by Dyanne Davis
The room was completely silent for more than a minute after Keefe told Lillian she wasn’t going to dinner with them. Damien noticed that Ashleigh, too, was aware of the tension and was attempting to make conversation with Lillian. Mia and Keefe, however, were standing no more than a foot apart and staring at each other. And Damien could swear they were communicating. He watched as Keefe jerked his head angrily to the side and Mia’s head tilted up as though pleading with him. When Keefe clenched his fists and closed his eyes, Damien knew he’d been right. Brother and sister had been communicating without words.
“Mia, I was just thinking you’re not going to have much time alone with Damien before you get married. Your going out when you have only a few days to complete things was a bad idea. I’m sorry, that’s my fault for not planning this better. Maybe instead of going out tonight, you should stay home. It’s going to get crazy in the next couple of days.”
“But you’ve gone to so much trouble,” Mia answered. “It would be selfish of me to change all the plans now.”
Damien was amused at the interplay between the siblings. It was obvious what was going on. Mia no longer wanted to go out to celebrate her birthday if her mother was tagging along. That had been the reason for Keefe’s clenched fists. He had to take dear old mom off Mia’s hands. Damien smiled at Mia and waited for his cue.
“Damien, would you mind if we stayed in? I am sort of tired and there are some things I need to do.”
“Mia, it’s your birthday. You’re not even married yet. Do you want this hot man to think you’re some little stick in the mud, stay-at-home drudge?” their mother chimed in.
Though Mia was avoiding looking at him, Damien had his cue. “Mia is definitely not a drudge, nor is she a stick in the mud.” He saw Mia’s eyes lift toward him and continued. “I would love for us to be alone, baby girl. We can order a pizza.”
“Pizza? What kind of birthday is that?”
“The kind that won’t kill her,” Keefe growled. “At least it’s not peanut brittle. Besides, it is Mia’s birthday. She can do what she wants.”
“Then I’ll stay here and have pizza with Mia and Damien.”
“God, don’t you get it? They want to be alone. You’ll go to dinner with us. Come on, Mom.” He took his mother’s elbow and steered her toward the door, ignoring her protest.
Keefe glared at Mia as he walked out, confirming for Damien what had just happened.
“So your brother saved you again, huh?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was watching. I saw what just happened. You asked him to get your mother out of the apartment. I gather she was getting on your nerves. It’s the first time I’ve seen you jealous. I like it, though you had no reason to be.”
“I wasn’t jealous.”
“Like hell you weren’t. You wanted to kill her, don’t lie.”
“I wanted to kill you. Why were you encouraging her?”
“I didn’t encourage her. Don’t you dare put that on me. She had me backed into a corner.”
“And you were too afraid to move? Ha.”
“Mia, don’t start. I tried to give you a chance to put your mother in check. You didn’t. I did. If I didn’t do it fast enough to suit you, maybe you should have said something.” Damien grinned.
“Were you tempted?” Mia asked, hating herself for having to ask, hating that she had been jealous, hating that as a professional she didn’t have better control. A chill went through her body and she attempted to walk past him. But he reached out for her and tugged on her arm until she relented to his touch. “Were you tempted?” Mia repeated.
“I’m tempted, baby girl, by you and only you.”
His lips came down and she let go of her hurt, her passion rising to the surface with the speed of lighting streaking through the sky. She was trembling. She wanted to seal their marriage, have it slut proof, prove to her mother that she wouldn’t be able to turn Damien’s head.
“What’s wrong, baby girl?”
“I don’t know. I just…I wish she hadn’t come.”
“I thought you had invited her.”
“I did, weeks ago. But after she said some really nasty things, I never called her back. Now I’m wondering why she bothered coming. I can’t get over the feeling that she came here to start trouble.”
Mia couldn’t voice what she really thought. How could she tell the man she loved that she believed her mother, the world’s biggest slut, had come there deliberately to take him from Mia. Damien would think she was crazy. He wouldn’t believe her. Who would?
