“Hello again, Ahri,” Rafe’s mother said, taking her hands in both of hers.
“Thank you for having me.”
“This is my husband, Alex Diederik.”
“It’s a pleasure.” The handsome man with gray at his temples extended a hand.
“I understand you teach at the university.” Ahri said, shaking it. “What subjects?”
“History.” He put his hand on the head of a dark-haired little girl. “This is Lessa.”
The child was scrutinizing her.
“Hello,” Ahri said.
“They said Kayn is your brother,” Lessa said.
“Yes, he is.”
“But he’s Korean. How come you got green eyes?”
“Lessa!” Mrs. Diederik put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s all good.” Ahri smiled at Lessa. “Kayn and I are only part Korean. He looks it more than I do. Someday you’ll learn about how genes work, and it’ll make more sense. Green eyes aren’t very common among our mother’s people, but her grandfather was from Australia and had light eyes.” Ahri didn’t like to talk about him. He’d just been another man who’d acted like he loved a Korean woman and then left her. Maybe thatwas a curse on the women of her family. The men never stayed.
“That’s Nikolas over there playing with Ezreal,” Francie said.
“You have beautiful children, Mrs. Diederik.”
“Oh, heavens, call me Francie.” She glanced around the room. “Supper’s ready.”
Once again, Ahri held back as the others went into the large dining room. She glanced around the place, impressed by the attention to detail on the stained beams. The subtle yet bright colors on the walls lit up what could have been a dark room.
The only empty chair at the table was between Kayn and Rafe. When she reached for it, Rafe jumped up and pulled it out for her. Kayn shot him a quizzical look—because why would a brother ever get a chair for his sister? Ahri had to bite back a smile.
She didn’t take part in the various conversations but simply enjoyed the comfortable banter. Darius was asking Alex his opinion about some of their weapons designs, while Francie and Kayn talked about the garden.
Rafe and Ezreal were going on about the music. When the musician realized she was watching them, his face colored, and he stumbled over his words in a stutter. He snapped his mouth shut and his food seemed to steal his attention.
Kayn had mentioned that Ezreal had stuttered as a child and was self-conscious about it. She’d asked her brother how the man led a team of musicians, including women. Evidently, once he knew he was safe around someone, he did just fine. Poor man. Somehow, Ahri had to help him see her as safe.
She made sure not to look his way again, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. The children were now laughing at something their father had said. The people in the room—except for her—had a sense of connection. It was a sweet feeling to be around them. That was the only word she could think of for it—a sense offamily. No wonder Kayn was so happy here. On the ride over, he’d raved about what a great place it was.
She glanced around the room again. It was so much more than simply a house. Growing up, a house had been all her mother had been able to provide, too consumed with the grief of being abandoned. She’d gone to work every morning only because Ahri had made her get up and be the adult. By the time Ahri had married, she’d been confident that her mother could at least take care of herself physically. How to help her find happiness alone had been a different thing altogether.
Ahri shifted away from such a negative thought. It wasn’t like she’d done any better in choosing a husband.
After dinner and the cleanup, they played a few games that the children could take part in. Even Ezreal participated, though Ahri sensed that he glanced at her a lot. She was careful to keep her eyes on others in the room, letting her peripheral vision follow him. Did he know that he actually brought more attention to himself when he did that?
More than once, she caught Rafe watching Ez and shaking his head at him. Ahri’s gaze met Rafe’s, and she had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. She determined then to make Ezreal as comfortable around her as he was with Francie.
When everyone was ready to leave for the evening, Ahri held back. Her brother glanced at her.
“You sure you’re okay with this?” he asked.
“Oh, yes.” She glanced around the room and sighed. “This is perfect for me. You don’t have to worry.”
“Give me a shout if you need anything.” He gave her a quick hug and bounded down the steps to his car. Darius went right behind him, waving as he left. Ezreal had to extricate himself from the children before he could follow.
