Until Her - Ami Van Page 0,15

Her fingers are picking at her nails and her eyes are darting back and forth between Isabella and Cristian as if needing permission to speak.

“Well?” Isabella sneers. “Don’t be rude, Ari.”

“I’m…I’m Ariana, Mrs. King,” she replies.

“She’s my assistant,” Isabella remarks. “She won’t be joining us for dinner. Please find a place for her somewhere.”

“Nonsense,” Stella retorts as they all head inside the mansion. “We have plenty of food and if you brought her along then she can sit with the rest of us.”

Isabella merely shrugs and continues inside.

She takes in their home and her eyes widen in certain places while she brushes by others with distaste. If she thinks she’s coming here to be treated like a princess, she’s going to be very disappointed. There’s only one princess in this household and she’s named Jasmine.

He’s already having second thoughts about this whole dinner thing now that the time has come.

“Adam, why don’t you give Isabella a full tour of the place?” Stella suggests. “We have some time before the table is set and ready.”

He nods at Stella and Derrick who is standing tall next to his wife with his a look of revulsion.

“Ariana,” he hears Stella speaking to the quiet woman. “Can you come with me? I think I need your help with a few things.”

“Shh…sure,” Ariana replies uncomfortably.

Chapter Six

“Your child lives at home?” Isabella asks.

The question stuns him a bit because it’s the fucking dumbest question he’s heard. Why the fuck wouldn’t his daughter live at home?

He squints at Derrick, sitting at the head of the table, and sees the dumbfounded look also plastered on his brother’s face.

“Why wouldn’t she?” he asks. “She’s my daughter.”

“Well, a man in your position would surely have the means to provide proper care and the best boarding schools money can buy,” she answers as if it’s nothing.

She must have seen the scowl on his face and the displeasure her comment leaves because she tries to backpedal. Not very well either. She must not be accustomed to someone else disagreeing with her.

“I mean, you’re all quite busy with the business so I assumed you didn’t divide your attention elsewhere. Besides, it’s never too early for a proper education, especially if you can afford to give your children a good head start in the world.”

“Your assumptions are ridiculous,” Rory tells her. “Jasmine is family. Sending a child off to be raised by strangers might be what you’re accustomed to but that shit doesn’t float around here.”

“Isa means no disrespect,” Cristian chimes in quickly but too late. “Time is money. She merely suggests how much your empire could have grown with everyone aboard about business.”

Did the dunce truly think that was helping his sister’s cause? But Cristian is already picking at his food and everyone isn’t even at the table yet. Rude motherfucker. So much for top-notch boarding schools and education. The best money can buy didn’t seem to bother teaching manners to the smug asshole. What’s the saying? You can pay for school but you can’t buy class? Or maybe Cristian is just too much of an idiot to retain lessons.

He’s banking on the latter.

“Starting without us?” Stella asks easing the growing heat like raindrops on a hot summer day.

She walks to the table with a basket of fresh dinner rolls in hand. Behind her, Jazzy is standing with a woman, their hands in a friendly hold. His jaw nearly hits the tabletop when he realizes that the woman is none other than Ariana.

She’s dressed in a nicely fitting lavender flowy sundress of sorts. He might have seen Pam wear it a time or two but it fits Ariana impeccably. Her hair is shinier and pulled back in a loose braid lying over one shoulder. Everything about the new look fits her and she seems more at ease wearing something that simple versus whatever it was she showed up in.

And holy fuck are his eyes drinking her in. He always knew she was pretty but seeing her like this…she’s fucking spectacular.

“Come on, Ariana. You can sit next to me!” Jazzy exclaims and tugs on the woman’s hand.

He swallows the lump in his throat as he speechlessly watches his little girl smiling from ear to ear and leading Ariana to a seat next to Chase.

“You can sit in between my Uncle Chase and me.”

“Of course she can,” Chase says with a devious smile.

His brother’s eyes never peel away from Ariana as Chase stands up to pull the chair out for her. He might essentially want to