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  Mia stood on her tiptoes, watching eagerly for her sister, and Jordan was caught up in watching her. He hadn’t seen this side of her yet, and he was excited. He knew the time was coming when he needed to introduce her to Evan, and maybe even the rest of the Securities guys from Pierce, but he’d been worried they wouldn’t act right. Now he knew it would be time. Soon.

  Mia let go of his hand with a squeal and launched herself into the crowd. It was so sudden, Jordan tensed, ready to go in after her, but when the sea of people parted, he saw Mia in a bear hug with a girl who looked nothing like her but was squealing just the same.

  They both wore the same smile, and the same tears tracked from similar eyes. Jordan knew then, without a doubt in his mind, he’d done the right thing.

  Striding up to the women, he held out his hand. “I’m Jordan. Welcome home, Rose.” She shook it, still wrapped up in Mia, giving him a look of trepidation. Understandable. According to Mia, their mom had had a never-ending stream of men in the house, which was a shitty way to raise daughters, in Jordan’s opinion.

  Eager to do something to get the look out of her eyes, Jordan offered, “Pizza, hamburgers, or pot roast?” He knew she probably missed American food, even if she wasn’t a picky eater. That’s what he’d missed the most.

  “Anything that doesn’t have rice is good. Do you have a TV?” She was testing him, and that was totally cool with Jordan.

  “Yup, five hundred and eighty-nine channels of garbage, waiting for you to veg out in front of.”

  “Awesome…” she breathed. Jordan sighed. That was easy. For now.

  He took the girls out to eat at Salt Lick Barbecue, a staple for Austin food. As they waited for their ribs, beef, and sausage with all the fixin’s, Jordan looked at Mia and Rose, examining them for similarities. It was obvious they had different fathers, as Mia’s Hispanic features were ironically highlighted by the girls’ similarities in features. They had the same mouth, nose, and shape of their eyes, but where Mia’s features were dark and olive, Rose’s were lighter. Her hair was a light brown, almost blonde but not quite. Her eyes were blue, and her skin had a pinkish hue. As different as they looked, they were definitely sisters. When they smiled, the same sunshine broke out of their faces, and their laugh was double trouble for Jordan. He realized he would do anything in the world to hear it. All day, every day.

  It wasn’t a sexual thing, either. He liked hearing the laughter as it spilled from each of them. It was infectious, and before he knew it, Jordan was laughing along with them at stories about their mother’s futile attempts at home-schooling Rose. It seemed Rose knew more about most of it than her mother, and the stories were comical.

  When their order was ready, Jordan went to go get the trays from the counter. When he returned, laden with meat of all sorts, the girls watched him expectantly.

  “Meat. I never thought I’d be so excited to eat meat. Recognizable meat.” Rose was practically drooling, and Jordan got it.

  “Yeah, some countries don’t have a lot of it in their diet. And what they do have, you’re better off not asking too many questions about,” he chuckled.

  Rose seemed wary around him, shooting her sister questioning glances when she thought Jordan wasn’t watching. As they ate, Mia ignored her looks, but Jordan knew some explanation was necessary. But it wasn’t really his place, and he wanted Mia to explain what she felt she needed to, in a way that was comfortable for her and Rose.

  So he tried to get the young girl’s mind off the question she wasn’t asking. “I thought maybe after we ate, we could go shopping for some things for you.” Girls loved shopping, right? And the lone backpack she’d brought over on the plane couldn’t hold much.

  But apparently, it was the wrong thing to say. Rose’s shoulders stiffened and her neck elongated as she straightened her spine. “I don’t need you to buy me things.” She swallowed and continued. “It certainly isn’t going to make me like you, so save your money.”

  Jordan recoiled as if slapped. That wasn’t the reaction he’d expected, yet she continued. “I don’t need your affection, whether it’s in the form of gifts or clothes or stuff. I came over to the States to be with my sister and away from my mother and her boyfriends, not you, whoever the fuck you are.”

  “Rose!” Mia’s voice was a loud whisper.

