by Jenna Gunn
I glance at her, sitting square and poised next to me. Mia’s a badass. She knows her stuff. She trains like a beast with the focus of a monk.
A little part of me… okay, a big part of me, is glad she’s not on the road working as an acrobat anymore.
I just hope it doesn’t extinguish her light to give up the life.
That’s one reason I’m feeling worried about our appointment.
It doesn’t take long for us to reach the community center, thankfully. I don’t have time to get too torqued up at how bad this could go.
As we walk toward the entrance, I say, “They’ve made a lot of changes here since you left. New classrooms, more outdoor spaces, bigger pool.”
When we get to the front desk, I greet the attendant. “Parker Shultz, please.”
The twenty something in athletic wear bops away to fetch her boss. A couple of minutes later Parker emerges from a closed door. “Bishop, nice to see you.”
The former pro running back gives me a firm handshake.
“Parker, this is Mia. I was hoping we could talk more about what I called about.”
Parker greets Mia and brings us to his office. “Have a seat, please.”
Mia is really quiet. Her body is ramrod straight when she sits on the edge of her seat.
“Bishop tells me you are an acrobat and aerialist.”
“I am.” She says almost hesitantly.
“I think I have an opportunity here for you. Would you be interested in teaching some group fitness classes— aerial fitness with silks for adults, and tumbling for kids?”
Mia’s eyes glance toward me, then she brightens. “I think so. It would be a new thing for me.”
“Could you start soon? I have an instructor leaving in a month, but she could train you before she goes. Then we can pay to get any certifications you need as time goes on.”
Mia smiles for the first time today. “That sounds too good to be true.” Then her smile drops. “Wait, Bishop, I need daycare for Bruno.”
I nod toward Parker, who smiles proudly and says, “We offer free daycare to our staff. We have an on-site childcare center here.”
Mia’s hand flutters to her throat. “Wow, this is really great.”
“For you and us too, I was in a bind. Not like it’s easy to find people here who can tumble and swing around from the ceiling, and whatever else they do in there. Come in at nine tomorrow and I’ll get you all set up.”
We stand to leave. “Thanks, Parker. I really appreciate it,” I say as we shake hands.
“I owed you a favor, but this is really helping me.”
Mia takes my hand when I offer it as we walk outside. “I guess I owe you a thank you.”
“I’m glad it worked out. How do you really feel about it?”
She twists up her mouth. “It’s kind of exciting. I just hope I’m good at it. I’m not used to teaching anything. I’m much more comfortable flying through the air twenty feet above everything.”
“I think you’ll do fine.” Which I hope is true. Leaving the spotlight and trading it for a classroom full of tumbling grade school kids might be a tough adjustment. Crossing my fingers, I hope this works out because I know our happiness is directly dependent on Mia having the chance to do something that’s good for her too.
Now for the next challenge, which I fully expect her to buck against. “So car shopping?”
“No.” She says it like it is case closed.
“Mia…”
Her chin is tight and held high. “You are not buying me a car.”
I open the passenger door to my truck for her. “Why not, I did it before?”
She climbs in, glares at me. “That is not a true statement. We bought my car before. Remember, I had a job, and a good paying one.”
I close the door on the stubborn woman. When I climb behind the wheel I say, “So you’d rather borrow Nick’s mom’s car?”
She growls. “No, not really.”
“Then how are you getting to work?”
I know she’s glaring at me. I chuckle. “So I guess we are car shopping.”
“Bishop. I don’t like this.”
“You don’t have to like it. How about this? You can pay me back for your part of the money later.” I pull out onto the main road and head toward the small collection of car dealerships in Lynn’s Cove.
“Are we putting this in writing?”
I shake my head, “Fine, if you like.”
“Alright then.”
Now, will we find a car we both agree on?
When I pull to a stop, I grab her hand, pull her toward me. She eyes me, then gives in. “You’re cute when you’re stubborn.”
She narrows her eyes on me. “Well, you make me crazy.”
I press my lips to hers. She melts into me. I lean forward and kiss her thoroughly. Dancing my tongue with hers.
Crazy is right. I lose my head around her, every single time.
