrace was welcoming, like how a mum’s would be, and her floral perfume hit my nose. It wasn’t overpowering; it was a delicate smell of lavender, with hints of jasmine and rose. “Sebastian, I knew she’d be beautiful, but her eyes are stunning,” she added as she pulled away.
“Thank you. It’s really nice to meet you.” I smiled.
Soran clapped his hands together. “Now introductions are out of the way, we feast.”
Sebastian pulled my chair out, and I sat down. He rested his hand on my thigh, and that instant heat he always brought hit my core.
As Berevan poured glasses of water for everyone, her sleeve rose, revealing scars up her arm. They looked like they’d been there for years—like she’d been burnt. My eyes flicked to my covered wrist, where mine sat. A reminder of how far I had come. How much stronger I was and how I wasn’t afraid anymore.
“Have you had Kurdish food before, Aria?” Berevan asked.
“No, I haven’t, but it smells lovely in here. I can’t wait to try it.”
“Sebastian keeps her locked away under the stairs,” Serfina teased.
“Oh, Serfina.” Berevan laughed. “Sebastian loves her. You can see it in the way he looks at her.”
My cheeks flushed at the comment, and Sebastian kissed my head, then started talking to Hayden and Soran.
“Tomorrow is Newroz. I made you and Serfina your dresses,” Berevan said.
A smile spread across Serfina’s face. “I can’t wait to see it. They’re always so beautiful.”
“Ah, yes, Newroz,” Soran said. “I never got the chance earlier to explain the history of it to Aria properly.”
Sebastian leaned into my ear and whispered, “He does this all the time.”
“Does what?” I whispered back.
Sebastian smiled. “Tells us stories.”
Berevan swatted Soran. “We don’t need to hear it.”
He chuckled to himself.
