“Hey.” Ryan wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I’m sorry I’m causing problems for you and your brother.”
Mia leaned into him and tilted her head to the side so he had access to her neck. As she’d hoped, he kissed her behind her ear and nuzzled her.
“Whatever’s going to happen between you and me has nothing to do with my brother. Or anyone else.”
His arms squeezed her tighter. “I came back for you,” he whispered in her ear.
Her legs would have buckled under her if he hadn’t been holding on to her. It was too emotional a night to try to decode Ryan and make long-term plans. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, making the moment last as long as possible.
“I’m sorry we took so long,” her mother cleared her voice.
Mia tried to move away from Ryan but he held on to her, not letting her leave. He shifted to the side so only one arm was around her waist and tugged her into his warmth.
“No baby yet?” her father asked.
“You weren’t gone that long.” Mia took the cup her mother held out for her and sipped. “Gross. This is yours.” She handed Ryan his black coffee and took the other cup from the carrier.
“Long enough,” her mother said with a grin.
“What’s this all about?” Wade Parker was a softie until it came to his kids. The last time Mia had brought home a boy was when she was nineteen and looking to cause a row at home.
At the time, Bobby Collins was twenty-one, had gauges in his ears, smoked at least three packs of cigarettes a day, and didn’t have an inch of skin on him that wasn’t tattooed. Her parents had flipped, and she’d reminded them that she was nineteen and an adult.
They’d hardly dated. Mostly it was make-out sessions and a trip to third base in the back of his truck before she broke it off with him. Ty was right. She was always looking for attention.
Being with Ryan wasn’t for shock value. In fact, it was the opposite. She wanted to keep things between them private until she figured out what he was capable of giving.
Even with her father’s stern and authoritative voice, Ryan didn’t pull away from her. If anything, he moved closer.
“Sir,” he started.
Oh no. Mia closed her eyes, anticipating Ryan’s stubborn streak to come out. He was typically black and white. Say nothing or tell it like it was.
“Sir. It’s no secret I have feelings for your daughter.”
“You what?” Mia twisted her body and looked at him as if he had four heads and green alien ears popping out of each.
And then he did the unthinkable. FBI agent Ryan Thorne, who showed as much emotion as a pet rock, kissed her. On the lips. In front of her parents.
“The bureau and I are working on a new job description which would keep me in Maine more often than not. The only problem is I don’t know how your daughter feels about that. To be honest, we didn’t exactly start our...” He craned his neck and winked down at her before returning his attention to her parents again. “We didn’t exactly start our relationship off on the right foot. I’m working on convincing her to give me a chance. Tonight was actually our first date.”
“For real?” Mia covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. She was pretty open with her parents but never about her love life.
“You two are awfully friendly for a first date.” Leave it to her father to pick up on that one.
“We were ... friends before—”
“Before her kidnapping.” Her mother was just as quick. It would only be a matter of seconds before they too blamed him for the abduction.
Jumping in before Ryan told them about their sexcapades, she faced her parents. “I met Ryan when I was researching for my book. We ran into each other at the beach, and then he played the role of tour guide when I went to Boston. We stayed in touch this summer. Now he’s back and we’re, well, I don’t know, but I really don’t want to have this conversation anymore.”
“Why not, honey? I think it’s lovely you two have reconnected. Sometimes tragedy can bring two people together. Other times it pulls them apart.”
“From the looks of what we walked into, I’d say it brought them together.” Her father held up his coffee in a salute before sipping.
Approval. He’d just approved of Ryan in her life. Relief washed over her.
“I’m a dad!” Ty came barreling down the hall, grinning ear to ear. He picked their mother up in a hug and twirled her around. “You’re a grandma!” He kissed her cheek and then gave his father a hug. “Grandpa.”
“Auntie?” Mia squeaked.
“Auntie.” Ty hugged her, the goofy grin still on his face. “Come meet my son.”
A collective awww escaped from the group as they followed Ty down the hall. When they reached the door to the room, Mia looked back and noticed Ryan wasn’t there.
“Ryan?” She jogged back to the waiting room where he sat with his coffee. “Do you want to see him?”
He didn’t get up and just stared at her with those beautiful chocolate eyes for a moment. Finally, a quiet smile spread across his lips, and he got up. Words or no words, he managed to ignite a fire inside her with one simple look.
“I do, but tonight’s about family. Go meet your nephew. I’ll be right here.” He kissed her forehead, then spun her around and swatted her on the butt, giving her a gentle nudge toward the hallway.
Mia peered over her shoulder before she turned down the hallway. With one hand in his pocket and the other holding his coffee, he was the epitome of a relaxed boyfriend. Gone were the vacant eyes, the uptight body language, the flat lined mouth.
Now, he was all grin and charm.
Jogging the rest of the way, she hurried to Lily’s room and stepped into silence. Her mother held a cocooned little bundle to her chest and sniffed back tears while her father rested his chin on Celeste’s head, admiring their grandchild.
It was a beautiful scene. To her right, Ty sat propped on the bed next to Lily, her head resting against his chest as they looked at their son.
