by Linda Kage
He dug into his wallet and found two tens. As he silently handed them over, he noticed the rock sparkling from the index finger on her right hand. Caught, staring at it, he swallowed.
"Nice ring." He glanced up, remembering how good Jeff was at giving jewelry. Mandy usually received some kind of trinket every birthday and anniversary.
Piper lifted her fingers to touch the ring in a loving caress, and he gained enough confidence to ask, "From someone special?"
Proudly, she answered, "Yes."
Nauseated, he was unable to stop himself as he asked, "From J?"
Her eyes opened wide, and her face drained of color. "Mia told you about him?"
His insides went still. He was so close now. If only he played his cards right; he might get what he wanted. "I saw your roses."
Her shoulders relaxed. "Worried they were for Mia, were you?"
"Something like that," he confessed. More worried who they’d been from actually.
"Yeah, my Sugar Daddy sent those a few weeks ago. Just because."
Drew’s eyebrows rose as if he were interested, though, he really just felt ill. "A sugar daddy, huh? So, he’s older?"
Flaunting a feminine smile that hid centuries of secrets, she admitted, "A little."
Is he married, he ached to ask. Are you seeing a married man? Are you seeing my sister’s husband?
He couldn’t do it though. He was right there, on the brink, and he choked.
Mia’s face flickered though his head and he could see her confused, hurt eyes as she realized he’d cornered her friend and grilled her.
Gritting his teeth, he nodded to Piper. "Have a good day."
He saw her perplexed expression, no doubt wondering why he decided to leave in the middle of a conversation. But he couldn’t talk to her anymore. Couldn’t even look at her. Spinning away, he hurried for the exit.
It wasn’t until he reached his truck and slid into the driver’s seat that he realized … Mia might be pleased with his decision. But Amanda certainly wouldn’t be.
He closed his eyes and hissed a curse, wishing there was an easy answer.
•
Drew waited three days to call Mia. Though he’d gone for the whole proper, patient thing, patience really didn’t work so well for him. He’d almost called about a dozen different times, half of those occasions on the night they’d gone to the pizza parlor. The need had only grown worse after talking to her roommate.
He didn’t much care for Piper Holliday. He might like the new look she gave him, but he felt more certain than ever that she was involved with Jeff.
Deciding not to tell Amanda about his haircut experience since he hadn’t learned anything concrete, he stayed away from the Wright house, half afraid his sister would ask another impossible favor of him. He wasn’t equipped for this PI stuff. In fact, he was tempted to look one up and hire the guy to find out what was going on.
Mia’s number was in the phone book under her roommate’s name. He still wasn’t sure about her last name. Maybe he’d find out pretty soon.
It rang three times and Piper answered. "Hello?"
He winced. So not the person he wanted to hear. "Is Mia there?"
"She sure is, Drew," the roommate told him, making his wince deepen because she recognized his voice. "Hold on a sec."
She didn’t cover the mouthpiece as she yelled, "Mi Mi. It’s Drew."
Very clearly, he heard Mia answer, "I’ll take it in the other room."
He grinned. Yes! She wanted to talk to him in private. Always a plus.
Then she answered. "Hello."
"Hey," he said. "I was just calling to see if you might possibly be hungry."
It took her a second to answer. When he heard the click on the line, signifying Piper had hung up on her end, Mia finally said, "You talked to Piper."
He paused. "Well, yeah. She answered the phone."
"No. Not that. She told me she cut your hair a few days ago."
He winced. Yikes. She did not sound happy. She must’ve only wanted to berate him in private.
"You asked her about her flowers."
"Oh," he said. "That. Yeah, I did."
"I thought you said you weren’t going to pry information out of us."
He closed his eyes. "I said I wouldn’t pry information of you, Mia. Your roommate’s a completely different matter."
"Well, I don’t think she is."
He groaned, clenching his teeth. Did they really have to talk about this right now? He’d like a few days where he didn’t have to think about adultery or uncovering secrets.
"Don’t ever talk to her again," Mia said, her voice cold and authoritative.
