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Would she?
Well, of course Mia would rather Darius stayed at his apartment with her rather than leave her there alone!
She was still very badly shaken from the traumatic events of this morning. She could also feel the heat coursing through her body every time she thought of those kisses she and Darius had shared just a short time ago.
But her pride wouldn’t let her tell Darius either of those things.
Any more than she really wanted to have a conversation where he dissected and then dismissed their earlier heated passion.
Nor did she want to talk about the reason for the barely disguised disgust on Darius’s face when she’d come downstairs from her bedroom with her packed bag. Sheknewhow gross her living conditions were, but she couldn’t afford anything better, so what was the point in moaning about it? The many complaints they had made to their landlord certainly hadn’t resulted in him carrying out any of the work necessary to make the house more pleasant or secure to live in.
But she really wasn’t happy about Darius going out again.
She really didn’t want to be alone right now.
But she also wondered who it was he needed to see so urgently, when he hadn’t mentioned having to go out again before now.
Mia wasn’t sure which of those reasons was the priority.
That was a lie, and Mia made a point of not lying to herself.
God knows enough people had lied to her during her years of living at the orphanage.
The staff, when they told her that if she was a good girl that some lucky family would adopt her.
She’d felt that same betrayal from the prospective parents who visited the orphanage and seemed as if they might make that dream come true, but then chose one of the other children to adopt.
And the children she had become friends with over the years, who swore they would always be friends, but who promptly forgot about her after they were adopted or aged out of the system.
It was because of those things Mia had made a pact with herself never to need anyone. And that had to include Darius, this evening, or any other.
Which didn’t mean she couldn’t inwardly question and brood over why Darius was going out. She just wouldn’t, by word or action, reveal to Darius how much she would rather not be left on her own this evening. He had his own life to lead, and she respected the fact that it shouldn’t be affected by her or her problems.
“I’m fine with you going out,” she assured him brightly. “I can take a bath, watch my favorite TV program in my jammies, and then get an early night.”
His brows rose. “What is your favorite TV program?”
“I like cookery programs.” She wrinkled her nose. “I can’t cook worth a damn, but I like to watch other people who can. Or at least, who try to.”
He nodded. “Which reminds me, I’ll order you a pizza for dinner and make sure it’s arrived before I leave.”
“Honey will need to go out too.”
“We can take her up onto the roof.”
“The roof?” she echoed.
“There’s a garden up there.”
“On the roof?” Mia sought further clarification.
“Yes, on the roof,” Darius confirmed ruefully. “It was originally a helipad, but I wanted a garden instead.”
“Wow,” she admired. “I bet that wasn’t as easy to implement as you’re making it sound.”
He shrugged. “The roof and walls of my apartment had to be reinforced to take the constant weight of the tons of soil that were airlifted in. But five years later and the garden is well established and deliberately designed to be easy to maintain.”
“I can’t wait for you to show it to me.” Before he left her alone for the evening, Mia reminded herself heavily.
