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“So, which one is your boyfriend, Azadeh?” Nasrin asked abruptly.
The three of us froze, eyes darting everywhere in the room but at the ladies.
“All of them and none of them,” Azadeh said simply. “I’m not ready to commit, but if I were, I’d never be able to choose.”
Nasrin nodded and passed Azadeh the first gift. A plain white envelope. “This is from Mona and me.”
Azadeh opened the card, reading silently before she hugged her mom. “Merci, Maman.”
“I’ll go next,” I said. “That big box is from me.”
“I think women prefer tiny boxes,” Cyrus said, elbowing my ribs. “Those giant boxes are only cool when you’re seven.”
“Watch and learn, grasshopper,” I replied, beaming as Azadeh opened the box and her face lit up.
Azadeh pulled out Lavashak, Iranian fruit leather, Gaz, Iranian nougat, Sohan, a type of Persian toffee with pistachios, and various other Iranian sweets and snacks. “Oh, my god, Zeke! How did you get all this?”
“I ordered it from Los Angeles. I would’ve also gotten you some baked goods, but I wasn’t sure how they would travel. One day, we’ll visit Tehrangeles. I know it’s not Theran, Shiraz, or Rasht, but L.A. might fill in some of the void.”
Azadeh jumped up to hug me, and I breathed in her scent. I’d never tire of how my girl smelled.
“There’s one more thing in the box.”
Azadeh squealed as she moved back and dug into the box, pulling out an ornate copy of The Shahnameh. She gazed at me. “Zeke, this… this is beautiful.”
“Yes, yes, me next,” Cyrus said, pushing past me and handing Azadeh a slender package about forty inches long.
She laughed as she swiftly untied the half-hazard bow and pulled out a Persian sabar.
“You got me a shamshir,” Azadeh said in delight.
She jumped up, hugging Cyrus and almost tackling him to the floor.
Cyrus turned to Lev. “Beat that.”
“I guess I’m next,” Lev said, pointing to the small package. “That small one is from me.”
Azadeh smiled as she abandoned her death grip on Cyrus’s head. Picking up the small package, she opened it. She didn’t speak, but her eyes welled up as she pulled out a long gold chain with a winged man holding ropes of some sort.
“You got me a Farvahar.” She turned the pendant over. “Good thoughts. Good word. Good deeds.”
Lev moved toward her, clasping the gold necklace around her neck.
“I’m never taking this off,” she whispered as she touched it gently.
I leaned into Cyrus. “Guess we both lost.”
Chapter 19
Cyrus—Age 30
Present Day
Icrack open Azadeh’s bedroom door without knocking. “We’re still mad at Lev, right?”
Azadeh glares at me. “Yes. Come in and close the door.”
Fuck, she’s so cute when she’s mad. I’ve been thinking about all the ways I can get her to fuck me right now. Last time she was this pissed, I ended up with a bunch of scars on my thigh. You’d think I’d have an aversion to more scars, but the ones she gave me are as hot as fuck. My little vampire.
