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Chapter 310
I felt her heart rate accelerate against my chest, her skin warming under my touch. She pulled back suddenly, her face scarlet
“God, you’re embarrassing!” she said, scooting to what she apparently considered a ‘safe distance and covering her face with her hands. “No, I mean–I just want to watch TVI
I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips as I watched her flustered reaction. Even after all this time, I could still make her blush like a schoolgirl.
My phone interrupted the moment, buzzing insistently in my pocket checked the screen–Sarah. With a sigh, I answered.
“Brandon, where are you?” My sister’s voice was tense. “Grandfather and Father are waiting for you at home.”
“Go ahead without me,” I replied coolly. “Don’t wait.”
“That’s not acceptable!” She sounded genuinely distressed. “Brandon, you’ve never missed the family gathering. What’s going on? Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I cut her off. “Just tell Grandfather and Father I won’t be coming today.”
“Brandon!” Sarah’s voice rose. “You’ve been there every year. If you don’t show up, it’ll cause chaos in the family. Tell me why you-
“The Stark family won’t collapse without me for one night,” I said firmly. “They have plenty of people there. A gathering like that I’m not missing much. Look, I have to go.”
I hung up and tossed the phone aside, pinching the bridge of my nose to stave off the headache I could feel building. A moment later, Summer appeared with a steaming cup of tea, her face etched with concern.
“What’s wrong?” she asked gently.
“Nothing. Just some work matters,” I lied, not wanting to burden her.
She saw right through me. “Brandon, don’t lie to me. That was the Stark mansion calling, wasn’t it? You don’t have to stay with me -you should go.”
“I promised I’d be with you,” I said, taking the tea from her hands.
“But your family-”
“No one is more important than you,” I cut her off, powering down my phone and tossing it aside. “June, no one matters more than you. Family gatherings happen every year.” I looked up at her, deliberately changing the subject. “Want to set off some fireworks
now?”
“Wait, let me change first,” she said, heading for the stairs. “It’s cold outside.”
I watched her disappear upstairs, returning moments later in a light purple sweater, carrying a heavy coat for me. She’d bundled herself up like a porcelain doll, with a scarf, hat, and gloves. I couldn’t help the surge of tenderness that washed over me at the sight.
“So where are we doing this?” she asked excitedly. “The yard or the roof? What do you think it’s like watching fireworks from the rooftop?”
Want to find out?” I asked, lifting two boxes of fireworks. “Let’s go up and see. We can come back for the rest later.”
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Chapter 310
As we headed toward the stairs, Summer pulled out her phone and started recording. Brandon, say hi to the camera! Come on, wave or something!”
She was walking backward up the stairs, so focused on filming that she missed a step. I dropped the boxes and lunged forward, catching her before she could fall.
“Careful!” I scolded, my heart racing at how close she’d come to tumbling down the stairs. “I swear I need to tie a rope around you and attach it to my belt. Maybe then you’d stop bouncing around like this.”
She just laughed, completely unfazed by her near–accident, and skipped ahead of me up the stairs to the glass–enclosed rooftop.
I shook my head, gathering up the fireworks boxes. This Year’s Eve any other way.
would be the death of me–and yet I couldn’t imagine spending New
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