“You okay, baby? You’re shivering.”
“I’m okay. Tell me something. How did you figure out what Keefe and I were doing?” Mia said, forcing a grin.
“I may not be your brother but I do know when something is bothering you. Hell, I knew from the moment I came into the apartment.”
“I would never have known by your actions. You seemed to be infatuated by her, eating that darn peanut brittle.” Mia frowned and shook her head. “It would have been better if she’d not brought anything.”
“Why didn’t you just say something to her, tell her to knock it off?”
“I wish I could. I have a hard time whenever I talk to my mother. It’s like I’m a kid again. I’m working on it but,” she shrugged, “she’s my mother, you know. What am I going to do? It’s not like she’s constantly in my life, so why make waves?”
“I remember you wanted me to make waves with my pops.”
“That’s not true. He irritated me, but I didn’t ask you to intervene.”
“Maybe not with words, baby girl, but the look in your eyes said if I didn’t handle my business I wouldn’t have any to handle.”
Damien chuckled and pulled Mia toward the couch. “Neither of us are kids anymore. Sometimes we have to do the hard jobs and just hope for the best.”
“You’re right, I know. It’s just I’ve never had this particular problem with my mother. It feels kinda strange. It’s generally her and Keefe that are fighting and I’m always the—”
“Let me guess, you’re the peacemaker?”
“Yeah.”
“You gonna be okay letting her crash here? Maybe it would be better if she stayed in a hotel.” He smiled. “Do you think your brother would let her stay at his place? From what I hear he spends most of his nights in Ashleigh’s bed. He shouldn’t mind.”
It wasn’t the first time Damien had made mention of Keefe and Ashleigh’s sleeping arrangement and Mia knew without a doubt that he’d meant nothing by the comment. Still, her stomach tied in knots. Every word her mother said was now ringing loud and clear in her ears. She wasn’t giving Damien what he needed. He’d go elsewhere. God, how was she going to survive the next few days living with her mother and her vicious accusations?
“Mia.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I was just thinking. No, there’s no way Keefe will allow her to stay with him or to use his apartment, even if he were living with Ashleigh, which he’s not,” she said sharply. “He wouldn’t have anyway, but I’m sure after tonight there won’t be the slightest chance. And all the begging in the world is not going to change that.”
“I hope your brother doesn’t kill your mother while they’re out. He looked as if he wanted to strangle both of you.”
“He did.” Mia laughed, remembering the incredible scowl on Keefe’s face. “He’ll make me pay for that, don’t worry.”
“Well, he can’t touch you. I’m going to be your new hero. I’ll save you, just ask me,” Damien purred and leaned in to nibble at her neck.
A cold breeze blew across Mia’s face and she trembled. There was no way a breeze could have occurred. She held tight to Damien, feeling as if she’d just been given a warning. Her need for knights riding in to save the day, to save her, had to end. If there was some saving to be done, she needed to do it herself.
Once again Mia vacillated between thinking her career choice was a complete sham and thinking
that she would do a good job. First, she knew she needed to get her own house in order. Only how? She had no ideas. The books covered it, but theory and practice were two different things.
She allowed Damien to pull her into his arms. Kissing him some more was what she needed right now.
“You really liked me in that gown, didn’t you?” she whispered as he kissed her.
“You were beautiful in that gown. I’ve been dreaming of ripping it off you for months.”
“You do know I’m not going to wear that wedding gown, don’t you?”
“I kind of got that feeling after that comment your mother made. Mia, you don’t have to worry. If you still want to wear it, your mother’s wrong about it. And she’s wrong about me. Still, if you want something else, go ahead. I’m not marrying the gown, I’m marrying you. I told you I would buy you a new gown weeks ago.” Damien began kissing her forehead with every intention of working his way down to her lips.
“Good,” Mia murmured, “because no way am I going to be wondering if you are looking at me and thinking of Ashleigh. Not on our wedding day.”