“You’ve been keeping this little guy to yourself for nine months. It’s about time you share him with us. Does my nephew have a name?” Mia joined her parents and touched the baby’s soft cheeks.
“Ethan Wade Parker.”
“Oh,” her mother cooed. “Your grandfather would have been extremely proud to pass his name on to his great grandson.”
“And your father is mighty proud too.”
“I was really hoping you’d go for Peter Parker. Way to ruin your kid’s future.” Mia went over to her brother and hugged him. “You did good, bro. And you,”—she gave Lily a kiss on the cheek—“you didn’t do so bad yourself. I hope my nephew ends up looking more like you than that thug.” She pointed her thumb at her brother.
“I hope he’s a combination of you both. He’s so precious.” It was a solid twenty minutes before her mother let go of Ethan and let Mia hold him.
“We’ll let you get some rest and will be by in the morning.” Her parents gave a round of hugs and happy, teary goodbyes.”
“I’ll walk you to your car.” Ty kissed his son and Lily before leaving.
“Finally, I get him to myself.” Mia made herself comfortable in a chair in the corner and cradled Ethan. “It was fun visiting Hope in the hospital when she had Brayden, but it’s not the same as holding a little fella who is connected to me.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You’re going to be an amazing mother. And even with my brother’s four thousand fifty-two faults, he’s going to be a kick ass dad as well. Ethan is lucky to have you two.”
“I hope so.” Lily rustled the sheets and repositioned herself. “I didn’t exactly have the best role models growing up.”
“Yet look at who you are today.” Mia kissed Ethan’s cheek. “Thank you for choosing Ty and being part of our family. You’re seriously the best thing that could have ever happened to him. And now this.” She nodded toward her nephew.
/> “I can say the same about all of you. Three years ago, I never would have imagined this life for myself.”
“Look at us getting all mushy. I do have one request, though.”
“Request?”
“Yeah. I really want to be cool Aunt Mia.”
“You’re his only aunt, so that’ll be an easy role to fill. Regardless, you’re always the cool one in the group, so no worries there.”
“One favor. Don’t try so hard to be the perfect parents.”
Lily laughed. “I’m sure Ty and I will make our mistakes.”
“Make him eat all his broccoli before having dessert and don’t let him watch TV or play video games.”
“It’ll be a few years before we have to worry about screen time.”
“You should be really harsh on him that way he’ll want to hang out with cool Aunt Mia more often.”
“Where you’ll give him cheesecake for dinner and take him out for ice cream for dessert.”
“You know it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Mia turned serious again. “You’re a perfect family of three now.”
Just like Hope and Cameron had their kids, Alexis and Ben had Sophie. Grace and Jenna were living in marital bliss, and Mia .. .she needed to find her way as well.
There was still a lot to figure out about Ryan. Tonight had been information overload. He relocated, was switching his job, he’d become a talker, a charmer, a normal—yet incredibly sexy—guy who wanted to be with her.
Hell, he told her parents as much.
Yet there was still a lingering of doubt. Her friends, her tribe, were the settling down type. Mia didn’t know if she was. She couldn’t go from frivolous dates—more like hook-ups—to big time commitment.
What if she wasn’t relationship material? What did she have to offer someone like Ryan who was ready to change up his entire life for her?
Snuggling Ethan closer to her heart, she closed her eyes and got lost in his innocence while she blocked out the too many questions about her future.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Ryan didn’t know how long Mia would be visiting with her family. He hadn’t asked, and he didn’t mind waiting all night if he had to. It was worth it. She was worth it. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.
Even though the night hadn’t exactly gone as he’d planned, he wouldn’t change a single moment of it. Yeah, he’d rather have had told Mia in private that he was working on relocating. To say she was shocked was an understatement. And shocked was good. That meant she was interested in him and wanted him to be closer, right?
At least that was what he’d told himself. Her father made him nervous at first with his questioning. Ryan figured Ty had gotten to him, but then he softened. When he learned about Ryan’s role in Mia’s kidnapping, his opinion would change.
“You’re still here.” Ty’s stern voice had him opening his eyes.
The man was huge. Not that he was much taller than Ryan, but he was built where Ryan was just in decent shape. Slowly, Ryan stood but retained a relaxed pose, not wanting to get into an argument with him.
“Congratulations. Your son is lucky to have you and Lily as his parents.”
Ty didn’t respond at first, his eyes still narrowed as they usually were when he spoke with Ryan. He gave a curt nod and crossed his arms. “Why are you here?”
“I drove Mia.”
“You were with her tonight.”
“I was. We were having dinner.”
“You were going to leave her alone.”
“No.” He hooked his thumbs in his pockets. “I care too much about your sister to leave her alone.”
“If you cared about her—”
Ryan held up a hand. “I appreciate you looking out for her, just as I am thankful you watch out for Lily.”
“Lily’s my wife,” he growled.
“That’s not what I meant. It was my job to keep Lily safe. I wouldn’t have backed away from keeping tabs on her if I didn’t trust you to do the job.”
“She’s not my job.”
