“These people are their family, Kayla. I understand you don’t want them to know that yet, but the bottom line is that theyarefamily. This home is their home, too.” His eyes are stern as he tells me this.
“Jos…”
“They won’t say anything. I promise. I called them again this afternoon to make sure they both understand.”
I let out a sigh of relief. My stomach is in a knot.
He is waiting for me when I climb out of the car and walks with me up towards the front door. Josiah is wearing dark blue jeans and a black T-shirt. He looks casual, but still so damn sexy it’s bothering me.
Alara is standing at the front door with a wide smile on her face. She is as beautiful as ever. I think she's around the same age as me.
“Hello!” she exclaims, excitedly hugging her brother. She lets him go, and I expect her to shake my hand, but instead she pulls me into a hug as well.
“Wow, they are absolutelygorgeous!”she whispers to me, happily. “So are you. But you always were,” she grins.
Josiah throws her a look of warning, and she nods. “Don’t worry, I know the rules,” she scrunches her nose at him, then at me. “But I am really excited to meet them,” she adds quickly.
“Where are they?” I ask, peering behind her and wondering how they disappeared so quickly.
“They bolted into the house chasing after Isaak when he mentioned strawberry smoothies,” she says.
After she welcomes us in, we are greeted by his brother, Isaak, who strides towards me with long confident steps and his hand outstretched to shake mine. “Kyla, wow, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” he smiles. But instead of shaking my hand, as soon as he has mine in his, he pulls me into a hug.
“Yes, it’s been a while,” I stammer awkwardly.
They’re both being so friendly, but it could be for Josiah’s sake. I don’t know what he told them about me or what he asked of them regarding how to treat me.
Isaak releases me when we hear the girls giggling behind us.
The chef,Josiah’s chef,walks out carrying strawberry smoothies with both girls following close behind. “Are they allowed this before dinner?”
I nod, smiling, appreciating that he checked with me first. “Yes, thank you, Roger.”
“Come in, come in, let me get you some adult drinks,” Isaak gestures for us to follow him.
“Alara, where did you put the champagne glasses?” he calls out to his sister.
“In the glass cabinet by the fireplace,” she shouts back.
“She moves things around so often that every time I visit her, I have to go on a treasure hunt just to pour myself a drink,” he chuckles.
“I’ll have a beer,” Josiah says.
“Fine, but Alara wants champagne, so…Kayla? Champagne?”
I nod. “Yes, thank you.”
Alara comes through, wiping her hands on a dishcloth, smiling proudly.
“I’m making roast duck with sweet orange glaze,” she informs us. “Oh, and Roger insisted on making an assortment of mini pizzas for the girls. He said they wouldn’t be too keen on the duck?”
“They might try it, but you never know with them at this age. They tend to either dramatically love things or dramatically hate them,” I laugh.
“I bet they’ll love my cooking. I made shepherd's pie the other night for Isaak. He ate the entire bowl clean. It’s a pity you guys couldn’t taste it. It was amazing!”
Behind her, Isaak is pulling the oddest face.
“We’re excited to try the duck,” Josiah says, chuckling.