“You don’t have that worry,” Damien moaned as his hand went beneath her sweater. “I have no problem telling the two of you apart. Every thought that I have is of you. I promise you, Mia, that will not change. My heart, my soul, the breath of my very life, are yours to command.”
Chapter Ten
The sound of glass shattering spoiled the only moment of quiet that Mia had known in the last four days. Her gaze fell on her trembling fingers. Because she felt unsteady, She didn’t kneel to pick up the shattered glass.
Of course Mia knew the reason. Her mother. She was constantly talking to Mia, laughing at her inexperience, complaining that she’d not been given anything to do as the mother of the bride, demanding a new dress, telling her how she’d been right, that Keefe didn’t want to give her away. She suggested Keefe’s absence was because he was glad to finally be ridding himself of Mia.
While everything else might have had a touch of validity, Mia knew that one statement was a bald-faced lie. Keefe wasn’t coming around because of their mother. The real mother they’d known had returned with a vengeance. She didn’t even bother to try to pretend as she usually did. She seemed driven and Mia feared her mission was to destroy Mia’s life. Her mother’s words were getting to her and Mia was holding on by only a thin thread. Glancing again at her trembling fingers and at the broken glass that had slid from her grip as easily as if it had been a buttered noodle, she thought of her old therapist and friend, Dr. Grey, and wondered how she’d handle this situation.
The thing that bothered Mia the most wasn’t her mother’s words but her actions. She’d wasted no time in trying to make a play for Damien, rubbing her body against his every chance she got. And then she’d had the nerve to smile. But if she could just get through the next couple of days, it would be over. She would be married, and her mother would leave and go to Windsor.
At least at the rehearsals Jerry would be enough of a distraction to keep her mother’s interest. She knew her mother would waste no time making a play for Jerry. She couldn’t stand the thought that he was happily married, that he’d gone on about his life without her. She’d told Mia many times that all she had to do was crook her little finger and she’d have him back. So God forgive her, Mia was hoping her mother would concentrate on Jerry tonight and leave Damien alone, keep her hands off him.
* * *
“Ashleigh, hi,” Mia said, making her way toward her.
“What about me?” a booming voice said. Mia suddenly changed directions and ran toward the man who’d called out.
“Jerry, it’s so good to see you.” Mia smiled as she hurried toward the man who was going to walk her down the aisle, the man who’d given them so much help. If it wasn’t going to be her brother doing it, then yes, she’d want no one other than Jerry.
He crushed her in a bear hug, then pulled away beaming at her. “I can’t believe it. Little Mia’s getting married. With the way your brother protected you, I’m surprised that you ever got a chance to meet anyone. What happened to that James fellow? I knew you weren’t going to marry him.”
“How did you know that?” Mia asked. Now she was the one surprised.
“You weren’t in love with him.”
“How about him? Was he in love with me?”
Jerry looked down.
”Don’t worry,” Mia assured him. “It won’t hurt.”
“I didn’t see it, Mia. He liked you well enough, but there was something missing between the two of you, some spark that wasn’t there.” He leaned back to take a good look at her. “Like the spark that’s in your eyes right now.” Then he turned to face the front and saw Damien coming in with his parents.
“That’s him?” he asked as he watched Mia’s face split into a grin.
“That’s him,” she answered.
Damien’s gaze sought hers and she smiled more broadly as he made his way toward her.
“That boy’s in love, Mia.”
“I hope so.” Mia glanced at Ashleigh, unable to help it. Jerry looked sharply at her and she rushed to explain. “He was engaged to Ashleigh about a year ago.”
“Don’t worry, Mia, it’s not Ashleigh he’s looking at, just you. He’s in love with you.”
Mia wrapped her arms around Jerry and hugged him to her, thinking how strange it was that a man not of her blood was able to be more supportive than the woman who’d given her life.
Damien came to stand beside her and slid his arms around her waist. His warmth filled her with longing and she turned her face up for his kiss.