  “Well, it’s true! I don’t know who the hell this guy is. Last time we spoke, you didn’t say anything about a boyfriend, and then suddenly, the trip was pushed up and I come here to see you pulling the same shit Mom did. I don’t need him to take care of me.”

  “Rose, for Pete’s sake, chill out. I’m not pulling a mom. There are things that happened that I’ll explain, but now is not the time.” She reached for Rose, patting her hand. “We’ll talk tonight. But Jordan’s right. You probably need some things. If nothing else, we can get you some clothes for school. If you don’t want to do it tonight, we can do it tomorrow. Just don’t jump to conclusions, okay?”

  Rose pouted, and it looked so much like Mia’s face when she pouted that Jordan bit his lip to hide his smile.

  “Okay, but you better explain it well, or I still won’t like him.” Turning her killer blue eyes on Jordan, she threatened, “And I might not like you anyway. Even if there’s a fantastic reason. Cuz that’s how I roll.”

  Of course. Teenager’s prerogative. Jordan tried to look somber, but judging by Mia’s smile, his eyes were still twinkling.

  “Duly noted. Besides, I wasn’t going to take you to Neiman Marcus or anything. I was thinking more like Target. But whatever.”

  When they got home from supper, Rose looked tired, so Mia led her to one of the guest rooms to get settled.

  “Rose, I know this is probably awkward, but Jordan’s a good guy, really,” Mia began, suddenly nervous about explaining her relationship with Jordan. She knew she was going to have to tell Rose more than she was really comfortable with, just to make her sister at ease with the situation. She understood it. After husband number six, both Rose and Mia were leery of the men her mother brought home. And Mia had always vowed to never need a man for her financial security. As she looked around at her surroundings, she realized that’s exactly what it must seem like to Rose. That she was using Jordan for this swanky apartment.

  Rose was getting undressed, putting on a pair of ragged boxer shorts Mia had seen before and a t-shirt that covered them, equally ragged.

  “What’s his story, then?”

  Mia sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, trying to decide how much to tell her. “We were neighbors at my old place, but it wasn’t safe, so we moved in here together. It’s his brother’s building. He’s rich. Something with computer software or something. I’m not sure.”

  “Like Sixth Street is safe,” Rose scoffed.

  “I know, but the other place was worse. Believe me.” Something in her voice made Rose’s gaze snap up to hers.

  “What happened?”

  Mia twisted her hands in her lap. Rose was old enough to know the truth, so it wasn’t her trying to protect her sister, she just wasn’t sure she could talk about it yet.

  “I’m not really ready to talk about it yet, Rose. I’m sorry.” She rushed to reassure her sister. “It’s not that I’m trying to protect you, I promise, it’s just that…” Mia should just tell her. That was probably part of the healing process, being able to talk about things. But she just couldn’t. “We’re safe now. Jordan has done all he can to make me feel secure and protected. Please trust him. He’s really the best guy I’ve ever met. And I’m not saying that because he’s good in bed. I can promise you that.” She laughed at her sister’s disbelieving look.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.” Rose crossed her arms, leaning against her pillows with a wry smile.

  “Seriously. We haven’t done it.” And she wasn’t going to tell her sister why.

  “But you sleep together. I saw all your stuff in the master bedroom.”

  Mia bit her lip, knowing exactly how things lo
oked. “Yeah, that’s part of the whole security thing. It’s not forever, but right now, it helps.”

  Rose leaned forward, the interest in her eyes raging. “What the hell happened to you?”

  Mia’s throat closed up and she swallowed past the lump of tears forming. “I was grabbed from my apartment and taken to this guy’s house, where he kept me for a few days. Jordan found me and saved me. Please,” she choked out. “I can’t talk about it anymore.”

  “Okay,” Rose’s voice was soft, and she leaned forward, taking Mia into a hug. “I’m sorry. I’ll be nicer.” The girls held each other for a while, until finally, Rose asked, “You haven’t told Mom?”

  Mia shook her head. “Promise me you won’t tell her, either. I don’t want to have to explain it all to her, too.”

  “I knew something was weird, but I didn’t realize it was that bad.” Rose smiled a watery smile. “So do you think he’ll take us to the mall tomorrow?”

  “I think so, yeah.” Mia’s return smile felt good.

