by Alexia Praks
Currently, they were drinking, nibbling, and chatting about various topics—social and business. They even talked about Herbert Weston and the Mexican Mafia, which didn’t much interest James. To him, what was done was done. Of course, what really interested James was Mia.
Fuck! He wanted to kiss her and make passionate love to her, but alas, he obviously couldn’t do that until everyone left.
It was around midnight when Eric finally brought up the much-anticipated subject. Of course, James was quite surprised his brother waited that long before the question burst out of his mouth, considering how impatient he usually was.
“Well? Aren’t you going to tell us what the hell you’ve been up to in Japan?” Eric asked. “And what about this future bride of yours?”
Liam’s eyes twinkled. “You’re impatient, as usual, Eric,” he said. “You’ll meet them tomorrow.”
Scott raised his brows in curiosity. “Them? You’ve brought them here?”
Liam nodded. “Alice and Yuki,” he said. You’ll meet with them tomorrow at lunch. Come to the main house.”
Eric frowned darkly while Scott whistled.
James said, “They’re staying with you?”
Liam chuckled merrily. “Of course. They wouldn’t be safe anywhere else.”
That got James’s attention. He knew it. Something fishy was definitely going on where their father and the future young bride was concerned.
“So they’re not safe anywhere else?” Scott asked, his eyes glinting with undeniable shrewdness. “You’re not telling us the whole story, Dad.”
As he leaned back against the couch, Liam said easily, “Like I said, come over to the main house tomorrow and you’ll find out.”
William said, “That sounds interesting, Liam. But unfortunately, Savannah and I are going back to Vegas tomorrow morning. James will have to tell me the whole story next time.”
“Same here,” Matt said. “Though, I’m intrigued.”
Liam chuckled. “And so you should be, because it’s a very interesting situation.”
James thought it was odd his father was giving them bits and pieces here and there, which was so unlike the man. He was usually blunt and straight to the point, a trait of almost every Maxwell.
By the time Liam departed, Eric still wasn’t satisfied with their father’s information and looked more than frustrated.
As the brothers were readying to leave, James said, “Don’t do anything stupid tonight, Eric. You’ll get your answer soon enough.”
Eric raked his fingers through his hair. “How the fuck did you know I was going to—”
“Go to Dad’s house and interrogate his future bride?” Scott said, chuckling with amusement. “You’re so easy to read, Eric.” He turned to James. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he stays put.” He turned to Eric again. “So I’m sleeping over at your apartment tonight.”
Eric rolled his eyes. “Fine. At least you’ll keep me company until morning.”
Scott slapped his brother’s shoulder. “Let’s go.” He turned to James. “Good night, bro.”
After the brothers were gone, as well as William, Matt, and Andy, and the house was once again quiet, James headed up to shower. When he was done, he felt a lot more refreshed. Before going to bed, he decided to pop into Aria’s room to check on the girls.
He smiled when he saw Aria cuddled in Mia’s arms and, of course, Savannah not too far away. They were sleeping on the futon Liam had brought for Aria from Japan. He thought about sneaking in and giving both Aria and Mia a goodnight kiss but decided against it. He didn’t want to wake them, after all.
A moment later, he headed back to his bedroom and climbed into his cold, empty bed.
Fuck! He wanted Mia in bed with him, but of course he’d have to wait until tomorrow to have her beside him. Damn, he wanted to make hot, passionate love to her. Fuck, he couldn’t wait.
When James woke at his usual time at dawn, it was to find Mia sitting on the side of his bed, watching him. He grinned in surprise, a twinkle in his eyes.
“Good morning,” he said. “You’re up early.”
Mia didn’t answer him. Instead, she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. “Good morning, James,” she said softly. “I’ve missed you.”
He chuckled. “You missed me, eh?” He stroked her cheek fondly. “Are Aria and Savannah still asleep?”
She nodded. “Yes.” She licked her lips seductively. “I’ve had enough sleep, and now I want to be with you.”
