Page 26

I turn to look at her. I hadn’t realized she had family in Iran. I can’t imagine having grandparents I haven’t met before. My family is all so close. “Really?” I say to her. “Do you have plans to go out there anytime soon?” I ask.
She shakes her head, twisting pasta around her fork. “I’d love to, but I don’t see when I’d have the opportunity. But I do video chat with them and send them pictures and things. My grandma is pretty tech savvy. She’s even on social media.”
“That sounds like our mom,” I say. “We can’t keep her off Twitter.”
Ashton laughs. “We have all this security here to protect our privacy, but then Mom gets on Twitter and tells everyone our business.”
“Have you had a chance to meet Ashton yet?” I say.
“Yes, he was telling me he’s been working in the Singapore office,” Ariana says.
“That’s right,” I say. “But he comes back and forth quite a bit so we still see plenty of him.”
“I’d love to travel like that one day,” Ariana says, stabbing a Brussel sprout with her fork and putting it to her mouth.
“Stick around here, and you’ll have plenty of opportunity for some travel,” Dad says.
That must have been the right thing to say because Ariana’s face lights up.
And suddenly, I have the urge to make her face look that happy more often. She’s way too serious much too often. It was something I plan to change. If I can make her smile or laugh, I’ll have done my job well.
13
ARIANA
After dinner, the Keith boys and Callie all want to go swimming at the family’s indoor pool.
“You coming?” Callie asks me.
“I don’t think so. I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”
“Oh, I actually brought two because I wasn’t sure which one I wanted to wear. You look like you’re about my size.” She reaches into her bag and hands me a bright pink two-piece swimsuit that isn’t horribly skimpy, but is still more revealing than what I usually wear. This swimsuit looks like something Farah would try to convince me to wear.
I think about turning Callie down, but then I change my mind. I don’t want to come off as rude. And swimming does sound fun after the long day I’ve had.
“You can just change in this bathroom here,” she says, opening a door to the right of us.
“I actually have my own room.”
“Oh.” Her brow shoots up in surprise. “You’re staying here?”
“Yes. I’m in the red room.”
She leans closer to me. “Are you and Kaison an item?”
“Oh no. It’s nothing like that. I’m just his coworker. We’re in the middle of a big project, and Kaison wants to come be near his mom as she recovers.”
Callie looks at me like she doesn’t believe me. “You sure about that? Cause I saw the way you two were looking at each other at dinner.”
Was there some type of way we were looking at each other? That can’t be good. No one will believe we’re keeping things professional if there are “looks” going on between us.
“I’m sure,” I tell her. “Can you show me the way back to the red room? I’m turned around.”
“Sure.” She leads me to my room. “I’m just going to change in the room next door. Let me know if you need me to show you the way to the pool.”
“Thanks. That would actually be really helpful,” I say. I close the door and then change into the swimsuit. I take in my reflection in the full-length mirror in the corner of the room. It’s one of those huge antique ones that’s oval shaped and gold and ornate. It probably weighs more than I do. The swimsuit surprisingly fits well and is flattering to my figure without showing too much cleavage. If it had been a string bikini, there’s no way I would have worn it. I wrap a towel around myself after finding one in the bathroom adjoining my room and step out into the hallway.
Five seconds later, Callie comes out of the room where she was changing into a black bikini peeking out from beneath a see-through cover up. Her dark hair has been pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head.