"So, if I run into her on the street someday, I’m just supposed to turn my back and be rude?"
"You know what I mean," she growled. "Don’t try any more of your underhanded—"
"How can you protect her?" he exploded, thinking this was ridiculous. "She’s breaking up a marriage. She’s—"
"You don’t know that."
"But you do," he shot back. "And yet you’re still defending her."
"Piper is my friend," she muttered.
"Yeah, well, I have lots of friends that do things I don’t approve of, and I call them on it. To me, that’s a real friend."
"Oh, so now you’re questioning my ethics?" She sounded so insulted, he winced.
"No," he backtracked. "That’s not what I’m doing. I’m … dang it. I don’t know what I’m doing. I just know I’ve been stuck in the middle of something I shouldn’t even be involved in."
"So am I," Mia shot back.
"You are," he agreed. "We’re both innocent, unwilling participants. So, why are we arguing?"
Her voice sounded calmer as she answered, "Because we’ve been shoved on opposite sides of the conflict."
"Yeah," he murmured, confused. "And why is that?"
"Because my friend, who I’m loyal to, is on one side and your sister, who you’re extremely loyal to, is on the other."
He nodded in understanding. "But what if I feel like I’m growing extremely loyal to you?"
She sounded sad as she admitted, "That’s why this is so hard."
He pressed his forehead against the wall, pleased she’d experienced the growing-close thing too, yet utterly frustrated because there was still nothing to do about it.
"I can’t stop thinking about you," he admitted. "I don’t care about the obstacles. I want to see you again."
She gave a groan. "I don’t think that’s a good idea."
Gnashing his teeth, he said, "Why? Because you think I’m spying on your roommate?"
"Are you?"
He swallowed. "Mia, I’m not using you. I swear. I just want to get to know you."
"And you totally just avoided my question."
"There’s something between us," he pushed. "Every time we’re together …"
"Don’t go there, Drew."
"You already told me you feel it too."
"I’m hanging up now. Don’t call again."
"Mia—"
She hung up, and he cursed, tossing the phone onto his bed.
Chapter Eleven
Though it wasn’t her turn to buy groceries, Mia needed an excuse to get away. Every time the phone rang, she jumped, hoping it wasn’t Drew, yet hoping it was.
She pushed her cart around a corner of the cereal aisle and almost ran smack into an oncoming shopper.
"Sorry," she gasped and stumbled to a stop just in time.
"No problem," a male voice answered. "I should start watching where I’m going one of these days."
She looked up and then up some more. With sandy, blond hair and a healthy tan, the man in front of her pulled his cart back a few inches, giving her room to move past. He was tall, a good six inches taller than Drew.
Gritting her teeth, Mia told herself not to compare. Stop thinking about Drew. But she couldn’t help but notice differences.
A pair of curious brown eyes inspected her. "Go ahead," h
e offered.
She murmured a thank you and dropped her eyes as she skirted around him. He turned to openly inspect her as she went. Not sure what to make of this, she rushed by and hurried down the next aisle, escaping his perusal.
Four years ago, getting checked out wouldn’t have made her so uncomfortable. But these days she was intensely aware of every time male eyes shifted her way. Directly after the funeral, she’d been too steeped in misery to even notice the outside world. But lately, she spotted everything and everyone. Such awareness told her she was finally at that stage, the stage where she was beginning to move on.
Pausing, Mia lifted her face. She was beginning to accept.
No, she thought, becoming panicked. No, she wasn’t ready. She couldn’t accept. She couldn’t let go. What kind of awful person would that make her if she moved on?
Clutching her cart in a death grip, she glanced at the rows of neatly stocked baby food surrounding her. Tears prickled her eyes. Oh, God, she really was moving on.
She needed to get out of here. Whipping her cart around, she nearly rammed into a floor display of Huggies. A sob caught in her throat. A year ago, the sight of diapers would’ve made her hyperventilate.
It was so upsetting, she wanted to scream. But the center of the grocery story was so not the place for a panic attack. Thinking to buy what she’d collected so far and get home, she started for the checkout lane and really did bump into another shopper.
