Mia gently squeezed Jack's arm and said, "Too much, Jack. My uncle means well, but sometimes he forgets I am already a grownup woman, and I can take care of myself, and I have the right to choose anyone I want as a company instead of the son of one of his business partners." Mia then looked at her surprised-looking uncle and said, "No need to make up an excuse. I know very well that you tried to put some of those brats in my sight. But the thing is, I don't like people like that. I prefer honest, hard-working men, preferably ones who have no problem scolding me straight to my face when I do or say something I shouldn't. A man whom I enjoy being near and with whom I can have long and interesting conversations about everything and nothing. Now if you excuse me, I must talk with some people who just arrived."
Jack made a slight bow with his head, and they both left to the centre of the room, leaving Mia's uncle behind, fuming.
Another group approached the odd couple, driven by a sheer curiosity that they didn't even try to disguise by directly asking Jack who he was and from where his family was. With a single smile, Jack excused himself and left as soon as he saw Mia winking at him, a clear indication that she would take care of everything.
While she stayed in the centre of the room, evading every single question about her choice of company for such an important event since it was the first time she was hosting, Jack grabbed two glasses of some sort of alcoholic beverage that he didn't even know what it was, and when he was about to return to Mia's side, the same blond young man stood in front of him with a grin.
Jack sighed and asked, "Very well. You got my full attention. What do you want?"
"Nothing much; I just want to know why you are with my future wife."
"Future wife? Sorry, I don't understand what you mean, nor do I want to indulge in your delusions. If you excuse me…"
The man took one step to the side and stood in front of Jack again when he tried to go around and continued, "You didn't answer my question. No way you are leaving without explaining everything to me!"
"What if I don't want to? What are you going to do, kid? I don't have the time or patience to talk with crazy people. I am very aware that Mia has no boyfriend, or husband, or is engaged to anyone, so your false claims don't find reasoning in my ears. Go tell those lies to someone who actually cares about other people's delusions."
Jack tried to move to the other side, and the blond man stood in front of him again, grinning, making Jack sigh and ask, "Do I need to call a security guy to throw you out? You are forcing me to cause a scene by splitting your head open if you don't get out of my face, and I would prefer not to spoil my suit with your blood."
As he approached Jack's face, the young man said, "I want to see you try…"
From their left, Mia's voice asked while she carefully grabbed the glass that Jack was holding. "Thank you, Jack. I was rather thirsty. What are you doing here, Douglas Clark? Didn't I tell you multiple times to never get near me? Why are you so stupid? I don't have time to waste with you, and this night is too important to me for you to ruin it by causing a scene!"
The man shouted, doing his best to grab everyone's attention. "Am I causing a scene? What about you? You came to this event with… him! Who the fuck is he, anyway? You refused my several invitations for dinner or to go watch a show, and then you appear with a man I never heard about?"
Mia glanced around, noticing that the entire room was silent, and everyone was looking at them, hearing the conversation. "I don't have to explain anything to you. We never had anything, and I was never interested in you. You are just a stain in my shoes, one that doesn't accept a no as an answer. Let me spell it out to be sure you finally understand. L-E-A-V-E M-E A-L-O-N-E! In case your grammar is lousy, like your manners, I said, leave me alone!"
She signalled for the two security men near a wall to approach, and Douglas tried to reach for her wrist.
Jack reacted in a split second. He grabbed the man's hand, pulled it down, and immediately kicked his left ankle, making him gasp from the pain. While twisting the man's hand, Jack looked menacingly at him and said, "It is not polite to touch a woman without her consent. She told you to leave her alone, so you either do as she says, or you will wake up in a hospital bed six months from now. I tried to be as reasonable as I could not to ruin this event for her, but if you even open your mouth, I am going to hurt you so badly that your parents won't recognize you."
The security men arrived and dragged out the angry Douglas, with one of them covering his mouth, to silence him. Mia sighed and looked around, while saying, "I am sorry for Douglas' awful behaviour. I suppose now everyone understands why I never gave the slightest chance to that creep. If he made all this only because I came here with another man who wasn't him, what would happen if I actually went for dinner with him and, in the end, he wanted me for dessert? What would he do if I said no? Would he beat me up and force me to bed? Let's all pretend this never happened. Please enjoy the evening, because the auction will start in a few moments, and I want to see all those big purses opening up!"
Everyone smiled and clapped, cheering her words. A few women approached to give Mia support and congratulate Jack for his quick reaction.