Despite the fact that he was supposed to be up and doing his daily exercise, working his ass off at the gym, he threw that idea out of his mind. Today, he’d exercise with Mia in his bed.
He flipped the sheet back and said invitingly, “Come in.”
Mia eagerly obeyed and ended up snuggling in his arms. He was hotly kissing her about her nape when she asked, “What about your gym?”
He said between kisses, “I’m doing it right now.”
She chuckled and then leaned in to kiss him some more.
Chapter 18
Mia
William arrived to pick up Savannah at eleven that morning for their return flight to Vegas.
After Savannah and I had hugged tightly, Savannah said, “You have to come to Vegas again soon.”
Beside me, Aria was excited. “We can ask Daddy. He did promise to take me there soon.” She turned to her father standing not too far away. “Isn’t that right, Daddy?”
James nodded. “Yes, sweetheart.”
Once William and Savannah departed, James, Aria, and I went to have lunch with Liam, Scott, and Eric at the main house. Of course, I had no idea this was happening until this morning after breakfast when James happened to just casually mention it. And to be honest, I wasn’t exactly prepared for it. Wasn’t it like my boyfriend taking me to meet his parents for the first time? Which freaked most girls out because they had to give a good first impression. But then again, what was there for me to prepare for? I had already met Liam last night, after all.
Aria seemed excited to see her grandfather again, as she couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear during the drive.
It was about a half hour later when we arrived at the private estate. I wasn’t surprised that the magnificent three-story mansion was sitting on a few acres of land with a mature garden that was perfectly manicured. The place was indeed a paradise, and needless to say, it took my breath away.
Once the car stopped in the driveway and we got out, I stared wide-eyed at my surroundings. Wow! Just wow!
James chuckled when he saw my expression. “Is this something you want, Mia?”
I blushed. “Well, it is very private and beautiful,” I said. “But your house is beautiful, too.”
He pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead. “We’ll see what we can do,” he said and then just kind of nonchalantly let me go and walked away, which left me confused as to what he meant.
We’ll see what we can do? About what?
We were just about to go into the house when the sound of a car came our way. I turned to see a sleek sports car coming to a stop beside James’s, and a moment later, Scott and Eric got out.
“Uncle Scott! Uncle Eric!” Aria shrieked in delight.
The little girl ran up into Scott’s wide-open arms.
The man lifted her and then kissed her on the cheek. “How’s my little sunshine today?”
Aria wrapped her arms around Scott’s muscular shoulders as she said, “I’m good. I can’t wait to see Grandpa again.”
“Hello, sweetheart,” Eric said, moving in to give Aria a kiss, too.
“Hello, Uncle Eric,” Aria said. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
Aria was right. I wondered if Eric was unwell because he looked more than a little pale.
Scott chuckled. “He’s fine, darling. Just a little hungover.”
Aria asked, “Hungover? What’s that?”
So Eric had been drinking, perhaps way too much.
“It’s a
dult stuff, Aria,” I said. “You don’t need to know about it yet.”
“Oh,” Aria said. “Okay.
A moment later, we all headed into the house where we were greeted by Liam in the foyer.
In broad daylight, the man looked even more intimidating and powerful. After delightfully greeting his granddaughter, he came over and gave me a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek as well, entirely ignoring his three sons, which I found rather amusing.
Still obviously ignoring his sons, he treated me and Aria like royal guests and led us into the living area. There, he started chatting away animatedly about his wonderful adventure in Japan.
Finally, some twenty minutes later, when I found myself fully engrossed in the stories and the wonderful country that was Japan, which I unashamedly wanted to visit very soon if I managed to persuade James to support me in the endeavor, Eric said, “Dad, you can stop bombarding Mia with your tales now. I’m sure she’s bloody bored.”
I glanced at the brother, wanting to tell him I was not.
Eric continued, ignoring my frown. “Let’s talk about what we’re here for.”