  She left her sister in the guest room and walked down the hallway to the room she’d been sharing with Jordan. She’d said it wasn’t permanent, but it pained her to say that. She couldn’t expect Jordan to make this permanent, though, really. This was a nice thing for him to do—help her out while she recovered from her ordeal—and he seemed willing, for now. But she couldn’t count on it.

  But she would certainly enjoy it while it lasted.

  She entered the bedroom to find Jordan dressed in pajama bottoms and nothing else, his usual bedtime wear. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for her.

  “Hey. Do you want me to sleep in the other guest room? For Rose?”

  Mia could tell he didn’t really want to but was trying to be nice. Thoughts of last night and the mutual cuddling after his nightmare filled her brain with a satisfying warmth. She smiled at Jordan before she said, “No. She’s a big girl.” Shrugging, she continued as she walked over to her dresser. “Besides, it’s not like we’re doing anything. I explained it to her.”

  “Everything? You told her everything?”

  “No.” Grabbing her own pajamas, she turned to Jordan, who still sat on the edge of the bed. “Only what was comfortable. But I told her there was an incident and I was kidnapped. I will tell her the rest when I can.” The words sounded absurd coming from her mouth, but that’s what had happened. She’d been kidnapped. Mia mouthed the word silently, wrapping her brain around it. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to talk about all of it with someone who wasn’t there.

  She walked into the bathroom and got ready for bed. When she came out, she said to Jordan, “You don’t have to pay for stuff when we go shopping tomorrow. She’s my sister. It’s my responsibility.”

  “I know. But I’m not hurting.” He smiled at her, gleaming teeth shining at her as his blue eyes twinkled. His smile took her breath away, and it had been so long since she reacted that way toward him. It seemed like it had been an eternity since she’d had these feelings. “With Evan letting us stay here, I’m actually doing alright. As long as you girls don’t go insane, I can buy her a few things she needs.” He shrugged like it was no big deal, but the underlying tension of his movements told her he wanted to spend money on them. “And you should get yourself some things to make you happy, too. I don’t mind. We’ll go to the mall. I was joking about Target.”

  As Mia slid under the sheets, she went ahead and rolled over to his side of the bed. She snuggled close to him, enjoying his warm body as he reciprocated and pressed himself against her. Mia wasn’t going to think too hard about how perfect they fit together, how good he felt wrapped around her, or how he made her feel. She was just going to enjoy this.

  When his breaths evened out, and she knew he was sleeping, she whispered into his neck, “I like you, too, Jordan.”

  But she knew that was wrong. She was falling in love with him.

  Going to the mall with a woman and a teen-aged girl was something Jordan had never experienced before. As a teenager himself, he had avoided the mall with his mother at all costs because it was strictly a place to pick up chicks. Now, with Mia under his arm and Rose walking in front of him, he saw all the appreciative glances tossed the girl’s way and they all made him cringe. He knew exactly what they were thinking. And it pissed him off to no end. As he was loaded down with shopping bags, it occurred to him that girls needed more stuff than boys. He’d needed jeans and t-shirts, maybe button-ups if he was dressing up, and shoes. This girl needed hang-out clothes, laying around clothes, school clothes, going out clothes, and more shoes than God. And then there was the makeup and hair shit. Underwear. Bootie-type sock thingies.

  He bought it all. Without question.

  It made her happy. And when Rose was happy, Mia was happy. And he would do anything to make Mia smile. Yeah, he didn’t really do shopping, but watching these smiles and hearing this laughter was filling him with something he didn’t know he needed.

  Joy.

  “All the shoes are downstairs. Can we go back so we can pick out some dress shoes for her?” Mia asked. He answered with a vague grunt of affirmation while steering them toward the escalator.

  “The elevator is right here. It’s faster.” Mia tugged him the other direction, but Jordan grunted, resisting.

  “I don’t do elevators unless I have to, and I don’t have to in order buy shoes.”

  She stopped and looked at him, her eyes twinkling in laughter.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” she smiled. “It’s just nice to see weaknesses in the gallant knight’s armor.”