"Sorry," she said breathlessly and glanced up long enough to notice it was the same guy she’d collided with before. "Again," she added on a belated note and tried to steer around him.
Instead of appearing irritated by her, he grinned. "We really gotta stop meeting like this."
She offered him a vague smile. When she realized she couldn’t squeeze past him, she stepped aside to let him go first. If he didn’t move soon, she was going to have a full-blown breakdown right here in the baby aisle of the IGA.
The man moved out of her way. "Go ahead," he offered. "Ladies first."
"Thanks," she said, hurrying forward.
"My name’s Gary, by the way. Gary Davis."
"Oh." She jerked around, surprised he’d followed her and even more surprised he thought they were still talking. "Hi," she offered. "I’m Mia." And I really need to get out of here.
He held out a long, tanned arm. "Nice to meet you."
Great. Not only did the guy have to remind her she was healing by checking her out, but he had to go and flirt with her too.
Tall and wide, he was a nice-looking gentlemen, with a wide forehead that made him look extra male and dark, brown eyes set deep in his eyes to give him a shadowed look. So very unlike Drew. He’d be just the type to help her get over Drew … if she hadn’t already decided she was never going on another date for the rest of her life.
Grinning, Gary picked up her hand before she could decide whether she wanted to shake with him or not. He slowly pumped their palms up and down. "Come here often?" he asked. Amusement twinkled in his eyes as if he’d just told a joke.
She didn’t catch it. "Ah … Every time I need groceries," she answered.
Laughing, he finally let go of her. "Would it be tacky if I asked you to go out for a drink sometime?"
Mia froze.
"Are you ready to try the next step?" she could hear Dr. Higgins’ voice echo though her. As much as she didn’t want to be ready to move on, she knew she’d already started making that step.
It had begun.
Gary waited patiently. "What do you say?" he coaxed softly.
It wasn’t like this would be her first date since the tragedy anyway. She’d eaten pizza with Drew. He’d insisted on paying and they’d kissed afterward. That was a fairly date-worthy description. She’d taken the first step toward acceptance. Every other date now should be a hundred times easier. There was no way she would go out with Drew Harper again either, so …
She needed to do this. If she was going to make it through the rest of her life, she needed to move on, no matter how much it hurt.
"Sure," she said and sent him a wavering smile. "I’d like that."
His eyes lit with surprise. "Really? I mean, yeah. Okay. That’s cool. When’s a good time for you?"
She shrugged. "Oh … any time." Probably as soon as they could manage would be best so she didn’t have time to chicken out. "What do you prefer?"
He sent her a shrug. "This Friday? Club 808?"
Nodding, she repeated, "Friday it is."
"Great. Where do you live? I’ll pick you up."
"Where do I—" Growing abruptly anxious, she shook her head. "How about I just meet you there. Six sound okay?"
Okay, maybe she wasn’t as ready as she thought she was.
•
Mia examined herself in the hall mirror and bit her lip. Her stomach wouldn’t stop churning; it made her nauseous. This didn’t feel right. Nerves hadn’t plagued her during her dinner with Drew. Then again, she hadn’t planned nearly a week ahead of time with him. She hadn’t needed to dress up or build suspense. It had just happened, and it had been fun and casual and the most perfect evening she’d spent with anyone in a long time.
And if she didn’t quit thinking about it, she was going to be in big trouble. Drew was the past. Plus he was all wrong for her. Though she had to admit, his determination to help his sister was admirable; that was the exact reason she couldn’t see him anymore.
"Wow, you look nice. Are you seeing Drew again?"
Dreamy smile falling flat, she turned from the mirror. Piper stood paused in the doorway to her room, looking stunned as she scanned Mia’s dress. Her mouth was an O and her eyebrows raised.
"No," she answered. "I’m not seeing Drew. I’m meeting someone else at 808’s for a drink."
"Holy cow." Piper’s O turned from a lowercase to a capital. Hurrying forward, she took Mia’s hand and clutched it eagerly. "What happened to Drew? Who’s this new guy? I can’t believe this! It’s like my old Mi Mi’s returning."
