Free Young, Allyson - Absolute Perfection [Aspire 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Allyson Young Page B

opened the door of the car and pushed her inside, securing the seat belt. Iris slumped back and tried to calm down, but the tears just wouldn’t stop. George vanished for a moment but then returned. He climbed into the driver’s side and set her little bag and wrap on her lap. Within moments they were rolling toward the city.
    “Iris. Will you let me explain?”
    She shook her head and turned her face away. She wanted to crawl into a hole and lick her wounds like a dying animal. Being in the same space as him was becoming unbearable, and she thought she might scream.
    “When you want to know the truth, I want you to call me.”
    Truth. Iris would probably never know any kind of truth again. Her world was off its axis, skewed, and she didn’t know what she was going to do. The car finally stopped, and she realized they were at Haley and Warren and Gordon’s home. She dully registered the slam of Georgios’s door, then he opened hers. He unlatched the seat belt and stood back while she forced her legs to first swivel out of the car and carry her up the walk toward the house. She refused his help, and he was wise enough not to touch her. She probably looked as wild as she felt and he thought she might bite his proffered hand.
    The front door yawned wide, and Gordon’s bulk filled the opening. She fell into him, and his arms closed around her.
    “Take care of her, Gordon. She’s had a shock.” Georgios’s voice sounded as if from a distance, and Iris let Gordon help her inside. The door shut with a thunk, a final sound, and she sank into the first available chair.
    “Iris! Iris! What’s wrong? What happened?” Haley rushed to her side and knelt by the chair. She reached up to touch Iris’s face and then pulled a tissue from her pocket.
    “Here, Iris. Gordon? Will you make us some herbal tea please? With honey? And some toast.”
    Gordon didn’t verbally respond, but Iris heard him move away, his measured footsteps echoing on the hardwood.
    “What’s going on, Haley?” Warren came into the room, and he crouched beside her sister, looking anxiously into her face. Iris felt terrible, bringing her personal uproar into this household when Haley wasn’t feeling well.
    “I should go.”
    “You’re not going anywhere until you have something to eat and drink and tell me what’s going on. You need help, and we’re your family.”
    Iris saw Warren tear his eyes away from Haley and focus on her. He nodded and then nodded again, this time with determination. He offered his hand, and she took it, letting him pull her up and escort her into the huge, renovated kitchen where Gordon was busy making tea and toast. He urged her to sit at the counter, and Haley joined her.
    Iris sipped at the tea but couldn’t manage the toast. No one pressured her, and she slowly organized her thoughts. She wondered if she could get away with going back to her hotel but doubted it. Haley’s husbands were not going to let her upset her sister any further by rejecting her. Damn Georgios for bringing her here, although she realized she had been in quite a state. The way she’d spoken to him made her flame hot with shame. She never spoke to people like that, and she’d been unconscionably rude and cruel. But then she’d never been in love before and betrayed by the object of her sincere affection. The hot tea and honey were helping with the shock, and her thoughts were indeed becoming clearer.
    “I’ve been seeing Georgios Andreas.”
    Haley tilted her head in a gesture Iris recognized as her own and that of their mom’s. It made her heart ache with additional loss.
    “Okay. I know him a little. Kind of dark and deadly. Never smiles. Hot.”
    “Haley.” Warren ’s tone was silky but implicit.
    “Phooey. I’m married and knocked up, Warren , not blind.”
    Iris had a sudden urge to giggle but daren’t because she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop and Warren would probably call the crazy police.
    Gordon intervened. “He stayed