When We Dance (Billionaires & Debutantes #1) - Lisa M. Prysock Page 0,3

introduced formally to society.” Aunt Sylvia raised a brow and waited for further explanation.

She’d thought about her reasons on the airplane, and numerous times in recent weeks since her aunt’s first letter had arrived. Hadn’t Mom always said honesty was usually the best policy? She grasped her teacup firmly and dove in. “I admit the idea of becoming firmly entrenched in New York’s high society is a daunting prospect I dread, but when I thought about the good I might do one day for missions—and it is very generous of you to choose me as the sole heiress to your estate—it made my choice a rather easy one.”

“You are so much like my brother, Charles. He was always trying to...” Her aunt’s words faded. A dainty, white, frou-frou dog with tan and black markings entered the room and jumped into her aunt’s lap. “Hello Roxy. Meet Mia.” The dog scolded her with a tiny growl.

Ignoring Roxy’s tiny growl, Mia finished her aunt’s sentence. “Save the world through the spreading of the gospel, and acts of good deeds and kindness?”

Sylvia nodded with a sigh of relief and a pleasant smile. “Yes, my dear. You’ve summed it up perfectly. You are so like your father. Sadly, I never really became well acquainted with your mother, but it isn’t to say I wouldn’t like to remedy the matter. Don’t mind Roxy. She’ll take time to get to know you.” Her aunt patted the dog while Roxy basked in the attention.

“I’m sure Roxy and I will become good friends.” Mia sipped some of the tea, enjoying the flavors of bergamot and orange before adding, “Another reason I decided to come to Manhattan is because I’d like to get to know you more, Aunt Sylvia. I never really understood why we didn’t visit each other more often, or why the family drifted apart.”

“I guess I grew apart from my brother after our parents passed away. When I first married Fred and Charles first married Cassie, your mother, we all made more of an effort to spend Christmas or Thanksgiving together each year, and occasionally time each summer. At least it was that way for a few years. As your father became a busy minister in Kentucky, and my husband’s advertising company took off here in New York and Europe, we all became so busy.” Her aunt paused and shook her head. “It’s something I regret allowing to happen. It created a distance between us I haven’t been able to diminish.”

“I can understand that a little,” Mia replied, still confused by the estrangement of her only living close paternal relation.

“Fred and I were always gallivanting off somewhere because of his success in the advertising world. There were business trips to Paris, London, Austria, Germany, back to here, and then somewhere else again. For your parents, when you came along, it became harder for them to travel with a little one. I don’t know if you remember the year we all went to Martha’s Vineyard to visit your grandparents? You were just a little thing.” Sylvia, with her dark brown hair perfectly coiffed, looked reminiscent, a smile appearing on her face and a distant look in her green eyes.

“About four,” Mia nodded with a smile as she vaguely recalled some of her earliest memories and her paternal grandparents. “I remember a few things, but not much other than the beach and the faces of Grandma and Grandpa. We still go every year to stay at their cottage for a beach vacation, which isn’t really a cottage. More like a big country house.”

Sylvia nodded with a chuckle. “Yes, it was a nice place to grow up, and since it faced the seashore, there was always a lot to do. We would walk to the beach every afternoon to collect seashells, enjoy picnic lunches, and bask in the sun for a few hours while you played in the sand with your parents.”

Of course, there’d always been the annual Christmas card and a box of candy, or small gifts exchanged by mail. Mia didn’t remember many other calls or letters over the years. The ones that did come were few and far between.

“I haven’t seen you since you were about the age of seven. I guess we slowly grew apart.” Aunt Sylvia’s voice drifted away again, and Mia remembered. After an uncomfortable pause, her aunt added. “I didn’t make much effort to bond with your mother or keep in touch often enough with your father. We were all from different