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I give her a sharp look. “I have enough therapy and opinions thrown at me.”
“I know.” She touches my knee. “I don’t mean . . . just, I see how Christian looks at you, even if you don’t. And he has since I’ve known you. It’s not sex.”
“Show me my nephew or second cousin, please?”
She smiles, and it’s stunning. “Always, but we can’t wake him!” Blake gets up, and I follow. At the door, she stops and says, “But don’t think this is over, Mia. It isn’t, not by a long shot.”
It isn’t. Not in the way Blake meant, either. But the men. My father and Leo somehow manage to hold off until after dinner drinks before the barrage starts, and it’s utterly humiliating.
The questions, the looks, the way Christian stands near me looking like I’m the prize.
I want to smack them all.
Blake isn’t there to save the day, either. She’s gone up to Rocco, and Theo wasn’t far behind. I’m wondering if, in this instant, Rocco isn’t a code word for sex because, as usual they were touchy-feely toward the end.
“Mia, your room is made up,” my brother says, “ready for you to move back in.”
“I’m not doing anything of the sort.”
But his gaze isn’t on me. It’s on Christian, who’s cool as anything and completely unreadable.
“Or are you staying with Christian?” My father is not subtle. “Because whether you are or aren’t, I have things I need to know.”
“You don’t need to know anything about my life,” I say.
“Mia.” My father’s tone is all imperious, and his gaze is on Christian. “What are your intentions, young man?”
“Young man?” I ask. “You’ve known him for a long time, and—”
My father glares at me for half a second. “Mia. Enough.”
I almost crush the glass in my hand.
“What,” my father says to him, “are your intentions with her, and are you going to marry her since everyone now knows you’ve moved in and are together.”
Oh. God. I shoot a look at Christian, who’s still standing there, like nothing in the world bothers him.
“Tell them it’s an act, Christian. We’re not together.” My face is burning. My father’s speaking both like I’m not there and he’s from some old film. It’s horrible. Embarrassing.
The Earth needs to open up and swallow these men.
Including my brother, who stands there, grinning, like this is the best entertainment he’s ever seen.
“Christian,” I say. “Please.”
Christian ignores me.
“Of course, I’m going to marry her.”
I’m up so fast I spill my drink, and I don’t care. Anger and horror streak through me. I look at them all and the grin falls away from Leo.
“If you think I’m marrying him, think again. I’m not. And how dare you all treat me like some maiden from yesteryear? I’m not your property, not Christian’s, and not yours, Dad. Or yours, Leo. So, you can all stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.”
My father spreads his arms. “Mia, I’m looking out for your future.”
“I can do that,” I snap. “And look at me. Look at me, because this is what some man will get. I don’t intend to be a pity prize. I’m not getting married. Not to Christian and not to anyone. Ever. In fact, I intend to be single for the rest of my life.”
And with that, I turn and spin on my heel, stalking up to my room.
