Page 50 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

Looking away so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable, I nodded. “Sure, what is it?” I eyed the tray of baked goods cooling on the bench top. My stomach growled. They smelt great.

“It’s a kind of pastry – like a danish, I guess,” Mia said nervously.

I waited while Lillian dished one up on a plate and slid it across the bench to me. “It smells delicious.” I tried to keep my voice light so Mia would relax a little. Taking a bite, my eyes immediately widened. Holy shit, it tasted incredible. It literally melted on my tongue with bursts of citrus and cocoa. “Mmm…oh my god, this is awesome…”

I saw Mia’s shoulders relax when I took another bite. Oh yeah. My girlfriend could cook. “So, you like to cook?” I asked, mainly to keep the conversation moving, but also because I was damned curious.

She nodded all shy and meek, but the smile she gave me was pure sex. God damned, she was cute.

“Man, if I had’ve known that, I would’ve made Aiden have practice here more often. You’re incredible.”

I made sure to direct my attention to the food before me, knowing my looks would only make her uncomfortable. I could see Lillian giving Mia little glances every now and again, and I wondered if she could sense anything between us.

“So what are you and Aiden up to this afternoon?” she asked.

“Well, if he ever gets back from Carly’s, we might be going over some of the things Rich gave us about the tour.”

Lillian looked confused. “Carly?”

Mia grinned. “Aiden’s latest interest.”

“Oh,” Lillian said. “I wish he would tell me these things. I feel so out of the loop.” She frowned, but then she looked up at me with questioning eyes. “Do you have a girlfriend, Jace?”

I saw Mia look at her with surprise from the corner of my eye. “Not at the moment.”

The sound of Mia giggling turned both our heads. “Jace has got a little trouble with girls making up stories about him.”

What the hell? Why the fuck was she telling her mom that? The look on my face must have been amusing to her because she was suddenly giggling even more.

“What kind of stories?” Lillian asked, looking between Mia and me.

“Ones that are making my life a little difficult,” I said cryptically.

Mia laughed then, and I could tell Lillian was as bewildered by it as I was. “A few girls have been telling everyone at school that they’ve slept with him when they haven’t.”

Holy shit. I couldn’t believe she just told her mom that. Lillian looked at me with shock. “Is that true?”

I gave Mia a withering look before meeting Lillian’s gaze. “I know – it’s mind boggling.”

Lillian shook her head. “I’m sorry. I know there’s this whole groupie thing where girls think it’s cool to sleep with a rock star, but don’t they know they’re only making themselves look like sluts?”

I choked on the last bite of pastry I’d taken with Lillian’s words. Mia just laughed though. “Apparently not. Having sex with an up and coming rock star trumps looking like a slut according to these girls.”

I pushed myself away from the bench feeling a little out of my depth. “Ah…I might just go wait for Aiden in his room…”

Mia laughed harder and lightly pushed Lillian on the shoulder. “Mom, you embarrassed him.”

Lillian laughed too. “Me? You’re the one who brought it up!”

I stood there watching the way Mia interacted with her mom. It was just beautiful. She was so open and free, just like she was when she was with me, but more playful. I could tell by the little looks Lillian kept giving Mia that she was surprised at how open she was in front of me, and it made me so fucking happy.

Mia wiped a tear from her eye the same time Aiden walked into the kitchen. He stood there frowning, looking between us all like he wasn’t sure if what he was seeing was real.

I took a step towards him with raised eyebrows. “Thank god you’re here. They were talking about my sex life.”

“Or lack of…” Lillian said, laughing along with Mia.

Aiden’s eyes nearly popped out his head as he gazed from his mom, to Mia, and back again. “What the hell, Mom! That’s not cool.”

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