Liam raised his brows, and I raised mine as well, in curiosity of course. Liam then leaned toward me and said, “We’ll continue with the conversation another time. For now, why don’t you take Aria outside for a stroll before lunch?”
I nodded, but of course I was very curious as to the topic of their conversation, especially one that Eric seemed so eager to get started.
“Come on, Aria,” I said, signaling for the little girl to follow me.
“Are we going out for a walk?” she asked.
I nodded. “You’ve been here before, right?” At her affirmation, I said, “Then why don’t you show me around?”
“Okay,” Aria said, suddenly excited to be my tour guide. She eagerly pulled me by the hand toward the door. As I was about to turn the corner, I shifted my eyes to James and saw him winking at me. His expression clearly told me to have fun.
I smiled back and waved at him to tell him that I definitely would.
As Aria led me outside the mansion toward the beautiful, mature garden, I once again wondered about the topic of the men’s conversation. Did it have anything to do with Liam’s bride-to-be that I had heard the brothers talking about? I didn’t know and told myself that it was none of my business and I shouldn’t stick my nose in where it didn’t concern me. But then again, the thought of befriending another woman, especially one that was going to be part of the Maxwell family, was quite enticing to me.
We were quite far from the house now, and the farther away we were, the more beautiful the garden became with various types of bright, beautiful flowers that I didn’t know the names of along with tall trees and, of course, a pond. There were even swans swimming in it.
“Oh my!” I expressed, chuckling. “Swans! Aren’t they beautiful?”
Aria nodded. “Yes, they are. I want to ask Daddy if we can have swans at our house, too.”
We came closer as I said, “But our house doesn’t have a pond, darling.”
Aria clasped her hands together in excitement. “Then we should ask Daddy if we can have a pond, too, and then we can have swans. I love animals.”
“I can see that you do, honey,” I said, smiling.
Aria led me around, and I was so fixated on admiring the swans doing their dancing and gliding on the beautiful glassy water that when Aria said, “There’s a person!” I jumped in surprise.
I flicked my gaze around to where Aria was pointing and, sure enough, saw a woman standing half hidden behind a bush. Wondering who she was and what she was doing there, hiding herself like that, I grabbed Aria’s hand and headed toward her.
Up close, I said, “Hello there, what are you doing?”
Still half hidden from us, the woman said, “Err… Nothing. Who are you?”
I cocked my head to one side, wondering why the woman sounded scared, her voice shaking.
I said softly and calmly, “I’m Mia Donovan, and this is Aria Maxwell.”
Aria asked brightly, “Are you playing hide-and-seek? Can I play, too?”
“Maxwell?” the woman asked.
I nodded. “Yes, Aria is a Maxwell.”
Aria said, “Mia is Daddy’s girlfriend, so she’s part of the family, too. She’s a Maxwell, too.”
What? In amazement, I flicked my gaze to Aria. I couldn’t believe it. How did she know that I was now James’s girlfriend? After all, I was sure neither James nor I had told her about our relationship. Needless to say, I was amazed at how perceptive Aria was. The fact that she said I was part of the Maxwell family really made my heart glow with happiness.
I grinned at her, and she smiled back. At that moment, I felt blessed to have Aria come into my life.
The woman finally moved away from the bushes, and to my surprise, it wasn’t just her that appeared before us. Behind her was a slender and very beautiful boy.
As the two came toward us, I could only stare. The woman, not much older than me, was stunning, with pale-blond hair and warm, honey skin. Up close, I noted her eyes were a hazel green. I flicked my gaze to the boy behind her, half hiding from us. He was so gorgeous that he took my breath away. I mean, James, Scott, Eric, and of course my brother were gorgeous, too, but compared to this boy, they were kind of different. James, Scott, Eric, and Andy were gorgeous in a male hotness sense that drove females crazy.
This boy—with short, pale-brown hair, fair skin, and chestnut-brown eyes—however, had the gorgeousness that leaned toward the feminine side. The type that you couldn’t stop looking at because of his uniqueness, almost like one of the most exotic paintings you had ever seen. I noted that he was slightly shorter than the woman, and I suddenly wondered what their relationship was.
