Aria rushed up to her dad and said, "Daddy, Sophie is not very nice to Mia. She swore at Mia and calls her street rat. But Mia isn't a street rat. She's a human being like me and you and Sophie. I don't like mean people, Daddy."
James eyed Sophie darkly and commented, "Is that so?"
Sophie looked flustered immediately. "That wasn't what I meant, Aria dear."
"Then what do you mean?" I asked, more than a little pissed at her treatment of me.
"I...," she muttered. "I really didn't mean it like that."
James said in finality, perhaps to end our minor dispute that was apparently going nowhere, "You can explain it to me tomorrow, Sophie."
Sophie nodded in agreement. "Yes, sir."
I didn't miss the glint in her eyes as she smiled at James. I knew in my gut the woman had something up her sleeve. Jesus! She was going to tell him how vile I was, wasn't she? That I was a bad influence on Aria and teaching her mischievous stuff, wasn't she? Which was, of course, untrue.
Aria's voice drew my attention from my dreadful thoughts.
"Mia told me you bought clothes for her," the little girl said to her dad.
James picked his daughter up into his arms as he confirmed her statement. "Yes, I did."
Aria nodded. Then she turned her face to me and gave me a sort of triumphant look that made me want to laugh out loud and pinch her cheek in adoration.
"It's the right thing to do," she said firmly.
I licked my lips because I knew I wasn't going to get out of it. After all, I didn't want to disappoint Aria, nor did I want to pass up the chance to taunt Sophie even further. The intimate, innocent action I was about to commit was a sign of sorts, which bluntly informed Sophie I had the upper hand where James was concerned, regardless of her telling him about how unsavory my character was.
I raised myself from my sitting position on the floor, straightened my skirt properly, and then headed over to where James stood near the door, Aria in his arms. During this time, I could feel Sophie's cold eyes on me, which, of course, didn't really bother me. After all, I wanted her to see me do this.
Once I was in front of him, I said softly, "Thank you for buying my clothes."
James looked more than a little perplexed at my sudden admission, which didn't surprise me.
Then I stood on tiptoes and planted my lips on his in a soft, tender kiss.
He felt firm and warm, just as he always did whenever I kissed him or he me. Of course, I didn't miss the fact that Aria was giggling in excitement upon seeing my smooching her dad either.
When I finally drew back, James chuckled. "That isn't good enough, Mia."
What? Really?
I was shocked to hear him say that, and in front of his daughter and Sophie too.
"Maybe you don't know how to kiss right, Mia," Aria said. "You're an adult, so you have to do adult kissing, right, Daddy?"
The father firmly agreed with his cunning daughter by nodding.
I thought what was done was done and simply wanted to end this kissing business now, regardless if Sophie was still watching us or not. I was about to suggest we go right ahead and have dinner when James pulled me close with one hand and planted his firm lips on mine with a hot, scorching kiss that sent delicious sensations right to my core.
His lips pressed hard against mine while his tongue urged me to part my lips for him. I didn't oblige simply because Aria was right there with us, and I didn't want her to witness her dad and me doing real adult kissing.
James finally relented and pulled back.
Even though this particular showy kiss wasn't deep with tongue stroking and caressing, which would undoubtedly send me reeling in delight and wanting more, I still felt dazed. James really did have such an overwhelmingly powerful effect on me.
"Shall we have some dinner?" he asked.
With my face flushed red and my head still in a haze of delicious sensation, I nodded without much thought.
Aria confirmed by saying, "I'm starving, Daddy."
Chapter 14
Mia
Dinner had been delicious, and my company wonderful. Of course, it was even better that Sophie had excused herself from joining us by informing James she had a dinner date with someone else. This meant I had a fine time enjoying my meal with James and Aria and not having to worry about the woman hurling insults at me whenever she had the chance.
Now that dinner was over, I was once again in my own bedroom, getting changed into my sleeping garments. As I was doing so, I suddenly felt exhausted and simply wanted to drop into bed and sleep. The day had finally caught up to me.
Thinking back, a lot had happened today.
My mind drifted back at the park this morning, where I'd blurted out my dark past to James. I simply couldn't believe he'd understand, that he'd comfort me like that, as if he really cared about me.
That thought made my heart once again glow with delight, and I couldn't help but smile like a loon. Then I thought about Aria and how the little girl truly craved her father's presence and affection, which, of course, made my heart ache for her.
She had lost her mother, hadn't she? The mother who I surmised from the snippets of information I'd received had run away.
Why? Why would a woman run away from all that was here? James was drop-dead gorgeous. He was filthy rich, and once you got to really know him, he was kind, understanding, and caring.
Then there was Aria, who was such a cute, adorable, smart, and kind little girl. As a daughter, she was everything a doting mother would desire. So why had this woman, whom I thought was stupid and shortsighted where family was concerned, run away from all this? Everything that would make me deliriously happy. Even excluding the wealth.
Truth be told, if my circumstances were different, if I were to have met James in another situation and he asked me out, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. And if I had the opportunity to further our relationship, well then I'd gladly take the offer with both hands.
"Poor little mite," I said softly under my breath, remembering all those lies Sophie had fed Aria.
What was the woman's purpose anyway? Why would she tell Aria such vile things? Was it to break Aria's self-confidence? Was it to gain control of Aria by making Aria dependent on her? I didn't know, but I did know one thing: Sophie was evil. To be sure, the woman shouldn't be allowed to look after Aria anymore.
/> In a way, Sophie was bullying Aria, wasn't she? Sure, it might not be the physical kind, like Uncle Herbert had done with Andy and me, but...
I sighed. James would have to deal with it, and I surely hoped he'd put his foot down and fire her on the spot tomorrow.
I threw myself onto my soft bed and closed my eyes, trying to dismiss the thought of Sophie and her contemptible ways. Then my mind, of its own free will, deviated to James, and I wondered if he was going to come to me tonight and initiate our sexy time together. Instantly I thought about the kiss we'd shared this evening in the living room in front of both Aria and Sophie. I knew he would want to continue where we'd left off. I knew he'd want to go further and--
"Daddy?" I heard Aria's voice in the distance along the hallway.
That was odd. I had thought she was already asleep in her own bed. After all, she had school tomorrow morning, and a good night's sleep was important.
Curious, I got out of bed and headed to the door. There I opened it slightly to see what Aria was doing.
I saw the little girl standing in front of James's room, holding a teddy bear against her chest.
"What is it, sweetheart?" James asked.
"Can I sleep with you in your bed tonight?" Aria asked tentatively.
Instantly I knew their heart-to-heart talk this morning must have had something to do with this new development. Aria must really want to be close to her father for sure, which I found utterly adorable.
I heard James chuckle and then say, "Sure. Come on then."
Aria jumped in delight. "Yay!" she shrieked.
I watched her rush into her father's room. I couldn't help but feel pleased for her.
I was about to go back into my own bed and completely switch off into snoozing mode when a prodigious yearning to see Aria snuggled in James's arms came over me.
No, I thought, stopping myself short. I shouldn't interrupt father-and-daughter time. It was precious after all.
Nodding my head at that, I determinedly went straight back into bed.
Some half an hour later, I was still tossing and turning, ruining my perfectly made bed. I couldn't dismiss my desire to see Aria and James. Finally I gave up and got out. I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep if I couldn't satisfy my curiosity.