Last night was the first night spent in peace. There was no glaring from any side and he apologized again for Naomi's behavior. I had a lot to say about that child but I bit my tongue. She was special to me and he'll probably get upset if I said anything. It'll probably be the last time I'll see the girl.
We both agreed to sleep on the bed as the couch was no good for us. I made a pillow boundary between us as we slept. Although when I woke up, I was on his side of the bed. I must have rolled to his side.
He was not in the room when I woke up. I took a shower and wore pants and a tank top before going downstairs. It was hot today.
Winry was the only one at the table.
"Hello" I said cheerfully.
"Paisley" she shouted with a mouthful of bread.
Rivka came in with a tray of my breakfast and left us.
"It's almost like we never see each other except at the table"
"Right. You're never at home"
"It gets really boring so I like to spend time with my friends"
"Are you going anywhere today?"
"I was. But there's this event so my friends cancelled. I was thinking, maybe we can all hang out and get to know you"
"With Nouria?"
"And Marisol. You're going to be a permanent member of this family and I want us to get comfortable around each other.
"That's great" I smiled. I wanted to know them because they were very nice and when Nevaeh came, they'll be friendly with her making her life easy.
I heard a sound and two male laughters. Brayan stepped into the room, his eyes trained on me as he walked towards us. My eyes were on him too.
I completely forgot that he came in with another man until someone cleared their throat.
"Nice to see you Brandon" Winry said sweetly. Brandon? It was a B. This was Winry's secret lover.
She punched me and I was snapped back to reality.
"Sorry. I was thinking about something. Nice to meet you Tomas" I smiled at him. He was handsome and had copper blonde hair.
"He's Brayan's best friend" I looked at Brayan and back to Tomas. If he was Brayan's friend, then why was his relationship with Winry forbidden.
I was going to ask her the moment we were alone.
"Let's go to my office Tomas" Brayan said turning away.
"I'll see you some other time" he smiled at me before he ran after his friend.
"Have they been friends for a long time?"
"Childhood friends. I've texted Marisol and Nouria. They'll meet us at the restaurant"
"Okay" We finished at the table and left the house.
"So your family is close with his?"
"Are we still talking about Brandon?"
"Yes"
"Our families are really close and he was supposed to be mated to my older sister but.... she left. Our family relationship was strained for a while but everything is good now. Any mating between our family has been banned"
"Both families think it's better for us to remain friends. They want nothing to spoil that relationship"
"That's sad"
"Really sad"
"We should hurry up. The girls will be waiting for us" she said and we continued towards the restaurant.
Nouria and Marisol were waiting for us when we got there.
"Hello Paisley" they both chorused.
"Hello Nouria, Marisol. Good to see you"
"We ordered strawberry cocktails. Hope you like them?"
"Absolutely"
"So, you went for dinner with Brayan yesterday" Marisol nudged me.
"Tell us how it went?" Nouria said excitedly.
"We just ate"
"I don't believe that. Winry said you came back really late"
"I thought you weren't at home"
"I wasn't. Rivka gave me the details. So tell us. Where did you go?"
I decided to just tell them. There was nothing to hide and they'll only keep bugging me if I didn't talk.
"We took a stroll together"
There were coos from all corners of the table. It made me blush.
"I can imagine it. Holding hands and strolling under the stars. Did you kiss?"
"Of course not. And we weren't holding hands under the stars. We stopped at the orphanage"
"Oh" Marisol's face fell.
"I thought we were going to get romantic and juicy details. You know, get to experience a little bit of romance through you. Nouria is stingy" Marisol pouted.
"You met Naomi?" Winry asked.
"Yes" I said remembering the attitude she put up yesterday.
"She can be too much" Nouria said.
I hummed. She didn't sound like she liked the girl. Maybe she had a similar experience with me.
"I refuse to believe nothing happened between you two"
"I'm being serious. Nothing happened"
"Come on, tell us. Brayan looks at you differently now" Winry said.
"He doesn't"
"I could smell his anger and jealousy when you stared at Tomas too long"
"Impossible" there was no way he was jealous. I don't think he was capable of such an emotion.
"I know what I'm saying. It's only a matter of time and you'll become love birds like Dryden and Nouria" Marisol and Winry giggled and I joined them.
"Do you have any boyfriend Winry?"
"Of course not" she said immediately.
"I see you texting and blushing" Nouria wiggled her brows.
"Her brothers will kill any boyfriend she has" Marisol said.
"True. I've never had a boyfriend" she frowned.
"Paisley have you ever had a boyfriend before?" Winry asked.
"Umm.. just one but it didn't last for long" I said quickly. Nevaeh has a short term boyfriend and this would be her answer if she was ever asked.
"And you Marisol?"
"My brothers are like Brayan and Dryden. They don't let me have a boyfriend"
"Your brothers? I've never met them"
"He was at your place for dinner some nights ago"
"Garret?"
"Yes and Gannon. They are fraternal twins and they love womanizing. My parents let them do whatever they want and it's frustrating because they won't grant me that freedom"
The waiter brought our drinks at that moment.
"Do you have any brothers?" Nouria asked.
"Just one. He likes to kind his business"
"I wish my brothers would be like that. I'll finally have a successful relationship and get mated"
"We can only wish" Winry said and we all chuckled.
"Have they told you the date for the second ritual?"
"No. But mom mentioned it had been set" I wish they could just hold it off.
"She'll tell you soon"
We spent the rest of the time, laughing. The topic somehow came back to Brayan and I and then Brandon.
I watched Winry's expression each time. There was something different about her expression each time he was mentioned.
We also had lunch at the restaurant and Winry and I returned to the house while Marisol and Nouria went to get something else.
"I had such a wonderful day" she said and plopped on the couch.
"Me too" I sat beside her. I had such a wonderful time and it reminded me of the times I spent with Kamiko and the girls. I started to feel homesick.
"Oh great. You girls are back" we heard Elowen's voice. She kissed both of us on the cheek.
"How was dinner?"
"Paisley doesn't want to share the details"
"There are no details. We only ate, visited the orphanage and came back home"
"Oh. How is Naomi?"
"She's great"
Rivka came in with a wrapped box and Elowen handed it over to me.
"This is for you" I took it and unwrapped it. It was a phone.
"I noticed you always want to make a calls and I decided you should have your own"
I was speechless. It was such a thoughtful gift.
"Thank you so much mom" I appreciated her. I felt like a really terrible person. Everyone was so nice and I was deceiving them.
"You're welcome love. Now, let's talk about the second ritual"