Catia (Starkis Family #6) by Cheryl Douglas Page A

of taking my relationship with Catia to the next level, and the last thing I needed was my well-meaning mother planting seeds of doubt in my head.
    When I saw Catia peek through the window flanking the door, I knew I’d look like a jerk if I didn’t invite her in to meet the girls. “They’re pretty wrapped up in their show, but I might be able to tear them away if you’d like to meet them. They only get an hour of TV a day, so this is kind of sacred time to them, but—”
    “It’s okay,” she said, stepping back as though she sensed my hesitation. “We can do it some other time. I really didn’t mean to intrude. Like I said, I just thought you might like some cookies.”
    Seeing uncertainty flare to life in her eyes brought out my protective instincts. I reached for her hand and the plate of cookies at the same time. “No, I want you to meet them. Come on in.”
    The girls looked up from the TV, their eyes widening when they spotted the woman standing next to me.
    “Who’s she?” Elsie, my oldest, scowled.
    Catia forced a smile, stepping forward as I closed the door.
    “This is my friend Catia. She’s Kara’s sister.” When the girls simply stared at Catia instead of greeting her, I added, “She works for me and lives across the street. In fact, your nana is going over to her house later to give her a piano lesson.”
    Emily wrinkled her nose. “That’s dumb,” she said to Cat. “You’re too old to learn how to play piano.”
    Mortified, I gave my youngest a warning look while Catia laughed. “She is not too old,” I said, frowning at my petulant princesses. “You’re never too old to learn a new skill. Remember that when you get to be our age.”
    They rolled their eyes in unison, reminding me they were too damn young to act so old.
    “I hear you girls like to play the piano,” Catia said, bravely stepping deeper into the living room. “Maybe you could teach me a thing or two?”
    “Why?” Emily asked, giving Catia a look of disdain. “You think if you’re nice to us, Daddy’ll love you?”
    Catia gasped before stealing a quick look at me.
    “That’s it,” I said, glaring at my girls. “How dare you be so rude to a guest in our home?”
    “She’s not our guest!” Emily cried. “We don’t want her here!”
    “Mommy said this would happen!” Elsie said, grabbing her sister’s hand. “You’d find someone new and get married. We’ll be stuck with a stepmom we hate, and we can’t even see our own mom! It’s not fair!”
    I was too stunned to speak as I watched them run up the stairs. It wasn’t until I heard both doors slamming in unison that I finally found my voice. “My God,” I whispered, setting the cookies on the coffee table. “I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what the hell got into them. I’ll admit they’ve been difficult lately, but they’re rarely rude. I can’t believe they behaved that way.”
    “I can,” Catia said softly, looking miserable. “They’re afraid I’m here to take their mother’s place. Why wouldn’t they resent me?”
    “But that’s ridiculous. They don’t even know you. As far as they’re concerned, we’re just friends and coworkers.” That was all we were, but it was impossible to ignore the sensual undercurrent whenever we were in the same room together. Surely my girls were too young and innocent to pick up on my attraction to Catia though. Weren’t they?
    “And it seems they wouldn’t react well to learning we were more.” Catia sighed, leaning into the chair in front of her. “I guess deep down, I was afraid of that when you told me about the problems you’ve been having with them. Maybe that’s subconsciously why I felt compelled to come over here tonight. I needed to know how they’d react to meeting me. I guess now I know, huh?”
    I didn’t want her to be disillusioned. I would figure out how to set them straight, to let them know that I wouldn’t let them run my life and tell me who my friends should