Mia of course goes right to the smallest raciest car on the lot. A little two door yellow Fiat. I follow her, letting her ramble a bit before I say, “Don’t you think a family car is better?”
She balks at me. “Just because I have a toddler doesn’t mean I have to get a mini-van.”
“Mini-van?” I didn’t say anything about a mini-van.
A salesman strolls up. “Did I hear the family car debate staring up over here?”
I shake my head. “Yep.” The guy grins. He knows.
Mia flits around the Fiat, looking in the windows. “This is a lot like the one I had.”
“Uh… kind of small, don’t you think?”
“Nope.”
The guy chuckles.
“What about a Subaru?” I offer. “They’re fun.”
“Fun if you drive in the snow all the time. Bishop, we live in southern California. The land of sunroofs and convertibles.”
Lord, help me. I am not going to win this, I can tell.
The guy pops the locks open on the car. Mia hops behind the wheel. “This could be it.”
“We do have a four door, would you like to see it?”
Mia flexes her hands on the wheels. “What color?”
“Turquoise.”
She grins, “Lead the way. I’ll have a look.”
I follow like a puppy dog as Rick the salesman and Mia chatter their way across the car lot.
When she sees the bright turquoise Fiat shaped like a little cube. “Oh, it’s pretty!”
As she crawls in and out of the car, opening and closing the doors, he looks at me and shrugs. “Room for a family.” He says quietly.
I nod but hold my tongue.
“I like it.” She says, her cheeks bright with color.
“Should we drive it?”
“I want to drive the yellow one first.” I deflate like a balloon that’s been let go.
I sit on the curb while Mia heads out on a test drive. No point in me going. When she gets back, they get in the four door and head out again. I watch the grass grow.
She’s smiling when she walks over after the second drive.
The weird urge to control the moment makes me say, “Should we check out some other car lots?”
“No need. I’ve made up my mind.”
I raise my brows, “Yeah?”
“The yellow one.”
The guy holds up his hands. “What can I say, she knows what she wants.”
Well, when it comes to cars she does, now if only she feels the same about me.
The morning was a success. Job. Daycare. Car. And a few laughs together over donuts.
Mia is Mia, and I’m thankful as fuck for that. She’s quirky and silly, and determined, and loving. Just like I remember her being.
I drop her at the house and grab a quick sandwich before work. After she’s fed me, she stands on her tiptoes and plants a kiss on my cheek. “I love the car. Thank you for getting it. I meant what I said about paying you back.”
I groan. “Just don’t get any speeding tickets in that
thing.”
Her eyes go wide. “Bishop Archer! You are the one who gets the speeding tickets, I’ll have you remember. And you were driving my Fiat last time it happened.”
I grin. Busted. Sort of. I don’t tell her my last ticket was just a month ago, in my truck. So I’ve got a heavy foot. What can I say?
“Well, it looks fast, and they say yellow attracts tickets.”
She pins me with her gray eyes. “Driving too fast attracts tickets. I get my thrills from flying through the air, not flying through the streets. That’s you. Thank you.”
“You like it when we go fast on the dirt bike.” I point out.
“That’s different. It’s in the desert and it’s crazy.” She always loved racing over the dunes and mesas in the desert when we’d ride with our friends. I loved having her on the back of my bike, her long hair whipping out from beneath of her helmet, her strong arms wrapped around me.
“I guess we need to get a side-by-side four seater now, since two plus one equals three.”
Her face brightens at the mention of a new off-road quad. “That sounds fun.”
“We’ll look at one as soon as my wallet recovers from buying the car. In the meantime, we can take the one Bryce has out for a spin. He bought one already, anticipating him and Raven going to the desert when the baby is old enough.”
She laughs. “Bryce is a trip. I bet Bruno is going to love it. He’s all about going for a ride. Bouncing through the desert will be his new favorite thing.”
My heart nearly pops right open as I watch her eyes sparkling with excitement as she talks about our son.
Wow. Toast. I’m done.
“I mentioned date night tonight. You down?”
She bounces on her toes, does a little ballet thing with her feet. “So I get to be alone with you?”
I chuckle. I know she’s just playing with me. “That’s the point of date night.”
“Of course I’m down.”
