“Everything’s the same as you left it.” I nodded.
He pulled in a deep sigh. “Thank you. I know you did a lot. This whole… Everything from early last year to right now isn’t exactly my finest moment at all. Not the example I wanted to set for you.”
I laughed. “Uncle, I’m thirty-one. Not a kid anymore. Haven’t been in a while.”
“Doesn’t matter how old you get. We all need someone to look up to. You looked up to me, and look where I ended up.”
“Like I said, fresh start, and I’m going to help you get back on your feet,” I promised. “And don’t you dare tell me I shouldn’t,” I added in before he could protest.
He sighed again. “Okay, I guess I’m not really in the position to refuse help.”
He wasn’t, and since I was in the position to offer help I would take care of everything he needed. And get to know him on the level I should have. Not as my uncle, but as my father.
Chapter 3
Mia
* * *
‘Your creativity is at its peak, although you may not be aware due to your focus on your social life. Try to take each moment as it comes, or the result will be confusion’- Madam Phoebe.
“Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to go,” Abby bubbled.
Excitement rippled from her, and her cheeks glowed with it.
“I’ll bet. Where’s Gilly taking you first?” Vanessa asked. “I’d be exploring the beautiful beach all day.”
I didn’t miss Abby’s quick glance of mischief at me. That was supposed to be a cue to throw in something to faze Vanessa and see how much we could shock her.
We’d all suspected for a while that she was still a virgin. It was mean to make fun of her and torture her the way we did, but we couldn’t resist.
We did it every chance we got. When we were hanging out, and even at work, like we were now.
Highly inappropriate but funny.
Usually funny. Not today though.
I was too antsy to follow through with the cue. I probably would have said I’d be exploring my man and not the beach. Then Vanessa’s face would turn beetroot red. Abby and I would laugh and continue to throw all kinds of sexual comments at her.
It would be even funnier today because we were only minutes away from the meeting.
The meeting Mom called this morning. There was an email greeting me when I’d arrived. I’d figured it would start like that. An email, then a meeting. A meeting which I was informed from the email that Eric would be attending.
“Vanessa, if we can keep our hands off each other, we’ll explore the beach. I doubt that will happen though,” Abby replied, tapping her perfectly manicured fingers on the long mahogany table.
As predicted, Vanessa’s cheeks flushed a soft rose color.
“Right, sure,” she answered.
Abby giggled and looked over at me. I gave her a smile and knew instantly from the look in her eyes that she could tell something was off with me.
She’d given me the same look minutes ago when we first entered the meeting room.
“Well, not everything is about sex, you know. I would love to explore the beach, especially at nighttime. The beach in Hawaii is supposed to be amazing,” Vanessa added, drawing Abby’s attention back to her.
Poor Vanessa. She always tried in some way to defend herself and bring the conversation back to a PG rating. That, however, just tangled her deeper in the web.
“Oh, I’m having a thought now.” Abby placed her hand to her head and made a show of getting a brilliant idea. “Wild sex on the beach, at night. Thanks, Vanessa. You’re amazing.”
Now Vanessa’s face turned completely red. “Abby, you can’t just have sex on the beach. What, like, in public? Just like that?”
Lord, I couldn’t stand this. I was seeing it from the other side of the table and feeling bad for Vanessa. Just a little, if only for today.
Gilly was always taking Abby away for some romantic getaway. They’d been best friends from birth, and the biggest thing to happen last year was them getting together, then getting married and having a baby. My nephew Zack was adorable. Completely adorable. The desire for him was what had wiped the veil of friendship from their eyes. Abby and Gilly were crazy together as best friends, and, Jesus, lord, were they worse as a couple. Obsession didn’t begin to explain it, and I highly doubted that if they chose to have sex on the beach in Hawaii at night, it would have been the first time.
“Yes, of course just like that. Come, Vanessa, don’t tell me you haven’t tried it.” Abby gave her a wicked smile.
“No, I have not,” Vanessa snapped.
“What have you tried?”
“I don’t talk about my bedroom activities, thank you very much.”
Because there weren’t any bedroom activities.
Abby snapped her gaze to me now and glowered. I think I missed another cue.
“Okay, Miss Lady, what the hell is up with you?” she asked me.
“Nothing,” I replied.
“You have been quiet since we got in here.”
Better not to talk. I hadn’t mentioned Eric in a while. She thought I’d dusted the whole encounter with him under the rug and was happy with Allen.
Allen…
I couldn’t forget the irked tone in his voice Friday night when I’d called him to let him know I had to leave. He’d gone to get the drinks, and of course, I’d left. It was half an hour before I called him, but in that time, it must have looked like I’d just skipped out on the rest of our date.
Damn Eric.
“I’m just anxious about today.”
“Why?”
As soon as she asked, the door opened and in came Mom, my other sister Taylor, her husband Dylan, and the man who’d plagued my mind all weekend. Eric.
Of course, he had to look better than he did on Friday night.
In his crisp black Boss suit, he looked like a walking advert.
