Page 54 of Unfolding Kiara

I didn’t wait for her reply and walked to my room, closing the door. I might have been pushing her a little, but I wanted her to know that this was serious for me. I was either all in or not at all. I was more than attracted to Kiara Sharma, but this time, I wanted to play all my cards right. I wanted her to spend time with my family, take her on a date, and kiss her when the date was over.

* * *

The next morning, silence filled the car ride to my parents with a very fidgeting Kiara. I would glance at her every two minutes because she looked gorgeous in a peach summer dress, her tan skin glowing and begging for my touch. Even though she had agreed, she was holding the seat belt and clutching her handbag. At one point, she even made a low braid with her hair because she couldn’t sit still.

“Are you okay, Bella?”

“I am perfectly fine and not at all nervous.”

I smiled.I couldn’t wait till she saw my moms and Evey.

As I had expected, my moms took Kiara in a big hug with tears in their eyes while Eveline stared at her the same way when Cinderella from Disney World took a picture with her. Not a single minute had gone by, and my family already accepted Kiara back with open arms and cookies.

We had sat down for lunch and were piling our plates with food when my mom looked at me and Kiara who was sitting beside me. I raised my eyebrow at her when she glanced at her ring finger. Before I could tell her to not ask about it, my mom smiled at Kiara.

“Ethan told me about your engagement, Kiara.”

Kiara tensed beside me, and I squeezed her hand under the table. Her palm was cold.

“Ma,” I said in a clipped voice, warning her not to prod.

Kiara clutched my hand and smiled at her, “Yes, I called it off.”

Lucy, my mom who was observing us, spoke up with a bright smile. “Well, if you must know, I almost got engaged to another woman before realizing how much I loved Helen.”

I sighed in relief when my moms looked at each other, their eyes full of love and adoration, making Eveline giggle.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I stole a furtive glance at Kiara. She was doing the same. We both let go of each other’s hands at the same time and stayed quiet during most of the lunch.

We had an apple pie for dessert and then Eveline demanded Kiara to see her nail polish collection. I was sitting on her small bed, her room painted lilac purple, while my sister and Kiara sat on the soft rug, going through the various colors of the bottles.

“I think black will suit him the most,” my sister said after a moment.

What were they thinking?

I frowned, “No, I think—”

Kiara gave her the sweetest smile and my heart felt heavy when her eyes glinted with mischief, “Yes, you are absolutely right, Evey! We can use this pink as well.”

Sitting up straighter, I shook my head at them. “Actually, I’d rather not—”

My little sister gave her a toothy grin, taking the neon pink bottle in her hand. “Kiara, you’re brilliant!”

Oh, no.

* * *

“Now, if you have had your fun, can you please remove this?” I asked Kiara as soon as Eveline ran downstairs when Mom called her.

Kiara and Eveline had painted my fingernails in alternating colors of black and neon pink, giggling to themselves while I scowled at them. Just after one meeting, they were like best friends, and I was already scared that they might braid my hair the next time or apply makeup.

But deep down, I knew I would let them, just to make them happy and hear their laugh again.

She looked up from my sister’s little bookshelf to my face. A grin tugged her lips when she took in my outstretched hands, my fingers colored in horrifying nail polish.

“You don’t like it? I thought we both did an outstanding job adding glitter here,” she teased, pointing at my middle finger.

“Hilarious.” I deadpanned.

---