Sweet Love - Mia Kayla Page 0,25

commercial. “Do me a favor and try not to get fired, okay?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t,” I deadpanned. “Actually, I love this job. This is the first job I’ve had in a long time that I feel like I can retire here.” I clenched my teeth into a tight smile, lying like my life depended on it.

Did I love work? No. But I loved the people I worked with—my newfound friends. I’d upped and left my life in Wisconsin, friends and all, so it was refreshing that Alyssa and Casey had made me feel part of their girl group.

“Well, thank goodness I own a recruiting firm and that Daddy insisted I help you find a job.”

More like my stepdad had forced her into finding me this job.

She lifted her shoulder to her chin. “Like I said, let’s hope you won’t get fired. You’ve never once in your life since you’ve graduated from college held a job for more than a few months, so I guess only time will tell.”

I wanted to wipe her sassy smirk off her face.

“Girls.” My mother flowed effortlessly into the foyer. Her flowery skirt hugged her hips when she walked. She had her arms outstretched, and her smile was big, wide, and inviting.

This was Olivia Grayson, now Buckingham, in her normal form. There wasn’t a curl out of place from her long, flowy blonde hair, and her clothes had been pressed to perfection. That was where our similarities ended—in the color of our hair and our emerald green eyes. Where she was curvy and beautiful, I was not. Where she was tall, I was average. Where her clothes were always immaculate, half the time, I looked like I’d pulled my clothes from the wash and thrown them on.

My mother brought me into her chest, fiercely hugging me, just like she had when I was a little girl—her little girl—and I melted into her arms. I lived for her hugs. With my mother, she showed how much she cared outwardly, but what she thought and what she said were opposite to her actions.

When she turned toward Sandy’s direction, her whole face lit up, and mine sank. She brought her in and hugged her as well—a gesture usually meant for only me—but now, I had to share her.

“Sandy, I like the haircut.” She pulled at the end of Sandy’s blonde locks and walked around her to see the back of her newly cut hair.

I wanted to tell my mom I had gotten a haircut last week, but she hadn’t said a word about it. But I wasn’t gonna bring it up. Because I wasn’t about to be “overly sensitive”—as my mother often labeled me. I missed it when it was just us—and Dad.

“In this suit, you look like a model.” My mother ran her hand down Sandy’s sleeve as she admired the tailored fit.

My jaw clenched, and my gaze flickered to my own suit.

“Oh, Olivia, I need to hook you up with my tailor. She makes the best suits. Anyway”—she waved a hand—“how’s Granny? Is she okay today? Do you think she’ll join us for dinner, or do you think she’s worn out?” She peered behind her toward the double staircase that led to our rooms.

Her grandmother was elderly in her nineties. They’d transferred her from the nursing home to the house for home care.

There were very few times Sandy seemed human, and it was with her interactions with her grandmother that I was able to experience this.

My mother patted her shoulder, consoling her. Only I didn’t know why because it wasn’t like her granny was gonna die anytime soon. She was old but not bedridden.

“Why don’t you check on her, honey, and ask her how she’s feeling? We can have Elsa bring her down if she needs to be helped.”

With an upward tip of her chin, Sandy headed down the hall and up the stairs, and once she was out of my vicinity, I exhaled deeply and relaxed my shoulders.

“So, how was your day at work, honey?” My mother’s eyes gave me a once-over, taking in my suit. She didn’t comment on it.

Did she like it?

I gritted my teeth because this was my issue not hers, wasn’t it?

I was only perfect in my father’s eyes. A pang shot straight to my chest, long and hard and endless, when I just thought of him.

Good God, I missed him. I missed the way he’d called me the perfect princess. I missed the way he’d made me believe I could do