Page 68 of The Only Heart that Matters
The sound of Mia clearing her throat snags my attention.
You could knock my ass over with a feather.
She’s absolutely breathtaking in a black velvet floor-length dress with a slit that reaches her upper thigh. The bodice hugs her body as though the designer intended for only her to wear it. Her long silky waves hang over her shoulders and down her back.
She looks like a goddess.
Stepping away from Sawyer’s door, closer to where she stands at the end of the hall, I whisper for only the two of us to hear. “You look beautiful.”
She blushes, but her eyes don’t leave mine.
There’s only a couple of feet between us now. “So do you,” she whispers back.
One corner of my mouth lifts, because I’m a lot of things, but beautiful isn’t one of them.
Without thinking, I reach to take one of her hands in mine. Her eyes widen as she looks over my shoulder.
Daisy.
“You ready?” I ask, a little louder than necessary.
“Yep.” She runs her hands over her hips, taking a step forward.
Stepping aside, letting her walk in front of me, I’m not surprised to find my sister at the end of the hall watching us like a disapproving parent who knows we’re up to no good.
Mia stops by Sawyer’s room to say goodnight and to tell him to behave for Daisy. He shows me his truck, then gives me a high five as I do my best to move us out the front door without catching my sister's eye again.
The tension in my shoulders eases as I step across the threshold, relieved we’re in the clear and have made it past the five-foot nothing inquisition inside. Mia is a couple steps in front of me and I’ve turned to close the door when the she-devil appears in the open space.
“Hurt her and I will make your life miserable.”
Shit.
She already knows.
What she doesn’t know is that if I hurt Mia, my life will be miserable without her intervention. It’s one of the few things I’m sure of. My peace of mind relies solely on Mia and Sawyer’s well-being.
Closing the door in her face without acknowledging her threat, I find Mia standing at the bottom of the porch steps. Her long leg peeks out of the slit of her dress and she trembles from the cold, momentarily wiping my sister's warning from my thoughts.
“Didn’t you bring a coat, Goof?”
“I don’t really have a coat that goes with this.”
Not caring that my sister is likely watching from the front window, I grab her hand and rush her to the truck. I left it running so it would be warm when she got inside.
Pulling my coat from the back seat, I slip it over her shoulders. “What am I going to do with you?” I wonder aloud while I bundle her up.
She doesn’t speak, but her eyes say it all. They tell me she can think of several things she’d like me to do with her.
Or is that wishful thinking on my part?
Once we’re in the truck driving down the dirt road, I ask her what’s been on my mind since Daisy opened the door.
“I know Daisy and the family know about our fake relationship, but does my sister know more than that?”
“She knows you’re my fake husband. But that’s it.”
“You may not have told her any more than that. But she knows there’s something more going on.”
