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Feeling helpless, I followed her into the living room where her mother and two of her uncles already were. Emmie released the hold she had on Shane’s ear and turned to face the rest of us as we entered the room. Hands on her hips, icy fire in her eyes, she waited until we were all seated before she moved.
“Let’s recap, shall we? Just so everyone is on the same page.” Folding her hands in front of her, she started pacing. Just like Mia did when she was trying to figure out a problem. I would have thought it was adorable if I weren’t fucking terrified I was about to lose everything I loved.
“Mia asked to go away to college to find herself. Without bodyguards.”
“And I said no,” Armstrong interrupted. “We all said no.”
“I didn’t say no,” she snapped at him.
“Are you saying that your opinion matters more than mine?” he countered. “I’m her father, Em. I should have a say in what happens to my daughter.”
“A daughter who is about to turn nineteen, Nik. Our time for guiding her has come to an end. She’s an adult now.”
His jaw hardening, he shook his head. “She will always be my little girl.”
“No one is refuting that,” she assured him, her tone no less hard than it was when she first arrived. “But at some point, you have to step back and let her live her own life.”
“That’s what I was doing,” he exploded, jerking to his feet so she wasn’t standing over him. “I let her go to college, without Rodger or Marcus. I didn’t stop her. She got to spread her wings and find herself.”
“You set her up to fail,” Emmie yelled back.
“How has she failed?” he demanded. “Her grades are on point, she’s got a job she loves, and she’s in a relationship with a guy who will always protect her.”
“A relationship you paid him to be in. What kind of relationship is that, huh? Your daughter is hurting right now, all because you shelled out money to some random guy who made her fall for him so you could have your gods damn peace of mind.”
“I didn’t pay anyone,” he told her smugly, crossing his arms over his chest.
“And that makes it okay? You didn’t pay his salary, so no harm, no foul?” She shook her head at him, disgust in those eyes that were so much like her daughter’s. “You—”
“Stop it!” Mia shouted, shooting to her feet. “Stop arguing, please. I hate it when you two fight. I’m sorry, okay? I never even should have asked to go away to college. You were right, Daddy. Are you happy now? You were right. I was stupid and gullible, and I couldn’t even spot a fake friend from a real one, let alone a man who might actually love me.”
“I love you,” I growled.
“Oh yeah?” She turned to face me, hands on her hips as she glared down at me. “Did you love the others, too?”
Fuck. Braxton must have told her about my other jobs. “No,” I told her honestly. “I’ve never been in love until you.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Whether you believe me or not, I still love you.”
She lowered her lashes, and for a moment, I thought maybe she was softening and would believe me. But when she lifted them, her eyes were even colder than before. “And just how much is that love worth, Barrick? How much did you get paid to ‘love’ me?”
Standing slowly because I knew she was skittish, I walked toward her. “Doesn’t matter. I haven’t touched that money. And I won’t. You can have it. Spend it. Donate it. Whatever the hell you want with it, firecracker.” Reaching her, I grasped her hands and placed them against my chest.
Her fingers trembled, and she jerked out of my hold. “You don’t deny that you were paid to make me think you cared about me?”
“No one paid me to love you, Mia. That was just a bonus.”
/> “Smooth, man,” Jagger said with a grunt, reminding me we weren’t alone. “I need to take lessons from you.”
“Jagger, go eat breakfast,” Emmie ordered. “You should have stayed in New York with Nevaeh.”
“I wanted to,” he complained as he got to his feet, pointing in Braxton’s direction. “But that one got all growly, and I decided it was safer to go with you, Ma.”
“Didn’t like the way you were looking at her,” Braxton muttered.
Jagger laughed. “Dude, you know we’re not related by blood, right? Nev is beautiful. I can look all I want.”