The minute Abby saw him, she knew what was wrong with me. She was the only person I’d told about it. Abby was my sister, but she was also my best friend. I was close to Taylor like that too, but it was a little different with each of my sisters.
Taylor was always very business minded and focused. Vanessa kind of liked her privacy, and I sometimes felt she’d placed a wall up to keep that privacy.
It made it hard sometimes to connect.
Abby looked to me with wide eyes and parted red lips. That red on her lips made her silver hair look more striking and created a more dramatic look.
“Morning, everyone.” Mom beamed.
We all said good morning.
Taylor and Dylan sat together next to me. He automatically took her hand the way he did at family functions and when we gathered at my parents’ for dinner.
On my other side came Eric, who cut me a glance as he sat.
I ignored him.
Mom sat at the head of the table and smiled at all of us. She’d had her hair cut into a Mia Farrow pixie cut last month, and it made her look exactly like that. The cut instantly enhanced her high cheek bones, elongated her elegant neck, and somehow made her bright green eyes look wider. She looked stunning and in her black pants suit looked like she’d just stepped off the runway.
“It’s great to have everyone here. I have to say I’m excited about the project I’m about to share with you.” Mom nodded.
I always loved that she looked so happy. It was nice to see her that way. It meant she was in a better than her usual good-natured mood. I’d looked out for days like this when I first approached her a few months back to ask if I could take more control.
“I think it’s great to do something for the community,” Vanessa added. Always seeking approval and brown nosing. I didn’t know why she felt like she had to do that when she got all the attention anyway. She was the baby even at twenty five years old. Mom and Dad spoilt her rotten.
“I agree,” Mom answered. “We have gathered together today as a group of the strongest people in the fundraising sector
of Cartwright Enterprises. PR, marketing, and sports.” She motioned her head to each of us.
Taylor and Dylan dealt with PR. They rocked it by themselves as an empire and what I called the power couple.
Abby, Vanessa, and I were good at our jobs, but not like them. We weren’t innovative and insightful. Well, maybe Vanessa. She was the person who went out on the field and met with clients. Abby did the digital and online marketing campaigns, and I just liaised.
I was very aware that it was a made-up roll dad created for me when I dropped out of college. It looked like I’d dropped out of life too at that point because I felt like I was neither coming nor going. I’d wasted a year at UCLA only to decide that I actually didn’t want to be there or anywhere. It didn’t help that I’d just gone through that whole ordeal with Tim and Bob.
I’d never found that thing in life I was supposed to be good at until months back when I worked on the children’s home with Mom. I’d decided then that I liked fundraising.
“So, here’s the idea we’ve come up with for the project thanks to our very own Centaurs player, Eric. We’re going to hold an auction, and not just any old auction either. It will be a date auction of the players on the team. The single guys, of course.” Mom chuckled.
That did sound like a really cool idea.
Abby gasped and rubbed her hands together, and Vanessa beamed from ear to ear.
“I love it.” Abby nodded with excitement. “That is totally a cool idea.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Mom replied.
“The PR for such a project is going to be fantastic,” Taylor stated.
“It will bring in more than enough money to fix all the repairs from the disaster,” Dylan added. “This guy here has some good ideas up his sleeve.” He pointed at Eric, who now smiled.
“I just thought we could utilize the victory from the Super Bowl in all the ways we could. Plus, it sounded like something fun,” Eric replied.
“It absolutely is.” Mom grinned. “I love that you volunteered yourself too.”
That didn’t surprise me one bit.
“Well, here’s hoping I didn’t shoot myself in the foot. I hope someone nice wins a date with me.” He gave me a brief look I didn’t miss. But again, I ignored him.
Why didn’t it surprise me that he’d do that?
“For your hard work, I’m sure you’ll get that.” Mom laughed. “So, this is how I want us to work. Abby, you’re with me for the online work. We will create an online campaign to get the word out. Taylor and Dylan, you’ll work in tandem with us. Once the campaign starts rolling, we’ll need PR ready for action.”
“You can count on us, Mrs. C.” Dylan smiled.
“Brilliant. Vanessa, I need you to focus on the venue. I want something big and classy, like Rochester Hall. If they’re booked, tell them we will pay double their usual fee to secure a spot. If it’s completely undoable, I want somewhere similar. Mia, I want your tasks split between helping Vanessa and, my dear girl, I’m actually handing over the whole organization of the event to you. That means I want you to work with Eric.”
I could have combusted and breathed fire at the confirmation of my fears. My head suddenly throbbed too like I was actually going to pop a blood vessel. I knew I’d be seeing him a lot more than I wanted to, but actually working with him was… fuck. Damn it.
“Oh… thanks,” I answered with a phony as hell smile.
I knew she was probably expecting me to sound happier but I couldn’t help it
I was basically taking the lead on something she would normally be leading.
“You are very welcome. You more than deserve it.” Her smile brightened.
Mom couldn’t have given me a better job to do.
She’d given me her role, but damn it. Working with Eric.
Shit. And now he was looking at me. Again.
