Page 85 of Enticing Her Love

“They didn’t.”

“They still make them?”

“Yup. The teenage years were hairy, trying to get us to work together, but we made it through. Now the maps are much more elaborate. It’s not like we’re all in one location, and at the heart of the holidays is family, so if my grandparents or one of us happen to be traveling, chances are we’re all going to end up where they are.”

“What about when you lived with the tribe? Did you do the treasure hunt? Did they all come there, or did you end up with them?”

“No. My brothers and sister weren’t trained to go to a place like that.” Shadows rose in his eyes.

“Do you regret spending that time with the tribe?”

“I’m not happy about missing those years, but I don’t regret it. Sometimes you have to do what’s best for you, and remaining under the radar was what I needed at the time. Thankfully, my family understood that.”

“I think it’s pretty incredible that you knew yourself well enough at that age to realize what you needed, and your family sounds wonderful.”

On the surface, their families were nothing alike. His had traveled the world, as she’d seen proof of in the beautiful photographs of huts and trails and animals in jungles and plains and everything in between. The settings were all vastly different from the quiet island where she’d grown up, but the love of Flynn’s close-knit family was palpable in every picture and every story, just as it was with hers. She found herself falling for the family she barely knew just as she was falling for Flynn.

FLYNN WAS ENJOYING sharing stories about his life with Sutton, but he wanted to know more about hers, too. “What are your holidays like? Do you spend them on Silver Island?”

“Yes. Every holiday is a big community event, and we all get together for them. At Christmas all of the main streets and shops are decorated, and Jules makes personalized wreaths and gives them out to the other shop owners. There’s a holiday festival that takes place a few weeks before Christmas. It starts with a night of hot chocolate and sledding at the annual tree lighting in Majestic Park. There’s an event every weekend after that leading up to Christmas, like a flotilla, and horse-drawn sleigh rides down Main Street, and caroling. The Silver House hosts a fancy holiday dance and charity auction that benefits the local hospital. Everyone comes to it.”

“That sounds incredible.”

“It’s a big deal, and a lot of fun. Jules and Grant got engaged at the tree lighting two years ago.”

“Is that when they pranked your dad?”

“Yes.” She laughed. “I told you no one was safe from pranks. Jules and Grant got married over the holidays, and Leni and Raz got engaged. Holidays with my family are the best they’ve ever been now that Jock and Archer are getting along, and after Levi got engaged to Joey’s aunt Tara, he and Joey moved back to the island.”

“Hold on. Your brother got engaged to his daughter’s aunt? As in her biological mother’s sister?”

“Yes, and I know how odd that sounds. But Joey’s mother is not a nice person, and Tara is amazing. She’s a lot younger than Levi, but she’s been in Joey’s life since Joey was born, and she’s been in love with Levi since she was a kid. They’re so good together. I know he’s loved her for years, and Joey adores her.”

“Then good for them. I wasn’t judging him, I was just making sure I heard you right. You said Archer’s getting married soon. Are Levi and Tara getting married, too?”

“Yes, later this summer, and Archer and Indi are getting married in three weeks at my family’s vineyard where my grandparents and my parents got married. Jock and Daphne got married there, too.”

“Gotta love traditions.” He hugged her tighter. “Guess I’ll have to stock up on time with you before then, so I don’t have withdrawals.”

She turned with a sweet smile. “That makes two of us.”

“Don’t worry, Steele. We’ll make excellent use of the time we have before then.” He kissed her. “Are you looking forward to the wedding?”

“I am. There were so many years when I worried that Archer would be unhappy forever, and now he’s with Indi, who we all love. I haven’t seen him this happy since before my grandfather died.”

“How long ago was that?”

“A long time ago. I was fifteen, so Archer was eighteen. Archer was with him in the vines when he died. It was awful. We were all devastated when we lost him, but I think Archer lost a piece of himself, too. He was the closest to him, and they were so much alike. My grandfather loved hard, but he didn’t have a lot of patience, and he could be abrasive, which is Archer to a T.”

“It sounds like Archer and I aren’t so different after all.”

“Because you were abrasive toward me?”

“No. That was only because I wanted you and shouldn’t have wanted you. We’re alike because if I’d lost my grandfather at eighteen, it would’ve messed me up big-time.” He reached around Sutton, turning a few pages in the photo album, and stopped at a picture of his father and grandfather lying on the floor looking at a map. Flynn was lying on his grandfather’s back, his skinny arms crossed beneath his chin, as he peered over his grandfather’s shoulder.

He tapped the image of his grandfather with his index finger. “I can face a lot of things in this world, but losing that man is not one of them.”

“I wondered if you ever thought about that.”