Chapter 14

James

James’ eyes followed Mia all the way up to the top of the first-floor landing. Fuck! He really couldn’t help himself. It was Mia, and he just couldn’t miss the enticing view of her climbing the steps. Once she was out of sight, he returned his attention to his coffee, a smirk playing about his lips.

“Matt,” he said under his breath, shaking his head. “You’re playing dirty, my man. I hope Andy can handle you.”

Like Eric said, Matt would fuck the shit out of the boy, and James had no doubt tonight was one of those nights.

Damn! He was sure Mia was confused and outraged when she’d heard her brother on the phone. It was amusing watching her expressions. The panicky look and then the suspicion that Matt was hurting her brother, and then there were the frustrated and surrendered looks. She was beautiful. And he remembered the lust he had seen in her eyes when he’d kissed her in the car.

The reminder only brought forward a powerful surge of passion in his blood, and he gulped another mouthful of coffee to clear his head. Suddenly, her sadness, those tears flowing down her cheeks, appeared in his mind. It was enough to make him feel sick to his stomach. Oddly enough, he felt his heart aching. It was unlike him.

He dismissed the thoughts of Mia and returned his attention to the phone. He dialed the house number, and a few moments later, Ms. Lane answered. He requested an audience with his daughter.

“Daddy?” Aria’s voice came through not long after.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said softly, smiling.

“Did you find her? Did you find her, Daddy?” came her eager question.

He had to chuckle. “I did.”

“When is she coming over, Daddy? I promised to have dinner with her. We’re going to have so much fun together.”

James shook his head. Aria was just so cute. “As soon as I can but not tonight, sweetheart. She’s busy.”

Now wasn’t the right time to bring Mia home. The girl was tired and confused and needed to sort out what she needed to do next.

Prior to his encounter with her, his plan was to simply recover the two million Andy had lost. Once he laid eyes on her, however, everything changed. He was attracted to her and wanted her, hence his offer. Now he no longer gave a shit about that two million. Heck, he could make two million in a heartbeat. The only problem was now he was worried about her welfare.

The sickening feeling when he’d noticed both the Mexican and the Albanian trailing her wasn’t pleasant. Fuck, the naïve girl didn’t even notice a thing, even ten men following her every move. He had no choice but to brand her his to make sure they knew Mia belonged to him, to protect her. If he hadn’t decided to follow her himself this evening, either the Mexican or the Albanian would have gotten her by now. They would’ve forced Andy out of hiding and killed both brother and sister to shut them up.

Aria’s voice came through loud and clear. “Oh, okay, then. I can’t wait to see her though.” She giggled.

James chuckled. “Are you in bed?”

“Hmm?” came the reply.

“Aria?”

“Yes, Daddy?”

“Daddy won’t be home for a couple of days. I have business, okay?”

“Oh.” She sounded disappointed.

He chuckled. “When I’m home, your Mia will be there with me, all right?”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” he replied. “Now go to sleep.”

“Okay, good night, Daddy.”

“Good night, sweetheart,” he replied and then hung up.

After putting the cups in the dishwasher, he headed upstairs. His eyes lingered at Mia’s door for a brief moment before he finally went into his own bedroom.

He’d just finished showering and getting ready for bed when the phone rang.

“We have a problem,” Scott said the moment he picked up.

James sighed. “What now?”

“It’s Eric,” Scott muttered. “He’s fucking crazy.”

James laughed as if Eric were never crazy, as were all the Maxwells. “What’s he done now?”

“You need to talk to him, James. He’s bloody leaving for Japan in a couple of days.”

“What the fuck for?”

Scott sighed on the other end of the line. “He wants to stop the wedding.”

“Shit!” James swore. He’d known Eric was against their old man’s wedding to the Japanese woman the whole time, but he didn’t think he actually wanted to wreck it completely.

“You have to talk him out of it, James,” Scott said. “Eric doesn’t listen to me. He’d listen to you though.”

James sighed. “All right, I’ll talk to him.”

“We can discuss it over lunch tomorrow,” Scott added. “I’ll text him.”

“Sure, thanks.” He was about to hang up when Scott stopped him.

“So you found yourself a little rabbit, eh?” The brother chuckled. “I heard she’s very pretty.”

“Fuck!” James swore again.

“Andy’s sister?”

Nothing could go past Scott without him noticing. He was as sharp and shrewd as their old man. There was no need to deny the truth.

“Yeah,” he said. “She came to me.”

Scott laughed. “She came to you? Lucky bastard.”

“She came to settle her brother’s debt,” James said.

“Is it settled yet?”

James smiled. “I’m pretty sure it’s a done deal.”

Scott must have heard that light, amused tone in James’ voice, and he chuckled. “I know exactly what’s on offer.”

“Fuck off, Scott,” James muttered.

Scott ignored the warning and laughed. “Bring her around. I want to meet the woman who makes my brother forget about two million.”

“I will, as soon as she signs the contract,” James said.

“How long?”

“Five years.” There was no need to hide it from Scott. He’d figure it out on his own in a split second. In a way, they had the same taste in women. Even Eric, who was a fucking nuisance.

James should have seen the signs with Whitney when both Scott and Eric said they couldn’t understand why he’d marry the woman because they didn’t see anything beautiful about her. They were right, of course, and he had come to realize it a bit too late.

“What if you get sick of her?” Scott voiced his opinion.

James smiled. “I won’t,” he replied confidently.

“What if she gets sick of you?”

A knot formed in his stomach. “She won’t.”

“You’re a harsh man, James,” Scott said. “Good luck.”

James frowned. “What for?”

Scott just laughed, like he always did. “Good night, bro. See you tomorrow.”

“Good night,” James said and then hung up.

For a moment James stared into space and wondered about Scott’s words. Would Mia ever grow tired of him? The thought didn’t sit well within him, and he felt sick. Fuck!