It had all been nothing but sex to him.
“It’s time to go, Tia. I’ll give you a few minutes to say goodbye to Grace,” Mr. DeVille said.
When he walked out into the hallway, she tugged on my hand and smiled up at me. “He’s a weird guy.”
Out of the mouths of babes. She wasn’t wrong. Mr. DeVille did have a weird thing going for him. I didn’t notice it that day in his office because I was too busy noticing his jet black hair and sparkling blue eyes, but now that I thought about it, he had an almost otherworldly feel to him.
“He’s my boss. He’s taking me to my next assignment. I have to meet another little girl or boy and be their nanny. But I’m going to miss you, Grace.”
“Me too. I promise I’ll send cards just like I said I would. Should I send one to Uncle Nico too because I can’t tell him goodbye?” she asked innocently.
I pushed aside the hurt growing inside me over what I knew to be the truth of our relationship and smiled. “That would be nice. I bet he’d like it. I think he got to really like having you around, so I think he’s going to miss you.”
Grace threw her arms around my waist and hugged me tightly. “I love you, Tia. Promise you’ll send cards to me too?”
Fighting back the tears, I hugged her and answered, “I promise. Lots of cards.”
I knew every moment we stood there together made the next one harder to leave, so I crouched down in front of her and smiled. “Now promise me something.”
Her blue eyes grew big. “What?”
With a wink, I said, “Promise me you’re going to be happy and you’re always going to remember how smart you are.”
A smile lit up her beautiful face, and she nodded in that way that told me she believed in herself as much as I did. “I promise, Tia.”
“Okay then. We have places to go and people to see, so I guess we better get moving. Your father is probably so nervous and excited to meet his little girl. You ready?”
“I think so.”
I had no idea who was going to be there with Grace when she met her father for the first time since Nico had abandoned the two of us and Mr. DeVille insisted I leave now. God, I hoped it wouldn’t be Agatha. That women couldn’t find an ounce of warmth inside her if she was on fire.
“Best to wait here in your room. You’ve got your coloring book and crayons, so just pick a letter, okay?”
Grace opened up to the page she wanted to color and held it up to show me. “I’m going to do T because you told me that’s what Tia starts with. T for Tia.”
“Very good. Okay, I have to go now, so give me a kiss and wish me luck that I don’t get stuck with a rotten kid who likes to eat dirt or tries to pull my hair all the time.”
She giggled and kissed me before throwing her arms around me once more. “I love you, Tia.”
I couldn’t stop the tears this time. As they rolled down my cheeks, I whispered in her ear, “I love you too, Grace.”
When she sat down to color the letter T, I walked over toward the door. I took one last look at her before I left so I could have that memory of her happily coloring the first letter in my name.
T for Tia.
I found Mr. DeVille standing in the main foyer near the front door staring up at the crystal chandelier above his head. With a smile as I thought about Grace saying she thought he was weird, I walked over to him to leave.
“She shouldn’t be alone, you know. I would have preferred to have waited with her. With her uncle gone, she should have someone who cares with her when she meets her father.”
I didn’t give a damn if I sounded out of line. This wasn’t right, and no matter what Mr. DeVille said, I’d never change my mind on that.
“Interesting thing this chandelier. Years ago, they had crystals that created prisms of light. Nowadays, they don’t have all of those little pieces and have lights instead. I think I prefer the more intricate crystals. I’m not a fan of simple things. Believe it or not, the most beautiful things in this world are the complicated ones.”
Definitely weird.
Tilting my head back, I looked up at the light and tried to find the feeling of amazement he seemed to have for it. To me, it was just another thing in this house that cost a fortune but meant nothing.
Like everything else in Nico’s life. Items he collected that mean nothing to him.