“Grandfather I’d like to fuck,” he stated matter-of-factly, lightly pulling me closer to him as a drunken man almost slammed into me, then shot him a dark look as he told him to watch it in Albanian. Instantly, pride swelled in my chest at his protectiveness and the fact that I actually understood his words.
He turned to his bodyguards, but before he could do anything, I put my palm to his cheek and turned him to look at me.
“He’s just drunk, let him be.” I lifted on my tiptoes to press a light kiss on his mouth. “And the only GILF is you.”
The tension in his shoulders instantly eased and we resumed walking in easy silence while I pondered the difference in Kian’s protectiveness from my last lover’s. A part of me felt so idiotic to have put up with less than I deserved for so long. It made me so mad at myself.
“You know your happiness is all I care about,” he said slowly. “Whenever you smile, it sinks right down to my soul.”
I looked over to him, grinning happily. “You make me incredibly happy.”
His hold on my waist tightened and we walked another block when he announced, “Here we are,” and opened the door to the ice cream shop with a light ring.
The shop was empty and the guards waited outside while the shopkeeper kept busy offering us samples. He was slightly pushy, making Kian grumble while I smiled ear to ear and laughed.
The door rang open and Kian’s gaze darted above my head as he said, “Finally.”
I followed his gaze.
The air left my lungs and my heart froze. No, it couldn’t be.
“Surprise!” A collective shout came from Kristoff, Gemma, and their whole gang with the biggest grins on their faces.
My gaze darted to Kian, then back to my family, dumbfounded and worried I was hallucinating. His hand swept down my back and settled on my hip, his mouth near my ear as he whispered, “Aren’t you going to greet your family,zemra ime?”
Oh my God.
Kian brought my only family here. To Albania. To me.
Tears flooded my eyes and I took off toward them with a huge smile on my face. The whole Baldwin clan crashed together in a mess of arms and kisses.
“You’re here,” I breathed. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Neither can we,” Sienna said, laughing while Gemma hugged me. “Mom, don’t hog all the cuddles. I want some too.”
“Us too,” her sisters exclaimed.
I kissed and hugged them all before I eased back to see all their grinning faces. “Gosh, this seems unreal. I’m so happy to see you. I’ve missed you all.”
I didn’t dare dwell on the little moments I’d missed or the months of wandering by myself. Kian had eased all that, but I’d still missed the whole Baldwin clan.
Kristoff’s gaze settled on me, full of understanding. “We missed you too.”
I felt Kian’s presence at my back and he slipped a hand onto my hip. “Hello, Kristoff. Mrs. Baldwin.”
“Thank you so much for your invite.” Gemma beamed at him. “The country is beautiful.”
I leaned into Kian while I swallowed a lump forming in my throat. This was a happy moment and I refused to dwell on the fucked-up shit that had happened. But Sienna… I had to come clean with her.
As if he read my mind, Kristoff’s hand came to my shoulder and he nodded. “You and Sienna talk. Kian and I have some catching up to do, and I’ll introduce our clan to him. Yeah?”
Kian pressed a kiss to the crown of my head, his masculine scent filling my nose as he murmured in Albanian, “You can do this.”
Releasing me, they all strode toward the empty table of the ice cream shop while the little ones squealed excitedly for ice cream. Sienna and I remained standing, and my gaze settled on her.
“You look beautiful,” she said. “Being in love agrees with you.” I opened my mouth and she quickly added, “I can tell just by looking at you that this is different from anything else.”
I smiled at her perceptiveness. “You’re right. It is.”
