Little Secret, Red Hot Scandal (Las Vegas Nights 4)

Mia glanced over her shoulder at Nate and saw his dismay. He was her future. She couldn’t imagine her life any other way. But Ivy was her twin and she couldn’t go with Nate until she’d made peace with her.

“Let me go talk to her,” Mia said, her gaze lingering on his as she silently pleaded with him to understand.

A muscle worked in his jaw, and then he nodded to the boxes beside the front door. “I’ll take those out to the SUV.”

Before he could go, Mia stepped into his space and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I love you,” she said, her cheek pressed against his chest.

His arms bound her to him until she could barely breathe. “I love you, too.”

The words made her smile. She pulled back and looked up at him. “And I’m choosing you.”

The relief on his face made her heart stop. He set his forehead against hers. “Thank you.” With a quick, hard kiss he let her go. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

Ignoring her parents, Mia ran across the room and put her arms around Ivy. At first her sister resisted, then her body went limp and she hugged back.

“Don’t leave me,” Ivy murmured again, her voice muffled against Mia’s shoulder.

“You know I have to go. I love Nate. I can’t live without him.”

“I can’t do any of this without you.”

“You can and you will. Stop letting Dad pressure you into doing things. Fire him if you have to. Ditch Skylar and Riley. Get clean. Forget about the stupid album. Start a fashion line. Do what you want. I’ll support you.”

“I’m so sorry about how I treated you.”

“I know.” As she hugged Ivy she felt as if she got her sister back.

“I’m glad you and Nate are together.”

“That means a lot to me.”

“We never hooked up, you know.”

“I do.”

“He’s only ever had eyes for you. I saw that while we were on tour and I was so afraid he would take you away from me. But in the end I knew that you needed to go.” Ivy gave her a sad smile. “That’s why I leaked that you wrote all my songs. I needed a reason to fire you.”

Mia was stunned. “You did that?” Her throat closed up. “For me?”

“I knew you wouldn’t stop worrying about me.”

“But you just asked me to stay.”

“I didn’t realize how lonely it would be not having you around.” Ivy dashed tears from her cheeks. “Now, get out of here before I stop being nice and go all Ivy Bliss on your ass.”

Mia laughed. “I love you.”

“And I love you.”

With one final hug, Mia left her sister and retraced her steps through the living room. She gave her parents a brief nod and burst through Ivy’s front door, feeling free for the first time in eight years.

Nate waited for her by the SUV, his tall figure relaxed as she sped across the distance between them. His broad smile became her whole world as she flung herself into his arms and kissed him.

“Let’s get out of here.” Taking her by the hand, he led her to the car, opened the passenger door and ushered her inside. Seconds later he was sliding behind the wheel and starting the engine.

“Where are we going?”

“To the shipping store for these boxes, and then the airport. I intend to get you settled in Las Vegas before you change your mind.”