Page 4 of The Naughty One
Romy hopped down to kiss her mother’s cheek and gave her a warmhug.
“Mom, no, it wasn’t a dig at you, more one atmyself.”
Magda smiled in relief. “Romy, I have never felt like this. Not even with your father,” she addedapologetically.
“I figured, with Dad.” Romy nodded,unsurprised.
Romy’s father, a professor of Magda’s back in the day, had never been present much in his daughters’ lives. He supported them financially, but soon after Juno had been born, he and Magda had quietly and amicably divorced and James Sasse had remarried and moved to London. Being a single mother didn’t faze Magda and she’d somehow kept her girls clothed and fed as they grew, bringing them all up to be independent young people who never depended on someoneelse.
The loss of Remy, Romy’s brother, had shattered them all, but the four women were as close now as they had ever been. Artemis, Magda’s eldest, had followed her father into the teaching profession and now taught physics at the University of Washington. Romy had headed for medical school as soon as she graduated from Harvard, and Juno was a musical prodigy. The one thing James had provided was money for their education, and Magda was grateful for that, she often toldRomy.
Magda had been brought up in a hippie commune and she’d carried those values her whole life, finally having reached a point in her life where she could sculpt for aliving.
Which was why Romy and her sisters had been astounded to hear that Magda was about to marry a multi-billionaire. Stuart Eames had made his fortune in tech and had such a large share of the tech market that no one could compete. Romy was looking forward to meeting the billionaire who had captured her mother’s laidbackheart.
A random thought occurred to her as she reached for the salad bowl and started to assemble the various ingredients her mother had diced. “How come Blue has a different lastname?”
Magda drained the pot of rice she was cooking. “He’s Stuart’s son from anaffair.”
Romy’s eyebrows shotup.
“I think his mother was Italian,” Magda went on, confirming at least that suspicion, though Romy was far more interested in the otherrevelation.
“So … Stuart had anaffair?”
Magda gave her a warning look. “Darling, if you had ever met his wife, you wouldn’t blamehim.”
Though Magda was far from conservative, she was fiercely loyal and it was an unusual stance for her to take. Nevertheless, Romy decided to let it go, at least until she’d had a chance to cross-examine Eames and ensure that he wasn’t about to cheat on her mother. Because if he did, she and her sisters would have plenty tosay.
“Mom,” she said, suddenly noticing how much food her mother was preparing, “you realize there’s only four of us,right?”
“Five,” Magda flushed bright red and ducked her head. “Stuart’s joiningus.”
“Oh, getting in an introduction under the wire, huh?” Romy grinned. “I guess I should help you with the rest of dinner,then…”
Stuart Eames hadthe same bright green eyes as his son, but his hair was close cropped and white. He had an easy smile that Romy liked, and a friendly manner which made the party all feel at ease. He greeted them all with utmost respect. “It’s so good to finally meet you. Magda is so proud of youall.”
Juno, curling herself into a chair, grinned at him. “I assure you, we don’t deserveit.”
Artemis, her blonde hair falling gracefully to her shoulders, shot her younger sister a warning look. “Don’t tease,Juno.”
Stuart laughed. “No, don’t stop teasing. Blue and I are always busting each other’s chops. It’s what families are supposed to do. Speaking of which, do you mind if I just have a quiet word with your mom about something? I swear it’ll take no more than fiveminutes.”
“Surething.”
Left alone, the sisters looked at oneanother.
“He’s cute,” Juno decided, and Artemischuckled.
“Can you call a sixty-year-old cute?” Artemis smoothed her skirt down over her long legs, crossing themelegantly.
Romy sighed. Of all the Sasse sisters, she was the odd one out, dark-haired, dark eyed, and small in stature, if not in figure. Where her sisters were all long limbs and athletic, Romy was curvy, full-breasted, and petite. She still worked out as much as her siblings, but her figure was always going to be soft instead of athletic like them. Juno and Artemis took after their mother; Romy didn’t know where she’d gotten her curves from. She barely remembered what her father looked like. Oh, she knew people considered her beautiful, but she never played it up. Slightly myopic from a young age, she wore glasses instead of contacts, and stuffed her long, thick chestnut hair up into a messy bun more often thannot.
Juno poked her with a foot now. “Will you be coming to our traditional Thanksgiving run thisyear?”
Giving her sister a cheesy smile, Romy said, “Sadly, I’ll beworking.”
“Roms!”
