Both girls smile sweetly, one bold and confident, the other a lot more reserved, with piercing eyes that seem to study me with curiously beyond her years.
“Hello Anton, are you her boyfriend?” Kira asks, placing her hands on her hips.
“Yes, uh, sort of,” I say.
“She’s wearing a ring,” Kelsey says with sharp observation. “They married,” she confirms.
“No, they did not marry. No way. We would have been invited to the wedding!” Kira snaps back, horrified her sister would even suggest such a thing.
“Come on, girls, let’s go inside,” Alara says, ushering the twins away so she can have a chance to say hello to Izabel.
She wraps her arms around Izabel’s waist and hugs her tightly. “Oh, my goodness, I’ve missed you!” she says, squeezing tighter.
“I’ve missed you too!”
“Hi, Anton, it’s really nice to meet you. I’m Alara, Josiah’s sister,” Alara says, stepping away from Izabel to smile at me.
I hold out my hand. “It’s a pleasure. I am—”
She ignores my hand and hugs me, too, catching me off guard.
“Come on in. Everyone is hanging out in the living room. We have a big fire going.”
Izabel walks in ahead of me, and instantly a man sweeps her off her feet, spinning her around with his arms around her waist. My hackles spike. The anger turns hot inside me. Who the fuck is this guy?
“Izo-pod!” he shouts, laughing, still spinning her.
“Put me down, you heffalump!” she squeals happily.
“Can’t believe you left me alone to deal with Alara’s cooking all on my own,” he complains, taunting his sister as he drops Izabel to her feet.
“Whatever! I am never forgiving you guys, by the way. I can’t believe they politely asked me to leave cooking classes because itwasn’t the right fit for me, ugh. Everyone is mean!” Alara complains.
Izabel laughs harder as she stands next to the guy. He keeps one arm around her waist. She stands right at his side when she turns to introduce me.
“Isaak, this is Anton, Anton, Isaak,” she says, finally stepping away from him.
I step forward and take his hand in mine, perhaps a little too firmly.
He chuckles and glances down at my hand. “That’s a solid grip you’ve got there, Anton. Good to meet you,” he says without a trace of malice. “What are you drinking? Whiskey? Vodka or beer?”
“Whiskey, thanks,” I say, releasing his hand.
Izabel returns to my side, artfully dodging Isaak, who reaches out to playfully punch her in the arm.
I pull her close to me. She’s laughing at him.
“You owe me ten bucks!” he calls from ahead of her.
“No, I don’t! You lost that bet fair and square.”
“He hasn’t stopped going on about the damn ten bucks. You know he deals with, um, difficultsituationsby making jokes…” Alara glances sheepishly at me. “Well, he kept saying we have to find you because you owe him ten bucks,” she whispers to Izabel with a giggle.
“That terror,” Izabel shakes her head. “He isn’t getting it. I won fair and square.”
We walk into the living room, and I am reluctant to let her go again in case Isaak moves closer to her. I don’t like how comfortable he is around her. And she seems just as comfortable with him. I wonder if there's history between them.
“Anton, Izzie, welcome! Sorry, I meant to greet you guys at the door. Had a little mishap here,” Josiah says, dabbing at the white rug that has a big red wine stain on it.
