270 Enthusiastic reception
The thud startled Liam and the young woman and they both looked in her direction. She picked up the nearly empty cups and ditched them in the nearby bin and walked to them, trying not to let her rage show on her face.
“Your boyfriend? The one you want to seduce with lipstick?” She glared down at the woman who was a few inches shorter than her, making the latter want to shrink away.
She wanted to nod but Ximena’s gaze scared her into spilling everything. “The truth is, I have loved him for years but...”
“You can stop loving him now. He is taken.” She hooked an arm around Liam’s. The young woman scurried away, making Liam burst into laughter.
She glared up at him. “Are you mad at me for sending away your little beauty?”
“Hell no.” He wrapped his arm around her. “You look cute when you are jealous.”
Cute? Her brows furrowed. That was not a word anyone would use to describe her, but most importantly, “Why the hell would I be jealous?”
“Okay. You look cute when you are ‘not jealous’.”
She rolled her eyes and pulled away from him. “I’ll go get us some drinks.” She was only two steps away when she turned. “On second thought, come with me. I don’t want to come back to little girls sliding their hands all over you.”
.....
“Yes ma’am.” He tailed after her.
....
When he finally dropped her off at her apartment, it was nearly midnight. After skating several more rounds on the rink, they had gone for dinner at a barbecue restaurant and later had a few drinks before they finally decided to call it a night.
He walked her to her door and waited until she found her key and unlocked it.
“Hey, don’t you think this scene is familiar?” She asked, tilting her head to face him.
“It is.” He agreed.
She turned around out of the blue, pressing her body against his. “Do you want to reenact it?”
“You are drunk.” He peeled her hands off him despite her protests. Heaven knew how badly he wanted her but a drunk woman was off limits, even if she was only slightly drunk.
She pouted. “Fine, you party pooper. I’ll go to bed on my own then. I’ll be sure to scream out your name when I make myself come.”
“What did you say?”
She slipped away, chuckling the whole way. A battle raged in his mind, between rationality and his needs. In the end, rationality won. It probably didn’t matter to her but he would prefer it if they were both sober for their first time.
___
The following day, Zaria was too tired to work so after having brunch, she curled up on her bed to watch a movie on her laptop with Rosaly.
Des was snuggled on Rosaly’s lap as though they had known each other all their lives. The sight made Zaria picture a perfect family with a loving husband, two kids and a loyal dog and a cat-or two loyal dogs.
“The Divas are gonna win!” Rosaly cheered. They were watching a musical movie and their favorite dance crew had topped the semifinals.
“Fingers crossed!” She cheered along, even while predicting the end after having watched a gazillion movies of the genre in her pre-teen years.
The laptop screen suddenly went dead. When it lit back on, Zeus’s face made an appearance. Zaria facepalmed.
“Hey, is that the judge? He is very handsome.” Rosaly pointed at the screen.
“No. That’s just my brother. It’s a video call.” She exclaimed and glared at Zeus. “Would you die if you made a normal video call instead of hacking my laptop?”
“I had to. You were not answering my texts.” He shrugged and scanned the little girl by her side, wondering since when Zaria grew that close to Desmond’s daughter. “You have good taste, princess. Tell me, who is more handsome? Your daddy or me?” He swiped his hair off his face to reveal his attractive features.
“Daddy is strong and handsome.” She protested, making it clear that no one was better than her father in her little heart.
Zeus pretended to be wounded. “I’m stronger than your daddy. I can carry you on my shoulder.”
Her eyes lit up but almost instantly, she shook her head. “Daddy can carry Zaria like a bride!”
“Okay. Stop teasing my friend.” Zaria waved the little contest off. “What do you want?”
“We need to meet. It’s urgent.” He got back to serious business and from his expression, he gathered that it was important and couldn’t be discussed on call.
“Okay. Just...” She sighed sadly. “I promised to stay with Rosaly today.”
The girl didn’t look disappointed when she heard that Zaria was leaving. “It’s okay. I can watch with grandpa and wait for you.”
Zaria’s heart melted, while Zeus was flabbergasted.
“Grandpa? That wouldn’t be dad, right?” He was aware that Desmond’s father was not in the picture and logically, there was no way Zaria would let Angela’s family get close to Rosaly in Desmond’s absence.
Zaria confirmed his guess, making his jaw drop. “Isn’t that too fast? It’s unfair! Hey, Princess, I’m your uncle. You can call me Uncle Zeus.”
“And me, Grandma Lucy. Or just grandma.” Lucy popped her head into the room, arriving just in time as Zeus introduced himself.
“What are you doing here, mother?” Zeus whipped his head around, startled by his mother’s sudden arrival.
“You are taking too long. Hi Zaria.” She wiggled her fingers at the screen before cutting off the call.
“Don’t mind them. They can be crazy at times.” She had no way of explaining her family’s enthusiastic reception of Rosaly. It was almost as though they were certain she and Desmond would get married.
But what if it didn’t happen? It would be hard to explain to Rosaly why she could no longer hang out with Grandpa Theo, Grandma Lucy and Uncle Zeus.
The thought of not being with Desmond gnawed at her insides and she stopped thinking about it.
Theodore was excited to spend more time with Rosaly. It was evident just how much he liked her. The day before, he had spent most of his free time in the kitchen cooking for Rosaly and making her snacks and pastries. When he was not feeding her with delicacies, they were playing games she didn’t think she would ever see him play again. It was no exaggeration to say that he treated her the exact same way he would treat the granddaughter he doted on.
As Zaria left the house, he reminded her to be careful and immediately returned to play an abduction game with Rosaly.
...
Zeus had already sent a car to pick her up. She recognized his black hummer on the driveway and the chauffeur got out to open the door for her.
“What’s all this extravagance?” She asked no one in particular.
“Mr. Roatta hopes you will be comfortable.”
A smile curled her lips. Since when did little brothers dote on their sisters? She wanted to be the one to pamper and protect him but that was impossible considering her brother was Zeus. He was the plague everyone would want to protect their younger siblings from.
When the car arrived at Zeus’ mansion, she was in awe. It was more like a futuristic palace with advanced technology and security.
“Welcome, Miss Zaria.” A robot butler received her when she got off the car, nearly scaring the crap out of her. She had heard of intelligent robots but had never met one in real life. When they got to the main entrance, a wave of the robot’s hand was all it took for the giant doors to open.
Another robot with the name tag “Sven” bowed when she walked in through the doors, and she marvelled at its articulation.
“At your service, Miss.” It called in its voice. It must have been programmed to bring her drinks when she arrived, because it offered her a glass of fruit juice just as she got to the living area where Zeus was waiting.
“Show off.” She harrumphed.
“Are you jealous?” He chuckled. “If you want, I can modify your house too. I can also give you Sven as a bonus.”
“I don’t need a bunch of metal at my service, thank you very much.” She took a seat. “What do you need to talk about?”
He reclined in his couch. “Our dearest grandfather.”
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