a thinly-veiled insult anyway. How did no one else see through her?
“You do look perfect. Very mature and stylish,” Roy declared, smiling from the head of the table as Arizona took her place. Was he kidding? She didn’t look ‘mature’. She looked like a sultry sex goddess, not some middle-aged accountant.
Her seat at the table was directly across from me, and I noticed she made a concerted effort to avert her eyes from mine. C’mon, Arizona, I willed her. Look at me. She leaned forward to take a sip of water from her glass, and just as I noticed that I could almost see straight down the front of her dress, that was when she finally decided to look at me.
Shit, now she thought I was even more of a pervy sleaze than she had before, if that was even possible.
“Well, let’s get started,” my mother said, snapping her fingers. “Dig in, everyone.”
Arizona poked some food around her plate, obviously uncomfortable with the whole setup.
“Mr. Vierra,” a brunette reporter said, thrusting a recorder in Roy’s face. I think her name was Megan something-rather. “What’s it been like for the last month with Arizona finally back in your life?”
Roy wiped around his mouth with a napkin and smiled. “It’s been like a dream come true,” he replied. “My daughter and I have been taking lots of time to get to know each other properly, and I have to say that I’m honored to be blessed with such a wonderful girl. All these years apart haven’t changed a thing. I still love her just as much now as I did when I first held her, and I’m extremely proud of the young woman she has become. I only wish her mother could be here today as well.”
“And Layla, how about you?” Megan said, turning her attention to my mother. “How did you feel when you found out your husband had a nineteen year old daughter?”
My mother threw her a dazzling smile. “Well, of course I already knew he had a daughter. We’ve prayed for all these years that she was still out there, safe and happy, and I’m just so pleased that I can be part of the effort to make her feel loved and welcome now that she’s come back to us.”
Bullshit. I knew my mother better than anyone. If she had her way, Arizona would be on a bus back to Wisconsin without a penny of Roy’s fortune. The way she saw it, it was her money, simply because she was married to the guy. But of course no one else could know that. Oh no, she had an image to uphold.
“Oh, of course. It really is fantastic, isn’t it? And so surreal,” Megan said. “Now, the lady of the moment…Arizona, what’s it been like for you to adjust to this new life? I understand you used to live in Leyton, Wisconsin. What did you do there?”
Arizona looked up from her plate. “I was a waitress at a hotel restaurant.”
“So you go from being a small-town waitress to being an heiress to a multi-billion dollar fortune. It’s like a Cinderella story, isn’t it?”
“Well, not really,” Arizona said with an innocent smile. “I’m still waiting on my handsome prince to arrive. So far he’s nowhere to be seen.”
She looked right at me when she said that last sentence, and I narrowed my eyes. That was a subtle dig at me, but a dig no less. Everyone laughed at her quip, and she fielded a bevy of questions from around the table until Megan turned her attention to me.
“So Mason, you’ve grown up as an only child, and although you’re an adult now, it still must be difficult to adjust to having a new stepsibling. How would you say your relationship with your stepsister has developed so far?”
“Well, we’ve only had a month to get to know each other, but we’ve already shared a couple of intimate moments,” I replied, sliding my foot up over Arizona’s bare leg under the table.
She choked on her soda as I finished my sentence, prompting quizzical looks from everyone at the table.
“Sorry,” she gasped out. “My drink went down the wrong pipe.”
God, I’d missed
“You do look perfect. Very mature and stylish,” Roy declared, smiling from the head of the table as Arizona took her place. Was he kidding? She didn’t look ‘mature’. She looked like a sultry sex goddess, not some middle-aged accountant.
Her seat at the table was directly across from me, and I noticed she made a concerted effort to avert her eyes from mine. C’mon, Arizona, I willed her. Look at me. She leaned forward to take a sip of water from her glass, and just as I noticed that I could almost see straight down the front of her dress, that was when she finally decided to look at me.
Shit, now she thought I was even more of a pervy sleaze than she had before, if that was even possible.
“Well, let’s get started,” my mother said, snapping her fingers. “Dig in, everyone.”
Arizona poked some food around her plate, obviously uncomfortable with the whole setup.
“Mr. Vierra,” a brunette reporter said, thrusting a recorder in Roy’s face. I think her name was Megan something-rather. “What’s it been like for the last month with Arizona finally back in your life?”
Roy wiped around his mouth with a napkin and smiled. “It’s been like a dream come true,” he replied. “My daughter and I have been taking lots of time to get to know each other properly, and I have to say that I’m honored to be blessed with such a wonderful girl. All these years apart haven’t changed a thing. I still love her just as much now as I did when I first held her, and I’m extremely proud of the young woman she has become. I only wish her mother could be here today as well.”
“And Layla, how about you?” Megan said, turning her attention to my mother. “How did you feel when you found out your husband had a nineteen year old daughter?”
My mother threw her a dazzling smile. “Well, of course I already knew he had a daughter. We’ve prayed for all these years that she was still out there, safe and happy, and I’m just so pleased that I can be part of the effort to make her feel loved and welcome now that she’s come back to us.”
Bullshit. I knew my mother better than anyone. If she had her way, Arizona would be on a bus back to Wisconsin without a penny of Roy’s fortune. The way she saw it, it was her money, simply because she was married to the guy. But of course no one else could know that. Oh no, she had an image to uphold.
“Oh, of course. It really is fantastic, isn’t it? And so surreal,” Megan said. “Now, the lady of the moment…Arizona, what’s it been like for you to adjust to this new life? I understand you used to live in Leyton, Wisconsin. What did you do there?”
Arizona looked up from her plate. “I was a waitress at a hotel restaurant.”
“So you go from being a small-town waitress to being an heiress to a multi-billion dollar fortune. It’s like a Cinderella story, isn’t it?”
“Well, not really,” Arizona said with an innocent smile. “I’m still waiting on my handsome prince to arrive. So far he’s nowhere to be seen.”
She looked right at me when she said that last sentence, and I narrowed my eyes. That was a subtle dig at me, but a dig no less. Everyone laughed at her quip, and she fielded a bevy of questions from around the table until Megan turned her attention to me.
“So Mason, you’ve grown up as an only child, and although you’re an adult now, it still must be difficult to adjust to having a new stepsibling. How would you say your relationship with your stepsister has developed so far?”
“Well, we’ve only had a month to get to know each other, but we’ve already shared a couple of intimate moments,” I replied, sliding my foot up over Arizona’s bare leg under the table.
She choked on her soda as I finished my sentence, prompting quizzical looks from everyone at the table.
“Sorry,” she gasped out. “My drink went down the wrong pipe.”
God, I’d missed
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