We’ve been official for almost two months, and she’s started to open up more, get more comfortable around me, but something’s been bothering her, and she hasn’t told me what.
“Just thinking about Christmas, I guess.”
“You got plans?”
She shakes her head. “I’ll probably stay home.”
“You’ll stay home?” I ask, pulling her scarf out of her fidgeting fingers. “What about your family?”
Her gaze drifts away from mine before she admits, “I haven’t seen my family in eight years.”
“Eight years?” I echo, shocked. That’s a long freakin’ time.
She nods, but her words come out slow, like each one hurts more than the last.
“I left home when I was eighteen. They don’t agree with who I am,” she says vaguely, and that hurts me something terrible. Who wouldn’t agree with who she is?
“I’m sorry, Darlin.”
She lets out a shaky breath. “It’s okay. I made my choice. And I don’t regret it. But around the holidays, it’s hard. I miss it. The food, the music, the smell of spices my mama used to use. I miss them terribly, but I had to leave so I could be who I am.”
“You don’t gotta explain, Iris. I know I’m all about family, but the truth is, despite all the crap, I got real lucky in that department.”
“Yeah,” she whispers, blinking against tears. And damn if it doesn’t break my heart, seeing her trying not to cry.
“Now, I know it ain’t the same,” I tell her, my thumb brushing away a tear, “but you could spend Christmas with us.”
“With your family?” She asks, her eyes widening.
“Uh-huh,” I say, because to me it’s that simple. “Ben and Liz, the kids. Alex, of course. It’d be fun.”
I’m not expecting the frown I get for my offer. “Nate, I don’t want to intrude on your family celebration.”
“You’re not ‘intruding’ on anything. They’ll love you. Hell, Liz’ll probably corner you the second you walk in and make you sit by her so she can tell you embarrassing stories about me.”
“I don’t know…” She pauses before adding, “Are you sure you want me to meet them? What if we break up?”
Why the hell would she think that?
“First of all, we ain’t breaking up. Second, I want you there, Iris. I want my family to meet the woman I’m so damn crazy about.”
“Okay,” she agrees, even though I can still see some reluctance in her. “I’ll come.”
“You will?”
“Only if you promise to stay next to me the whole time.”
“You couldn’t pay me to leave your side,” I say, moving my hands to her waist and pulling her close.
I’m happy she’s coming, and she gives me a little smile that tells me she is too, but there’s still something tense about her, and I don’t got a clue what’s causing it.
It’s the coldest day we’ve had so far.
The roads are covered in ice, and snow is still coming down. It’s a damn white Christmas, that’s for sure.
I’ve got Iris beside me, looking more anxious than I’ve ever seen her, and Alex in the back with a pile of presents stuffed beside him, his scowl locked into place.
But I gotta make a stop before we can go to Ben’s.
