Page 23 of A Winter Romance
Sero sat up and wrapped his arms around Aryn. “Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Sero remembered how he’d looked down on Aryn when they’d first met. How he’d thought him a fool and an idiot. How he’d wanted him to go back to Bordertown. He regretted having judged Aryn so quickly. “You’re new to the mountains. I’m sure I’d get lost in Bordertown.”
Aryn smiled at that.
“And usually, during a snowstorm, humans tend to stay inside. All cosied up and safe. So you’d be fine. Then the rest of the time, you just need to have proper clothes, which I can lend you.” He dropped a kiss on Aryn’s curly brown hair, and Aryn leaned against him. “We have a saying: No such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.”
“Well, I definitely had bad clothes.” Aryn chuckled. “What did your mother mean? When she said you’d gone into the forest to recover from your broken heart?”
Sero sighed. He loved his mother, but sometimes he wished she’d hold her tongue. “I was with someone. Ketho. He is half-oread and was visiting family in the valley not too far from here. He meant more to me than I did to him. After a couple of months, he left.”
He’d been heartbroken. And unfortunately, it was not the first time.
The time before that, he’d fallen for someone who was already in love with another in the village. She had even told Sero before they fell into bed together that she was in love with someone else. Still, Sero had guilelessly given his heart over. And unsurprisingly, he’d been left heartbroken.
“That’s why I went into the forest, to get some peace and clear my head.”
“I guess I disturbed that.” Aryn turned around in his arms and faced him. “I’m sorry.”
Sero tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “I think you were exactly what I needed to help me get over my heartbreak.”
“If it makes you feel any better, Sasha was only using me to get closer to my family and our business. Three years we were together, and I never realised it. Then he left me. He is now engaged to my much more successful brother, Jarne.”
“That’s horrid,” Sero said. “What did the rest of your family say?”
Aryn laughed, but it was a bitter, angry sound. “Oh, they didn’t care. Sasha is a very talented perfume alchemist. Much more talented than I am. I’m sure if they had to choose, they’d choose him over me.”
“You can’t be serious?” Sero couldn’t imagine a family behaving that way. “I’m so sorry.” Sero enveloped Aryn in his arms. “You deserve so much better than that.” He held Aryn tightly against him. “I guess it’s good we met. It allows us both to mend our broken hearts.”
Aryn let out a shaky breath.
“I have a Solstice gift for you,” Sero said.
“A what?”
Sero leaned towards the nightstand and picked up the gift. “It’s a traditional Solstice gift,” he said, handing it to Aryn. “They’re Solstice berries picked in the mountains.” Aryn touched the small bright-red berries. “They’ll last for several weeks, at least until Solstice. All Solstice gifts must be wrapped in red ribbon.” He pointed at the ribbon. “Once you’re clothed, you can pin it on. Different gifts have different meanings. Solstice berries are a gift between lovers.”
Aryn didn’t speak, instead just kept looking at the berries, running his fingers along the green stem and leaves.
“It’s not much,” Sero said, feeling suddenly self-conscious. He wondered if something so simple seemed silly to Aryn considering he came from Bordertown. “But it’s a tradition. Something to show affection.” They probably gave jewellery or perfumes or something expensive as gifts in Aryn’s home, not scraps of shrubbery.
Aryn raised his eyes to Sero. “Thank you.” He smiled. “I can’t wait to wear it.” He leaned forward and kissed Sero.
A banging on the front door caused them to pull apart.
“Sero!” a small voice yelled.
Sero groaned.
“Sero!”
Aryn frowned.
“We best get up. My sisters will be in here in a second,” Sero said, pulling away from Aryn.
“We’re in bed. And naked! Don’t they care for decorum and privacy?”
Sero chuckled at the shock on Aryn’s face. “They really don’t.” He climbed out of bed and started dressing.
True enough, a couple of seconds later, two pairs of feet pounded in the direction of his room. The door flung open, banging against the wall, and the girls dashed in.
