Page 39 of Now and Forever

Eric’s laughter fills the room.

“Oh God, this is awesome! Where did you get these?” I ask, still surprised.

With a megasmile, Eric chomps down on another churro.

“I told Simona churros were a typical Spanish treat and that you like them for breakfast. And, I don’t know, she figured out how to make them for you.”

“Wow, that’s incredible!” I exclaim, delighted. “When I tell my father I had churros for breakfast in Germany, he’s going to be floored.”

Eric and I eat our churros, and when I go to grab a napkin, the ring I gave back to Eric appears before me.

“You’re my girlfriend again, and I want you to wear it.”

He smiles, and my crazy lover picks up the ring and puts it on my finger. Then he kisses my hand.

“You’re all mine,” he whispers in a husky voice.

My body is hot all over. I adore him. I kiss him on the mouth.

“Listen, lover of mine,” I say, and he grins. “Can I ask you something about Flyn?”

“Of course.”

“Why didn’t you tell me your nephew’s Eurasian?”

Eric laughs. “He’s not Eurasian. He’s German. And don’t tell him he’s Eurasian, or he’ll get very angry. I don’t know why he hates that so much. My sister Hannah went to live in Korea for two years. It was there she met Lee Wan. When she got pregnant, she decided to come back to Germany and have Flyn here. So, he’s German!”

“What about Flyn’s father?”

Eric grimaces. “He’s a married man who never wanted anything to do with him. My sister was going out with a guy named Leo for two years. The boy adored him, but, when my sister died, that imbecile didn’t want anything to do with him anymore, and what I always suspected became clear: he was with my sister for her money.”

I decide not to ask anything else. I shouldn’t. I’m still chewing when Eric kisses me on the forehead. We look at each other, and I know the moment has come to talk about what’s really on my mind. I take a sip of my coffee.

“Eric, tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and I ...” He stops me.

“I know what you’re going to say,” he says, putting a finger to my mouth. “You want to go back to Spain to spend New Year’s Eve with your family, right?”

“Yes,” I say. Eric nods. “I think I should leave today. Tomorrow is the big celebration, and, well ... you understand.”

“I want you to know that, while I would love it if you stayed here with me, I understand. But I can’t go with you this time. I really need to stay with Flyn. My mother and sister have plans, and I want to spend the evening at home with him. You understand, don’t you?”

And that breaks my heart. They’re going to be all alone?

“My family fell apart the day Hannah died,” he says. “I don’t really blame them. The one who disappeared on the first New Year’s Eve after Hannah died was me. Anyway ... I don’t really want to talk about this, Jude. You go to Spain and have a good time. Flyn and I will be fine here.”

I see the pain in his eyes and touch his cheek. I want to talk more about this with him, but my Iceman doesn’t want me to feel sorry for him.

“I’ll call the airport so they’ll get the jet ready.”

“No ... you don’t need to do that. I can take a commercial flight.”

“Jude, I insist.”

“Please, Eric, don’t make it hard,” I say, cutting him off. “I think it’s better if I go on a commercial flight, please.”

“Fine,” he says after a meaningful silence. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you,” I whisper.

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