Seduced By A Steele (Forged of Steele #12) - Brenda Jackson Page 0,48

the sound of that.” She truly did. While living with her parents, she’d never given any thought to moving out since she basically had her own wing of the house and nobody monitored her comings and goings. At least she hadn’t given leaving any thought until she’d had enough.

She glanced over at Mercury. He was wearing a nice suit. “You went to work today?”

“Yes, this morning. I had a couple of meetings. I try to wrap up things by lunchtime on Fridays to get a head start on my weekend.”

“Big plans?”

“The usual.”

She wondered what was the usual for him, but knew not to ask. What he did and with whom was his business. She should appreciate the time he’d given her the last two days and let it go.

But a part of her couldn’t help remembering how when she’d gotten upset last night about Harold’s appearance and the entire situation with her father, Mercury had placed her in his lap and held her.

She couldn’t ever remember anyone doing that for her before. And the sad thing was that she’d needed it. She hadn’t known just how much until he’d performed the selfless act.

“Nikki and Hunter will be dropping by later to bring over toiletries and stuff I might need. I think it’s nice of them to do that.”

“I have a nice family. By the way, how did your meeting with Eli go this morning?”

“I think it went okay.” She spent the next twenty minutes filling him in on everything.

“Eli is a good attorney. And just so you know, I have a family member who used to work for the CIA checking out a few things on your father.”

“CIA? That’s a little deep, don’t you think? Trying to keep me under their control is nothing like selling government secrets to other countries,” she said, making light of her situation.

“You never know what motivates people to do what they do, Sloan.”

“I know what motivates my parents, Mercury. Money. My grandfather would say that all the time.” Not wanting to talk about her parents any longer, she told Mercury about her to-do list and how glad she was to have a car to get around town.

“So, what are your plans for the weekend?” he then asked her.

“I’m going to relax, maybe check out that mall on the corner and buy a book to read. Your mother invited me to church with her on Sunday. I figured I’d do some interview practice sessions Sunday evening for my talk with Ms. Fowler.”

“Interview practice sessions?”

“Yes. Although she’s not doing the official hiring for the pageant, I understand that if she recommends me for the position, then there’s a good chance I’ll get it. I want to make a good impression on her.”

“You will. Just be yourself.”

Moments later, they were pulling into her apartment complex and she drew in a huge, exhilarated breath. This would be her place. Granted, she didn’t own it, but it would be hers nonetheless. The apartment would be her home.

“You okay?”

She smiled over at Mercury. “Yes, I’m okay. I couldn’t be better.”

Mercury stood in the living room and watched Sloan slowly walk around, moving from room to room, as if she was in awe. If truth be known, he was in total awe of her. Today she was attired in another sundress, this one a beautiful floral print. Her hair was swept up with a few loose strands framing her face. Her makeup was never heavy, always soft and subtle and barely looked as if she was wearing any.

He’d had to mentally prepare himself to see her again today, after having thought about her into the wee hours of the morning. When had he thought about another woman as much? Hell, he doubted he ever had. He’d tried convincing himself it was because of her ex-fiancé’s visit last night. The man had had a lot of gall to show up at the Steeles’ home.

Then there was that moment between Mercury and Sloan afterward in his mother’s office when he’d placed her in his lap and held her.