Mackenzie sauntered by and ripped it out of my hand. “Sounds delicious and French.” She gave Knox a flirty eye. I glared at her, trying to convey a warning for her to behave herself. She chose to ignore me.
Knox took the bottle out of her hands and smiled. “Too bad for you, you aren’t twenty-one. Besides, I spent enough on you already. Thought it was only fair that I spend the same on your sister.”
“Wait a minute!” I pointed at the bottle. “Please tell me that wine did not cost…”
The edge of Knox’s mouth curved upward. “Fifteen hundred dollars? Okay, then, I won’t tell you that.”
Fifteen hundred dollars on a bottle of wine! That was double my rent. More money than I made in two weeks stripping my clothes off for a bunch of men. How could I drink something that was worth more than everything I owned? “We are not drinking it.”
“Suit yourself.” He walked past me. “Mackenzie, want to show me where the corkscrew is?”
“I’ll show you whatever you want.” She strutted to the kitchen.
Knox glanced back to me with a smile that made me weak in my knees. “By the way, it smells amazing in here. I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble.”
I shrugged. “It’s lasagna, not rocket science.” I mocked confidence, hoping he’d believe me.
Chapter 13
Knox
Mila looked sexy as hell, in her tiny shorts and even smaller tank top. It was effortless for her, unlike her little sister who tried too hard. Mackenzie kept staring at me from across the table and I swear I felt her foot rub against my leg at one point. I ignored it. She was a typical teenage girl screaming out for attention. I didn’t have time for her games. The only games I wanted to be playing were with Mila in the bedroom.
The lasagna wasn’t that great, but I pretended like it was the best damn thing I ever tasted. It was adorable that she actually cooked what I requested. I was surprised she didn’t just order it from somewhere and try to pass it off as her own. That was one of the things I liked about her. She was tenacious, and determined to do everything on her own.
Mackenzie picked up a plate of biscuits and held it out to me. “They’re big, just the way I like them,” she said, biting her lip trying so hard to be sexy. It was almost comical. She was a child, for Chrissakes. The girl was a handful. How long had Mila been taking care of her? And where were their parents?”
I had a million questions, and I had a feeling with Mackenzie around, I might actually get some answers. “Were you born here in Vegas?”
“Nobody is born in Vegas,” Mackenzie scoffed.
“We grew up in California actually.” Mila forked some lasagna into her mouth. She made a face of disgust before swallowing it down.
“What brought you to Vegas?” I asked.
“Sex, drugs, you know the usual,” Mackenzie said with a laugh.
“Ignore her.” Mila rolled her pretty green eyes. She ran a finger up and down her chest, toying with a necklace.
My eyes followed her fingers as they dipped low into the crease of her shirt. I could still remember how the tight pink buds looked beneath.
“The rent was cheap enough and I make more money at the club than at any of the other jobs I’ve ever held. It felt like a no brainer at the time.”
“What about family? Any left?” I took a bite of my biscuit.
“Just a great aunt that we don’t see,” Mila responded.
“Our parents are dead, duh. Isn’t that what you’re getting at?” Mackenzie rolled her eyes.
“Mackenzie!” Mila’s voice rose, eyes widened.
“What? It was obvious that’s what he was getting at. I just deleted all the bullshit in between.”
I couldn’t fault her for that. There was actually something refreshing in her brutal honesty.
“How’d they die?” I asked, hoping Mila wouldn’t shut down just as I was getting somewhere.
“Car accident,” Mila said, but her voice was so soft I could barely hear her. She stared down at her plate, forking her food over and over again, but never bringing it to her mouth.
“I’m sorry.” I knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. There were a million regrets and broken promises. You’d never have the chance to see them again and tell them all the things you should have said when they were still around. It was a heartache I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
The pain in Mila’s eyes mimicked my own. I was beginning to realize that was the biggest thing we had in common. We were both really good at hiding it. I reached under the table and rested my hand on her thigh. She blinked up at me, and I smiled, hoping the small gesture would mean more to her.
When her lip lifted slightly at the corners, it was like I just won a fight. It was an unexpected victory and I savored the moment.
“Are you guys sleeping together?” Mackenzie asked, breaking the moment.
Any sign of a smile on Mila’s face vanished as her lip curled in anger. She slapped her hand on the table. “Enough!”
“It’s just a question,” Mackenzie retorted.
“It’s none of your business,” Mila exclaimed.
“That’s a yes.”
Mila stood up, her green eyes flaring with rage. “You’re done.”
“No, I’m still hungry.” Mackenzie picked up a biscuit and went to take a bite, but Mila ripped it out of her hand and tossed it down on a plate.
“No, you’re done. Go to your room and stay there.”
Mackenzie laughed. “I’m not a child. You can’t tell me what to do.”
Mila’s head looked like it was going to explode and I hated sitting back doing nothing. She might not have liked people helping her out, but I’d be damned to sit on my ass doing nothing while she was losing her shit.
“Mackenzie, tell me. How was jail?”
“It was fine.” She straightened her shoulders and stood taller.
“It didn’t scare you at all?”
“No.” Her eyes told a different answer.
“Not even a little bit?”
Mila went to say something, but I held my hand up to her.
Mackenzie turned her nose up. “No, not even a little bit.”
“Then you wouldn’t care if I went back down there and revoked the bail I paid. I’m thinking an officer would be here in no time to take you back.”
She crossed her arms, and looked unamused, but I could see the hint of fear in her eyes. “You wouldn’t!”
“Oh, but I would. Now, why don’t you apologize to your sister and go do some homework?”
Her teeth gritted together and it looked like it physically harmed her to open her mouth. “Sorry,” she uttered, then stormed off to her room.
Mila walked over to me, resting her hand on my chest. “You can’t revoke bail money.”
I laughed. “I know that, and you know that, but she doesn’t know that.”
A full smile finally settled on Mila’s face, and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever fucking seen. “Well played, sir. Well played.”
Chapter 14
Mila
Mackenzie hadn’t come out of her room yet and it was nice. It was a good feeling, knowing she was home and safe. But I was thrilled to get a break from dealing with her bullshit… even if it was only a temporary reprieve. I wanted to wrap my legs around Knox and show him how grateful I really was for everything he had done.