Page 121 of Wicked Proposal
“Our contract?—”
“Mommy!”
A little ball of energy careens towards us, straight into Mia’s legs. “Hey there, munchkin.” Mia smiles, ruffling her son’s hair. “Why aren’t you in bed yet?”
“I was waiting for you,” he says with a pout. “You didn’t kiss me goodnight.”
Mia’s face falls. “Oh my God, you’re right. I’m sorry, baby. Work ran so long, I couldn’t make it back home.”
“You’re here now,” he points out. Then his eyes, blue like his mother’s, zero in on me. “Hi, Yulian.”
I blink. “You remember me.”
“You’re really tall.”
“Alright!” Mia blurts out. “How about we let Aunt Kallie get back home and order some pizza?”
“Yay!” Eli squeals. “I want pepperoni! With extra cheese!”
Mia shakes her head, laughing. “Fine, you can have extra cheese. But just for tonight, you hear?”
But he’s already turned to me again. “What pizza do you want, Yulian?”
For a second, I’m too stunned to speak. “Pardon?”
“Pizza,” he repeats, like he thinks I might not be familiar with the concept. “It’s big, round, and it’s got slices. But it’s not a cake, because it has cheese.”
“Honey,” Mia blurts, “I’m sure Yulian’s too busy to?—”
“Sure.”
Mia stares at me, eyes wide. I’d stare at me like that, too, because why the hell did I just say that?
But I’ve said it now. It’s out.
And the warm smile spreading on Mia’s face is far too beautiful to take it back.
38
YULIAN
There’s warmth here.
It’s the first thing I notice. Mia’s apartment is nothing like what I’m used to. It’s small, messy, chaotic like a toy box. And yet, it’s warm.
Warmer than I deserve.
“Okay!” Eli chirps. “You sit here, Mommy can sit here, and Garfield?—”
“Garfield’s already eaten,” Mia says. “Kallie told me.”
“Oh.” Eli pauses for a moment, then promptly puts Garfield back in his designated chair. “Well, he might be thirsty. Here, Yulian, you can sit next to him.”
I steal a glance at Mia. She’s trying so hard to fight back a smile, it’s ridiculous. “I’d be honored,” I say.
We order food by phone. I try to wrest back control of this improvised family dinner by suggesting I foot the bill, but Miawon’t have it. “You’re our guest,” she insists. “At Winters House, we feed our guests.”
“Aunt Kallie didn’t stay to eat,” Eli complains. “She always stays.”
