Captivated by the Millionaire

“Sounds simple enough,” Jess answered and smiled at Sonya, who seemed to be paying close attention to her older brother’s directions.

Jordan rubbed a hand through the thick hair at the top of his head. “I guess I’ll just go get some work done while you two are up there.”

Jess led Sonya up the stairs and took the opportunity to take a good look at the first floor. She’d just passed through quickly earlier this evening. As she’d expected, Jordan had gone with the eggshell-white paint throughout the whole first floor. Most likely the second floor, as well. The furniture was modern and spotless.

Jordan had mentioned they were all done unpacking. So this was it. The place looked like it could have been put together by a hotel decorator to look as generic as possible. A few pieces of art hung on the walls. Priceless, no doubt. But she saw no photographs. In fact, nothing in the house gave any indication of who lived there or what their personality might be.

The only part of the house that showed any hint of personality was the castle she’d drawn herself in Sonya’s room. It had caused a bit of a ruckus at first between her and Jordan, but she was very glad to have done it.

In a matter of minutes, Sonya was cleaned, brushed and dressed in a soft cotton nightie. She settled into the bed and Jess pulled the covers over her.

“Which book will it be?” Jess asked.

Sonya pointed to a hard cardboard-covered book sitting on her nightstand. Her breath caught when Jess picked it up and saw what it was.

Mother Goose.

“Our school play.” She did her best to sign out the letters P-L-A-Y.

Sonya nodded.

Jess pointed at Sonya’s chest then pointed at the book. “Do you think you might like to be in it, after all? I can talk to your brother.”

Though the notion had her palms breaking into a sweat. Given his initial reaction to the suggestion a few days ago and the fact that weren’t exactly on the best of terms at the moment, asking Jordan about the play would not be something to look forward to.

But she would do it for Sonya.

The little girl shrugged. Then started to sign. S-C-A... Jess couldn’t make out the next letters. Sonya continued with E-D.

Scared. She was telling her she was scared.

“Everyone gets a little frightened to be on stage.” Sonya seemed to understand the gist of what she was saying. Then Jess signed O and then K.

They both settled on the mattress and slowly began flipping the thick cardboard pages. She had no idea how much time had passed. So she was surprised to wake up to Jordan’s wide smile a couple of hours later with Sonya snuggled tight up against her chest.

* * *

Jordan had to admit how torn he felt at the scene that greeted him when he finally stepped into his sister’s room after losing track of time while he worked.

Jess had fallen asleep herself. She lay sprawled on the side of Sonya’s bed fully clothed on top of the covers.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered as she gingerly stood so as not to wake the child who had nestled up against her. “I guess I was so tired, I couldn’t stay awake.”

“So it would appear.”

She didn’t make eye contact as she strode by him out of the bedroom and into the hall. Jordan softly shut the door behind him and turned to where she stood.

She was a disheveled mess. Her clothing had to still be at least damp and clung to her in a wrinkled mess of fabric. Her hair was a pile of unruly curls framing her face and cascading down her shoulders only about half still in the clip. Her cheeks were ruddy and her eyes swollen with sleep.

He thought she looked achingly beautiful.

“I’ll just be on my way, I guess. Sorry to have overstayed my welcome.”

But he stopped her before she could walk away. He gently took her by the arm and turned her to face him. “Wait.”

“What is it, Jordan?”

“It’s late. And you’re tired. There’s no need for you to leave. Spend the night in the guest room. I’d feel better not letting you drive given the hour and your grogginess.”

He could see the battle behind her eyes. Jordan didn’t want to speculate as to the causes of her hesitation; wouldn’t allow himself to read too much into the reaction. She had to know he was simply offering a logical alternative to driving in the middle of the night while she was sleepy.