  Okay, so he wasn’t sure how to take that, so he smiled down at her and continued on his way to the escalator.

  There were too many shoe stores in this mall, but the girls finally found one they were satisfied with, and while they tried on shoes, Jordan stood just outside the store, watching them.

  As Rose tried on shoes, he saw a younger version of Mia. Her curves hadn’t filled out completely yet, and her legs were too long for her body. She was skinny, probably having lost weight overseas, but he could see the woman she would be.

  And so did every other red-blooded male in the mall.

  He watched the bags as the girls tried on shoes. He noticed a pair of black heels with little ankle straps, and his groin tightened as he imagined Mia wearing them, strutting around their place. He cleared his throat and caught her eye, pointing to them.

  Understanding lit her eyes, and she smiled at him before asking to try them on. Jordan was almost embarrassed at his reaction to seeing her in those heels as she walked around the store. Her pink toenails peeped out the toes, and the strap made her already slender ankles look stellar on the end of her long, smooth legs. Suddenly, lurid images of those shoes on his shoulders struck him, and he turned around, clasping a bag in front of his erection.

  There was a group of boys standing not ten feet away, staring at Mia and Rose, mostly Rose, nudging each other. He could imagine the conversations they were having, daring one of them to get her number so they could all text wildly inappropriate things back and forth.

  Speaking of which. Mia and Rose both needed a cell phone. Rose would be starting school soon, and Jordan hopefully still had a job. At some point in the future, they would all need to stay in contact while everybody went to work and things.

  Dropping his credit card in Mia’s lap, he whispered in her ear, “Get those shoes. And anything else you need. I’ll be across the mall for a bit.” She nodded, biting her lip, and Jordan winked before striding out of the store. She might not be ready for sex yet, but she would be. Hopefully soon. He was just reminding her that he still wanted her.

  Preferably in those shoes.

  His cell phone carrier had a kiosk in the mall, and after having two more lines added to his plan, he walked back to the store to find the boys still standing outside and Mia paying for the shoes. Rose shyly watched the boys while pretending not to see them.

  Jordan pulled out Rose�
�s new cell phone and handed it to the squealing girl, accepting her hug. She was ridiculously happy. He could tell she never would have asked. In fact, she had quit asking for things an hour ago, and they were both content to let Mia lead them around the mall pointing out things Rose needed.

  But this time, Mia was pouting.

  “What? I got you a new one, too.” Jordan pulled out the other phone and handed it to Mia, who pushed it back into his hands.

  “You shouldn’t have gotten us phones,” she stated simply. Her eyes were dark, though, and angry. Jordan had to admit, if she were wearing those shoes and angry at him, he could die a happy man. It was a major fucking turn-on.

  “Why not? In a couple of weeks, I’ll hopefully be at work, and she’ll be at school. It’s a safety issue.”

  She crossed her arms and huffed, stirring the hair around her face. “It’s not that. I appreciate that, Jordan. It’s… It’s a pretty big commitment, don’t you think?”

  Jordan had to make Mia understand he’d fallen in love with her. Period. He opened his mouth to tell her that but decided the middle of a crowded mall wasn’t the right time or place to profess his love. So he put his arm around her and steered her to a quiet spot along the wall.

  “Look, Mia. I don’t know how you feel about me, but I’m already committed, so do me a favor and use this phone. It’s newer than yours, and I wanted to buy you something nice. If a damn phone is too much, I’ll take it back, but you are it for me. So unless you hate the sight of me, then just take the fucking phone.”

  Okay, he sounded madder than he meant to, but the spark in her eyes as she snapped her mouth shut was enough for him. He pressed his lips against hers in an all-too-brief kiss that told her to shut up and quit arguing. Which she did. Thank God, because he had a raging hard on that hadn’t totally gone away since the shoe thing, and he needed to get her to stop looking at him like that.

  They turned around and immediately started looking for Rose. Scanning the crowd, Jordan didn’t immediately see her. Shifting bags around, he clasped Mia’s hand. He was panicking and needed to stop, but he couldn’t do that until he found her. The squeeze on his hand told him Mia was a bit freaked, too. He started walking toward where he had seen her last, by the shoe store.