“Umm, just what I’ve been waiting for all day,” he whispered in her ear before turning to Jerry. “I’m Damien. You must be Jerry.”
After that the introductions moved along rapidly. Kathy and Charles had come to the front of the room and were being introduced to Jerry when loud voices caused them all to turn toward the back of the banquet room where Keefe was entering with their mother. The two appeared to be fighting about something. Nothing new there.
It was as though some invisible force seized control of Jerry and Charles because they turned simultaneously to gawk at her mother. Mia refused to look at Damien, praying that he was immune to her mother’s spell. Then she felt it. As insignificant as it was, she felt it. His hands loosened slightly around her waist, and to Mia, it felt as if his hands lingered on her body merely out of habit.
She sucked the feeling inside, willing the pain to go away, knowing that some of what she was feeling was in her mind. She’d reached her limit; the crack was widening. And as it did, it brought with it the memories of their mother’s neglect. She closed her eyes for a second and reopened them. It wasn’t working. Her method of handling her pain was failing her. She could no longer push aside the frustrations that had gnawed at her for almost her entire life. Her eyes caught Ashleigh’s and they both attempted to smile.
“Damn,” she heard Charles murmur.
Damien turned to his father. “That’s Lillian, Mia’s mother.”
“Introduce me.”
“Pop, just go over there and introduce yourself.” Damien glanced at his mother, then Mia. “You don’t need me for that.”
“Boy, bring your ass on.” Charles grabbed Damien’s arm and pulled him along.
“Before Mia had a chance to wonder if she should be the one giving the introduction to Charles, she heard Jerry’s booming voice shouting, “Lillian,” before he practically ran down the aisle to where her mother stood. She watched as Jerry hugged her mother and wondered why he didn’t hate her for dumping him. Damien was looking uncomfortable as he introduced her mother to Charles.
Rolling his eyes in disgust and barely shaking hands with Jerry, Keefe made a beeline for Mia and Ashleigh.
“So that’s your mother?”
Mia had almost forgotten Kathy was standing there. “Yeah, that’s her, Lillian Black. And this is my big brother Keefe,” she said to Kathy as Keefe
reached them. Mia smiled as Keefe made polite talk with Kathy, making up for the rudeness of the other men.
For a moment or two Mia watched as her brother chatted amicably with Kathy. No one else would have known that he was angry. No one else would have been able to sense the degree of tension in his body. It wasn’t until Kathy turned her attention to Ashleigh that Keefe finally got a chance to tell Mia what had him so riled.
“Like bees buzzing around a pot of honey.” He jerked his head toward the men surrounding their mother. “Can you believe her?” he whispered to Mia. “She thinks I should give her an apartment for free, forever. When I said hell no, she told me that I should at least pay for her place in Arizona. I just wrote her a huge check less than three months ago. Mia, she was trying to blackmail me. Every time I see her she has a new angle.”
“I was hoping the last time she was here that her change for the better would be permanent.”
“Mia, you’re so damn naïve. Grow the hell up, will you?” he snapped and walked away.
The sting of tears burned the back of Mia’s eyes and she felt more alone that she had in a long time. Her brother had never taken out his anger for their mother on her. She caught sight of Damien. Even though she knew his father had insisted that Damien introduce him to Lillian, it didn’t matter. She didn’t want Damien anywhere near her mother. A shard of betrayal pierced her. He should be standing by her, not beside her mother.
As though he’d read her thoughts Damien moved a few inches from his father and turned to look at the her. He was staring at her, and she glared back at him. Maybe she was being petty, a baby, but she was the one getting married, she was the bride. It was her time. If anyone was due adulation, shouldn’t it be her? Mia shuddered and took a deep breath. It was just nerves, she told herself, nothing to worry about.
Still, she felt like an outsider. Kathy was talking to Ashleigh, Keefe was sulking on a chair and everyone else…everyone else was crowded around her mother. A wave of nausea rolled quickly upward and she fought it, just as she’d fought the pain. She wouldn’t let her emotions control her. She had the tools.