He smiled. “I don’t mind your feet. They’re very … small.”
“Well, I’m small, so my feet should be too.”
He nodded at that. “You’re the perfect size.”
“All these sweet lines you keep giving me, Rambo. I feel like I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
He chuckled and she hoped he would pull her in close, but he only swept his gaze over her. Even that look from him had her panting for air.
The voices she’d been ignoring over in the kitchen were moving toward her and Zeke. She could smell something scrummy cooking, but she’d rather smell her scrummy man. She looked Zeke over. If only he could be her man. She’d never tire of him. Of that she was certain.
“Mia.” Holly hurried to her, extending her cell phone. “It’s your mum.”
Mia’s ire rose immediately. Her mum had better not defend her dad or she’d have a come apart. How many times through the years had her dad ticked her off and her mum had made excuses or taken the blame herself to soothe the situation? Not this time.
“Okay.” She stood and took the phone from Holly.
Zeke kept his gaze on her, but he didn’t stand and wrap his arm around her for support. What was she thinking? That wouldn’t be Zeke. He was incredible, and she needed to remember who he really was, not some mold she wanted to push him into.
“Mum,” she greeted shortly.
“Ah, my girl. You’re okay. Are you okay? Holly’s been telling me all kinds of stories and I’m about to lose my gourd.”
Mia paced into the entryway where the other three didn’t have to listen, passing Holly on the way. What had Holly told her mum? “I’m fine, Mum. Zeke is brilliant and he’s keeping me safe.”
“Ah. I love that, sweet girl. Holly thinks he’s your one. Do you? Are you settling down? Finally. You’ve found the right man. All those chaps you flitted through. I mean, I feel poorly for their mental state being dumped without cause, but that’s courtship, right? If you’ve found your one, maybe this barmy stalker nightmare is worth it.”
“Mum.” Mia was confused. Did she have no idea what her husband had done? “If you’re so chummy with Holly about everything, did she report how Dad treated Zeke and me?”
“Ah, love. I’m so sorry. That’s my fault.”
Here they went. Mum would never back down to her dad, but it was always “her fault” when it was needed to smooth things out with Mia. Her mum probably did the same thing with the duke, blamed herself to soothe him, but he loved her so he let things go. Mia knew her dad loved her, but she was furious with him right now.
“I got so chuffed about you and this super-stud American military G.I. Joe that I might have relayed things a little too exuberantly with your dad.”
“You relayed things? It wasn’t Blaine?”
“I don’t know if he and Blaine have chatted or not. But he did say that Charlie intoned you’d slept with the captain.”
“Charlie!” But then she thought about it. Charlie had intoned that and neither she nor Zeke had contradicted him. She would set Charlie straight, but she couldn’t really blame him. “What things didyourelay, Mum?”
She paced the entryway. Her head was pounding. Stress, her time in the freezing lake, the late nap, or the anger and stress could all be contributing to her headache.
“Well, I was gloating about all his military prowess that Holly had shared with me. Your father didn’t seem impressed, so I explained that he’d bested Commander Lewis several times, and you can imaginethatimpressed him. I mean, the commander? He is the toughest bloke I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t want to cross him and your man easily took him down. Then I may have made the mistake of telling your father about Holly and Joseph catching you in nothing but his shirt and him with no shirt on. Holly tells me his build is quite magnificent.”
“Mum! That was innocent, and Zeke would never … and I would never … Ugh! So you made Dad all protective and angry?” Zeke had been so innocent and pure at that moment. It still touched her deeply. Of course her dad would misconstrue it and Charlie reporting they’d slept together probably hadn’t helped.
“I know, I know, love. I always get carried away chatting and telling him everything I shouldn’t because, well, you know, your father would never say anything unkind to me.”
She knew. Whereas the rest of the civilized world had to endure her dad’s condescending attitude and sharp tongue.
“Well, he was right nasty with Zeke and me.”
“I’m terribly sorry. This nightmare with the barmy stalker has him over the edge being overly protective of you. He keeps saying the only reason he can sleep or get any work done is because Commander Lewis is with you. So when you lot wanted to dismiss Lewis, that blew his cork. He blew everything I said all out of proportion because well, you know, you’re his little girl and he’s not ready for you to settle down and replace him with some handsome American military hero. Ooh, I can’t wait to meet him. Captain Zeke Hendrickson. Elite Navy SEAL. Ooh, Mia!”
Mia rolled her eyes. She adored her mum, but if she thought her husband’s nasty, demeaning words could be excused by him protecting his “little girl,” then she was delusional. At least it reassured her somewhat about Blaine. He was a cocky male chauvinist, but he hadn’t been the one telling her dad rubbish about her and Zeke. Charlie’s interpretation had set him off. Her mum had talked too much and her dad had distorted it. Sounded like her teenage years in a nutshell.
“We’ll see, Mum. We need to get past this stalker nonsense, then … we’ll see.”