“Wonderful. Let’s get started, guys. Time waits for no one. I want this done in the next three weeks. We’re aiming for the first weekend in May. Let’s make it happen.” Mom clapped her hands together, and everyone rose.
I wanted to talk to her, but both Abby and Vanessa got to her first. They walked through the door together. I tried to leave with Taylor and Dylan, but Eric managed to get in front of me. Right where he wanted me.
I tried to walk off, but he caught my arm, and I hated the way my skin tingled from his touch.
“Hey, so that’s it? No comment?” he asked.
“I’ll let you know when we need to meet.” I wrenched my arm free of his grasp.
“Your mom sounded like she wanted us to get on to things fast.”
“Yes, she does. I know what I need to do.”
“Work with me?” he gave me an easy smile that slid up the corners of his sensual lips.
“Look…” I straightened and gave him a hard stare. “This is business. It’s for a good cause. I like fundraising, and I want to do this project well. This is business, and that’s all it’s going to be.”
“Sure… you know though, I just might change your mind in some form of way. Surprise you.” He nodded like that was the way forward. The way to reach me.
That was the tagline he’d used to melt down my resolve eighteen months ago when we’d first started talking.
It worked then, not today.
“I think I’ve had enough surprises from you. No need to make any kind of effort to screw with me again.” I moved to walk away again, and he caught my arm once more.
“Mia, I’m sorry.” His gaze clung to mine, searching my eyes.
That was actually the first time he’d said that. Sorry… Throughout the whole craziness of it, he’d never said that word, not one time. Once, he’d even told me his house was on fire. It was shit like that he came up with, and I wondered how a grown man like him could act like we were in high school.
I narrowed my gaze at him. “What part are you sorry for?”
“All of it.”
Somehow hearing him say that piqued my interest further.
“All of it?”
“Not the first part. Not the nice part where we just talked and go to know each other. Not that part.”
I looked him over. He seemed genuine with his apology, but it didn’t mean anything had changed.
I was careful of two kinds of people in this world. The ones who showed you their true colors and the other kind, the ones who manipulated you. Those people could get to your weaknesses. It was my father who had taught me that.
Eric, for me, fell into the latter. Except that first part he was talking about didn’t feel like he’d manipulated me. It was the last part. He’d jumped straight over a hurdle and made me feel for him. That was the weakness, and behold, he’d used it against me all this time.
No more.
I stepped back.
“We’re good here,” I said, holding up my hand and pressing my lips together. “Business. That’s what this is.”
He gave me a curious stare, then mischief filled his eyes. “That’s just a label, but hey, I’ll play. I like games.”
“This isn’t a game.”
“I know, but it feels like one.” He smiled. “One where I won’t stop trying. I impressed you once before. I’ll do it again.”
That sounded like a promise, and my stupid heart betrayed me because it fluttered at the declaration.
Instead of entertaining this thing with us any longer though, I walked away and left him.
In all my years, I’d never had a man chase me the way that one had.
Chase me and chase me, trying to catch my attention, making me crazy, and now promising to impress me.
He had that time. That first time, and in a way I couldn’t describe.
It was something I’d never been able to get out of my head.
Chapter 4
Mia
* * *
‘The unexpected is just around the corner.’- Madam Phoebe.
18 months ago…
Damn car.
What was the po
int of having a Porsche if it was going to break down every minute?
This was the third time this month.
I was under the impression that they were supposed to be good cars. Mine had been shit, and I’d only had it for ten months. Today was the last straw.
I hated breaking down, and I hated it even more that I’d broken down on a day when I was actually supposed to be going somewhere. I was supposed to be meeting Mom for the ballet. There was no way I was going to make it in time with the damn wait I had ahead of me.
Two hours for the AA to get here because there was a massive accident in the city, and it had caused a terrible buildup of traffic. I called a taxi, but they told me too that while they could come and get me, I’d be looking at two to three hours before I got home.
So, I was here stuck with my car, broken down just outside of Echo Park.
I couldn’t wait inside the car because boredom would kill me, and I was starting to get bored standing around outside too. I only had a small percentage of phone battery life left, and with the car busted, that left me busted too.
If only I could have broken down closer to the stores or anywhere near more life than the bunch of trees that surrounded me.
I could have at the very least grabbed a coffee and charged my phone.
I marched around to the front of the car and lifted the hood. I wouldn’t have had a clue of what to do to get it running again, but I figured I’d look anyhow.
Last time when I broke down, the mechanic said it was a fuse. Maybe it was the same thing, although I thought there was something wrong with the whole car.
A Range Rover sped past me, then slowed once it got further down the road.
It reversed, and when it stopped in front of me, I was greeted by a bright pair of blue eyes that reminded me of the sky in Italy. The owner of the eyes had the kind of gorgeousness that should come with a warning, if only to warn you that he was exactly that gorgeous.
A sexy-as-hell smile lit up his face as he stared back at me, and I would have allowed myself to get sucked into his charm if I didn’t know who he was.
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