Even Mia's uncle got near them, and while looking at Jack, he said, "I am still jumpy about you, but I can see you have Mia's back, and you can keep her safe." He then approached and spoke in a low tone, "Just be aware of that kid. He has a terrible reputation, and sometimes when things don't go his way, accidents happen. No one ever found proof he was behind it, but just for you to know, be careful."
"Thanks for the warning, but next time I see him, things won't end this peacefully, and he will be the one getting into an accident."
Mia pulled Jack's arm and went to the food table with him to grab a plate. As she was picking food, she said, "Sorry about that. What did he tell you? I didn't hear a thing; I just saw you frowning at him, and I knew he was about to be knocked out."
"Nothing important, just some silly thing about you being his future wife."
"Oh, that… It was some kind of stupid agreement between my father and his father some years ago to approach our two families. When I was told about that during a dinner between our two families, he grinned at me, as if I were some sort of prize. I totally lost it, and I pierced his hand against the table with a fork. When I was going at his throat next with my knife, my father grabbed me. I still kicked that bastard in the face and broke his nose." Mia said while biting a piece of bread covered with ham and cheese and continued, "After that, he became obsessed with me. It seems I am the only woman who refused him, and since then, he has always been after me. That is why he joined my gym, trying to get close to me. The staff there knows about that weirdo, and they always make sure he is never near me by arranging my schedule or letting me know when he is there."
With a nod, Jack said, "Your uncle told me accidents happen when he doesn't get what he wants, so maybe he will go after me next. Hopefully in the gym, in an empty room. Like that, I can break him in half, and no one will know what happened."
"Don't kill him, at least. It would probably be better if you accepted his challenge for a fight with the gym staff in the same room to serve as witnesses. You can hurt him while pretending to be fighting. That should do the trick. Or better yet, put him against Sophia and tell her to go all out. That should be fun! Imagine him screaming his lungs out when she tries to take his scalp! She already tried to do that to me, and I lost a few pieces of hair! Your kid is nuts, you know?"
"But she also likes you; that is why she hasn't killed you yet. I think by now you have already found out she is often holding back against you."
Mia raised one eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean by that? She is never holding back, and we usually end in a tie, with both of us on the ground, panting!"
"She never tried to rip your throat with her bare teeth, nor did she pierce your eyes out, did she? Against you, she fights by the book and follows proper fighting etiquette. If she didn't do that, you would have died by now."
"What the… What did you teach her? She is usually a sweet kid, but by the way you are talking, she could be a vicious psychopath!"
"No, she only trained to fend for her life if she had to, by all means necessary. The world is not fair to little kids who can only count on themselves when in danger."
Mia walked along the room, holding her plate with food, and said, "I don't know what kind of world you are talking about, because when those guys went after me, that was the only time I was ever in danger."
"And because of that, they almost got you. If you trained to be prepared and alert every day, they wouldn't have a chance."
"But if I did that… I would never trust anyone, nor would I be able to enjoy life or have peace of mind!"
"Life options, I suppose. Because of my previous work, I am always on alert, even after leaving the military. Sophia picked up that part from me, I am afraid. But she still turned out well, don't you think?"
With a gentle smile, Mia leaned her head on his shoulder and said, "You did a fine job with her as a single parent. She is a nice kid, despite her craziness sometimes."
"You shouldn't do that. People will notice and whisper about you and me."
"Let them whisper. Better yet, let me give them something to whisper about!"
Without a warning, Mia put one hand on Jack's shoulder, caressed the back of his neck, and pulled him in for a kiss. That time, he returned the kiss, and Mia shivered when she felt the tip of his tongue caressing hers.
She slowly interrupted the kiss and said in a whisper, "If you kiss me like that again, I am going to rip your clothes apart! Don't tease me like this, Jack! I wasn't counting on you to go along!"
"Last time, you took me by surprise. I am not made of iron, you know. But things won't be that easy with me because I have Sophia to worry about. I can't fall head-first into a relationship without figuring out my feelings completely. And yours."
While caressing his right cheek, Mia said, "I am pretty sure about my feelings. As for yours, I am almost betting that I am starting to break the wall you created around your heart. I am a patient woman, and I am in no rush for you to fall for me. But I will tempt you, and I will try to seduce you at every opportunity while showing you that I can be an amazing partner for you. And a good friend to your crazy daughter."
The whispers and talks around almost took Mia away for a brief moment from those big, gorgeous eyes that were staring at her so closely. But she closed all her senses to what was happening around them, completely absorbed by Jack's eyes and proximity.