“Exactly. Lily was my job. She’s your wife. I’m not trying to compete with you, Ty. Mia is ... Mia isn’t a job or a conquest. I care about her. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to at first, but I...” He scrubbed his hands across his face. Might as well come right out with it. “I’m pretty sure I’m in love her.”
Again, not the way he wanted to say those words, to Mia’s brother nonetheless.
“Pretty sure?” Again, the narrowed eyes and pinched lips.
“I’ve never felt the pull before that I feel when I’m with her, or when I think about her.” He moved away to pace the small waiting area. “I moved for her. Changed my job for her. I’d do anything for her. Does that mean I love her? I don’t know. I think so. We haven’t had a lot of time together, so I’d like to explore our relationship.”
He stopped in front of Ty and let his arms hang loose at his sides. “She brought me back from a hell I’d been trapped in for too long. She made me smile and laugh when I didn’t think it was possible to have hope again.” Ryan closed his eyes and tipped his head back. “I know what she does for me, but I don’t know if I have anything to offer her.”
When he opened his eyes again, Ty’s hardened expression changed. He stared over Ryan’s shoulder and lifted a brow. “I guess everyone deserves a second chance. Treat her well, or I’ll hurt you in ways you never thought possible.”
Ty actually patted his shoulder as he brushed past him. Surprised he’d somewhat earned his approval, Ryan turned to thank him and spotted Mia.
Her teeth had a death hold on her bottom lip as she looked fixedly on him. She twisted her hands together in front of her and then lifted one to chew on her thumbnail.
How much of his speech she’d heard he hadn’t a clue. And it didn’t matter. They were words he’d been needing to say to her for too long.
“Hey,” he said as he approached her. “Congratulations on being an aunt.”
Mia nodded.
He took her fidgety hands in his. “Do you want to stay here longer, or do you want to go home?”
“Home.”
She wasn’t ready to address his confession, and he didn’t want to force her to respond. If she didn’t feel the same way, if he’d scared her with the intensity of his feelings, the last thing he wanted to do was force her to say anything.
Taking her hand in his, he led them down the hall and to the elevator. They rode it in silence and didn’t talk once in the car either.
There wasn’t much traffic on the roads at three in the morning, and he made quick time to her apartment. He walked her up the stairs and stopped at her door.
“Thank you for everything. Dinner. Bringing me to the hospital and waiting. I appreciate it.”
Ouch. He hid how much the rejection hurt and kissed her forehead. “Sleep well, Mia.” He left before he made the situation more uncomfortable. With a heavy heart, he dragged himself to his car and drove home.
Alone.
Granted he hadn’t expected the night to end in her bed or his. It was exactly what he didn’t want to happen. Tonight was about proving to Mia that she was more than a quick lay. That she meant something to him.
But he also hadn’t expected to bare his soul to Ty and then have Mia ignore his statement of love. He refused to compare this to what he had with Sharon. She had pretended to love Ryan, where Mia had been open and honest with her lack of love for him.
Once home, he shucked his clothes and fell into bed. Alone. Exhausted. And a little bit hurt.
The sun streamed through his windows too early. Even with the later sunrise, Ryan still didn’t get enough sleep to fully function. And he could usually power through a work day on five hours of shut eye.
Three hours and a lonely heart meant a carafe of coffee followed by a long run. The cool morning air stung his legs during the first mile, but by mile four he was tempted to strip off his sweatshirt.
Not even running down the dirt roads along the pond with bursts of red and golden leaves fallen at his feet could lift his spirits. Not even the comforting smell of a bonfire somewhere in the vicinity. His parents used to have backyard fires all year round. His favorite time was in the fall when it wasn’t so cold you had to huddle over the flames to keep warm, but cold enough where you’d get up close to the fire to stay warm.
When he got back to the cabin, he’d clean up the brush around the property line and start a fire of his own. It wouldn’t be the same alone as it would be with friends and family, but the work still needed to be done.
The sweat poured off him during the final stretch, and he could barely breathe by the time he neared his road. He walked down his dirt driveway in an effort to cool down. When he rounded the last corner, the sight of Mia’s car nearly threw him off balance.
Forgetting his cool down, he jogged to the house and pushed open the front door. “Mia?” She wasn’t in the living room or kitchen. With a skip in his chest, he bounded the stairs to his bedroom.
No Mia. She had to be around somewhere. Running back down the stairs, he called out again and then spotted her through the kitchen window.
She sat in one of the Adirondack chairs down by the pond. The last time he found her there ended up in a hot and heavy session in his kitchen. This time was different, though. She wasn’t coming over to thank him for a gift.
She’d had time to process and figure out how to let him down easy. It was the only explanation.
He poured himself a glass of water to stall for time. Now he wasn’t in such a hurry to see her again. Not if this would be their last time being together. He contemplated jumping in the shower first, but there was no need to smell nice for a rejection.
No longer able to delay the inevitable, he opened the back door and made his way to the water’s edge.
“Morning,” he said, taking the seat next to her.
“You have a killer view.”
The vibrant colors of the trees reflected off the calm water. Some trees were already bare, the fall winds blowing the leaves to the ground, but the younger trees held steady until the stronger gusts would take them down.
Something More (A Well Paired Novel) Page 26
