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“There she is,” I say, a smirk playing on my lips. “I was starten’ to wonder who that serious girl was, standin’ alone out here. I didn’ recognize her.”
Mia cocks her head, her eyes questioning. “What do you mean?”
“Yer usually the life of the party. Ye could light the warld up with that laugh, ye know.”
A beautiful rose color pools in Mia’s cheeks, and she drops her eyes to look down at her fancy high heels, her red-painted toes peeking out from beneath the champagne-colored patent leather.
“But seriously, what’s eating ya? Ye don’t seem yerself.” I mirror her body language, leaning against the railing just beside her as I cross my arms.
Mia sighs, her shoulders sagging slightly. “It’s just… I don’t know. I have a lot on my mind, I guess. The expectations now that I’m done with college. Daddy wanting me to follow in his footsteps, pick a career, make something of myself. But nothing I do ever seems important enough.” She shakes her head, her lips twitching ever so slightly, giving away the hurt behind her sense of rejection.
“And then he has to go and do something like this.” Her tone shifts quickly into exasperation, covering her vulnerability as she gestures to the party that’s in full swing on the other side of the glass. “Well, you know what I mean. Adding me as an item for the auction. And he did it without even asking me.”
Her shoulders slump as she crosses her arms once again. “I don’t know. I realize it couldn’t be helped, but hosting just makes me very aware of how different I am from him. How little I want the spotlight, the prestige. I just feel like he wants me to have it all figured out. Now. And that what I choose to do with my life should be something he can boast about to all his friends…”
Her eyes flick toward me on that last word, her expression making it clear that, in her mind, I still fit into that category, though I find my relationship to Mia shifting quite rapidly into something more personal.
“Have ye ever told him that?” I ask gently, for once dropping my efforts at charm to meet her on her more vulnerable level.
She shakes her head, her eyes growing round as she considers the possibility. “I don’t want to disappoint him,” she murmurs.
I study her face, the emotion in her startlingly blue gaze. Surprisingly, I find myself wanting to understand her, to break through the façade she wears for the world. She’s always seemed like a daddy’s girl. Spunky, yes. But always eager to please him.
Yet, something about her confession feels so much more real. And surprisingly relatable.
“I get it, ye know,” I say. “It’s like swimming without land in sight, innit? Especially when ye come from money. Yer lost at sea, drownin’ in expectations, and ye don’t even know in which direction ye want ta go.”
She looks at me, surprise flickering in her eyes. “You feel the same way?”
“I did.” My gaze locked on hers. “More than you can imagine. It took me years to learn how to separate moy happiness from that of my family’s. But I promise ye it’s worth it in the end. Ye shouldn’t have to be what people want ye ta be. It’s yer life, Mia. And just because yer parents raised ye, doesn’t mean they own ye.”
Realization washes across her features as Mia searches my face more closely, seeming to seek an answer to some question she doesn’t voice. But whatever she’s searching for, she must find it because her eyes soften and she nods. “You felt like you owed them.”
It’s not a question, it’s a statement, and it’s the closest anyone has come to really understanding the world I was born into.
“That’s the thing. Money can buy a lot of things, but it can’t buy ye a purpose. And it’s easy to get swept away in other people’s waves.”
The silence between us is filled with unspoken understanding, and Mia’s gaze fills with an emotion I can’t quite name. This deeper connection between us isn’t what I expected to find tonight, and strangely, it makes her even more alluring.
“But enough about me,” I say with a smile, attempting to lighten the mood. “What about ye? What do ye like to do? What makes ye tick?”
She tilts her head, considering the question. “I love baking. Cookies, in particular. I enjoy decorating them, making them look festive. It’s partly why I love Christmas so much.”
I raise an eyebrow, intrigued. “Baking, huh? That’s unexpected.”
“How so?” she asks, her tone verging on defensive.
“I only meant that yer so personable. I t’ought you might be more interested in somet’in’ that involved talkin’ to people.”
Mia giggles, her blush intensifying. “Well, thanks. I do like talking to people, but I don’t see how that’s a calling.”
“Ye ever t’ought of making a career out of bakin’, then? I’d pay top dollar for someone to decorate Christmas cookies I could pass off as me own.”
Mia laughs, then a newfound excitement lights her eyes as a genuine smile spreads across her face. “You know, I never thought of that.”
“Really?” I ask, letting my arms fall to my sides.
“Yeah. Making a business out of Christmas cookies?” Mia pushes off the railing, her eyes growing distant as she turns to face me. “It’s actually brilliant, Cilian.”