Drawing my eyes away from the boy and back to the woman, I asked, “Are you Liam’s guests?”
The woman nodded. “I’m Alice Oto, and this is my sister Yuki.”
I blinked. “Come again?”
Alice licked her lip and said, “I’m Alice, and this is my sister Yuki.”
I nodded in understanding. So that breathtakingly beautiful boy was actually a girl? I didn’t misunderstand Alice, did I? She did say sister.
Yuki finally stepped to the side and smiled at me and then Aria. “Konnichiwa,” she said.
Aria smiled and asked, “What does that mean?”
Alice said, “It means hello in Japanese.”
Aria chuckled excitedly, having suddenly discovered a new word, especially one from a new language.
“Konnichiwa,” she tried. “Did I say it right?”
Yuki nodded. “Yes, you did.” She came to kneel in front of Aria and said, “Kawaii. You are so adorable.”
“What does kawaii mean?” Aria asked again, enthusiastically wanting to know.
“It means cute,” Yuki said. “You are very cute.”
Aria blushed and giggled. “So are you. You’re so cute and pretty and beautiful, even though you look like a boy.”
I saw Yuki blush as she touched her boyish hair. I wondered if she was conscious of her unique look.
While Yuki and Aria started chatting away animatedly, with Yuki teaching Aria some Japanese words, I turned to Alice with a questioning look in my eyes.
Alice must have understood what I wanted to know because she said, “Yuki is my half-sister. Our mom married Yuki’s father, who’s Japanese, when I was around five, and a year later, Yuki was born. She’s half Japanese, half American, but we’ve lived in Japan most of our lives, so…”
“I see.” That meant Yuki wasn’t very good with English. Well, at least I assumed so, but she seemed to be able to communicate with Aria fine.
After that, Alice and I started talking, and we clicked immediately. I felt it right there and then that she, her sister Yuki, and me and Savannah were going to become very good friends. Of course, we were laughing and having so much fun that I felt the invisible guard Alice and Yuki had put up around them had disappeare
d.
It wasn’t long before a man dressed immaculately in black suit appeared before us. “Excuse me, but lunch is now served. Mr. Maxwell is waiting in the dining room.”
Alice whispered to me, “He’s the butler.”
I nodded in understanding, and a moment later, we all headed back to the house to have lunch.
Chapter 19
Mia
The day had been long and exhausting for me, especially after James, Aria, and I had started that lunch with Liam, Scott, Eric, Alice, and Yuki. Then, of course, once we were done with that, Liam had suggested we stay for dinner as well since Alice, Yuki, Aria, and I seemed to get along so well. He had said that the sisters needed company near their ages, someone they felt comfortable with, since America was so new and different to them. Of course, I had fun spending time with the sisters, but I must say both Scott and Eric—well, mostly Eric—had behaved poorly, a side of them I had not seen before.
Boy, was I glad we were finally home. After helping Aria bathe and dress, I lay beside her—along with Sammy and Alfie, who were being very nice and obedient, snuggling comfortably near Aria—reading them a bedtime story. When I finished the book, I tucked Aria in.
I was about to kiss her good night when Aria asked, “Mia? Do you love Daddy?”
That took me by surprise, and I blushed intensely. I licked my lower lip, wondering what I should say to her. After all, I didn’t want to give her the wrong idea or, worse, hurt her feelings where her dad was concerned.
She must have understood my dilemma, which was very smart for someone so young. She said, “It’s okay. You can tell me. I don’t want you to not like Daddy, because I’ll be sad.”
Her words eased my fear. I leaned forward and stroked her cheek fondly as I said, “Yes, Aria, I love your father. I love James so very much. He’s wonderful.”
Aria grinned, her eyes bright. She looked pleased with my answer. “Then why don’t you become my mommy? ‘Cause I want you to be my mommy ‘cause mine doesn’t come to visit me and doesn’t even like me.”