Mia paused. Was she really turning into the old Mi Mi? Did she even want to be that woman again? Things had changed too much. She wanted to stop hurting, but she didn’t really care to go back to who she was before. She just wanted to be someone new.
"I’ve been out a lot these past few days, I know, but I can’t believe I missed this much," Piper ranted. "Now, spill it. Who’s the new guy? And what happened to Drew? I liked Drew."
Biting the inside of her lip, Mia wondered if Piper would like Drew so much if she knew he was J’s wife’s brother.
"Where have you been?" Mia asked changing the subject. Anything to divert the focus off her.
Piper wavered, looking suddenly reluctant. Glancing away, she motioned blindly. "Oh, here and there. Dating someone new."
Mia froze. "Really? That’s wonderful," she said with so much enthusiasm her roommate blinked in confusion. "I mean, I’m glad you’ve moved past … the married guy."
"Yeah," Piper admitted, sighing as she glanced away. "But enough about me. Who’s your new guy?"
"Oh." Right, new guy. Shoot, she’d forgotten his name. "Gary!" she exclaimed a moment later, snapping her fingers in relief. Gary. Don’t forget Gary. "Gary Davis."
Piper’s smile dropped flat. "Gary Davis?" she repeated. "I know Gary."
Mia frowned. "You do? How?"
"We dated the first year I moved here," Piper answered, shaking her head over the coincidence. "Shared a history class in college. He was working toward his bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering. Wow. That’s so funny you met him. What a small world."
Mia’s shoulders slumped. "He’s one of your exes?"
Piper rolled her eyes. "That was a long time ago, Mi Mi. I haven’t even talked to him in years. He was just a college football player back then. Kind of immature." Her eyes widened as soon as she admitted that. Reaching for Mia’s arm, she quickly reassured. "But that was a long time ago. I’m sure he’s grown up a lot since then."
Still. Mia wasn’t into
sharing with her roommate "How … how serious did you guys get?"
"Well," Piper looked momentarily uneasy. "It was a long time ago," she finally admitted.
Mia winced. "But you and he … were together?"
"Mia." Piper drew out a breath, sounding almost embarrassed, though she’d never been embarrassed before. "It was a long time ago."
"I don’t care," Mia said. "That’s just … "
Piper groaned and threw her hands in the air. "Great. You’re not going to go out with him now, are you?"
Mia wrinkled her nose. "Well, honestly, how can I? It’s so weird."
Her roommate sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat. "I knew it," she muttered. "I knew you’d come up with some reason not to go out. Yes, I dated Gary eons ago. So, what? He’s still a good guy. And what about Drew? What was the problem there? Why don’t you want to see him again?"
Glancing away, Mia gave a shrug. No way was she going to confess how Drew wanted to use her to discover Piper’s secrets. "You want to know what I think?" Piper went on when she didn’t answer. "I think you’re scared of him because he was the first guy to make you feel alive again after—"
"I don’t want to talk about it," Mia snapped before Piper could finish her sentence. She closed her eyes and lifted her hands. "I just can’t."
"Are you even going to call Gary and tell him you can’t meet him?"
"I don’t know his number," Mia confessed.
Piper snorted. "This is driving me crazy, Mia. Sometimes I can’t handle watching you do this. You’ll get so close to improving, and I’ll feel so proud. Then a snap of the fingers later, you regress. I can’t take it anymore. I just wish you’d—" She broke off and sent Mia a guilty look. After a long sigh, she finished, "I’m sorry. I don’t mean to upset you. I just—"
"I understand," Mia murmured. She reached out and touched Piper’s arm. Her roommate appeared stunned by the move. She glanced at Mia’s hand, and her shoulders eased.
"It frustrates me too," Mia said.
"No, don’t get frustrated. Don’t listen to me," Piper said, placing her hand over Mia’s and pressing. "I should be commending you, not complaining. You’ve done so good lately. I’m really impressed."
"Yeah," Mia agreed softly. "I’m amazed too."