“Good. I’ll be home to get you by five—“
“—unless you get held up by a rescue. I know the drill.” She laughs.
I pull her to me. “What are you doing today?”
“Besides playing chase the Bruno, I’m going to work on my flexibility. You know…a girl’s got to keep her flexibility.”
I growl against her neck. “Lord knows I like you flexible. Definitely keep working on that.”
She turns her mouth toward me and nips at my lip. “I know you love bending me into all kinds of kinky positions.”
I kiss her hard. “You can’t talk like that right now.”
She giggles.
I set her away from me, adjust my junk in my swim trunks. “See.” I point at the monster size erection in my pants.
“Should I help take care of that now?”
“No. Definitely no. I’d be really late for work then. I just have to think about something else.”
She smiles wickedly. “I could talk about taxes or something.”
“That would do the trick.” I adjust myself again.
I catch her for one more kiss. “You and Bruno stay out of trouble. Please.”
“Trouble?”
She’s laughing when the door closes behind me. Trouble indeed. The kind that wraps a man up tight around little pinkies.
Chapter Fifteen
I’m giddy like a teenager. Date night! Wow. What in the world should I wear? Not like I have a big selection of clothes. Once I start working again, I want to buy a few things for me. My favorite consignment shop is in downtown Lynn’s Cove. It will be fun to go digging around there. Maybe Raven and Maddy would even be up for a trip there one day.
I crank up some music. Bruno dances and smiles like a madman as I dig through my clothes.
“What do you think? Tights?”
Bruno giggles. “Okay, tights it is.” I hold up a gauzy off the shoulder top as I look in the mirror. “I think this is the one, do you vote yes?”
“Yesss!” Bruno squeals.
“Okay, we have a winner.” I set the clothes aside and grab Bruno’s hand and his Raffe. “Shower time.”
I give Bruno the toy and climb in the shower. He’s talking to Raffe the whole time I scrub, shampoo and shave. I’m so lucky he’s great at entertaining himself.
I blow dry my hair enough to knock out most of the water, but leave it to dry wavy on its own. A dash of mascara, and a swipe of lip gloss, and I’m feeling pretty darn good.
Anya answers the door when I take Bruno to her and Brandon’s place. He goes right to her. He’s always a sucker for a pretty girl. “Come on in.” She welcomes me inside their duplex. “Anything special I need to know?”
“He loves to play. He’s going to want to eat all the fruit and ignore everything else. Feel free to feed him adult food if he’s interested. Nothing else, really. Call us if you need anything.”
“Of course. You two have a wonderful evening.”
“Thanks, first time we’ve been on a date in years.”
Anya smiles softly, “Well, you both deserve it.”
Bishop gets home right at five. “Hello, beautiful.” He purrs as he makes a grab for me.
I murmur against his lips. “Hello, handsome.”
The kiss he gives me sends shivers down my spine and makes my nipples nearly burst from my bralette.
“Are you ready?”
“For you.”
“Devil girl, come on. Get your purse. We’re leaving.”
I laugh and pick up my bag. The small one. Not the mom purse. He holds my hand as we drive, heavy metal plays on the radio which makes me grin. Bishop might be soft and loving on the inside, but he’s one hundred percent hard male too.
“Where are we going?”
“To pick something up first.”
I tap at my chin, “Oh, you’ve got my interest now.”
“Good, I hope so. That’s my goal.”
He turns the truck into the parking lot for Beach Vibes, Maddy’s cafe. “I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later he comes out with a big red picnic basket and a satisfied look in his eyes.
“Now you’ve really got my interest.”
He winks at me as we cruise along the beach avenue, passing behind all the lifeguard towers. When we reach the far north end of the beach, he parks in the public lot. I climb from the truck and take his hand. Barefoot, we make our way across the sand to the beautiful rocks on the far end of the beach by Lifeguard Tower Six.
“I love this spot.”
“I know.” He says as he watches me wiggle my feet into the sand.
“I missed it here. It’s so beautiful.”
He sets the basket down and wraps his arms around me from behind. “It is, but I know you saw a lot of beautiful places when you traveled.”
I nod. “Yes, there’s a lot of world out there to see.”
He steps back, his eyes drift away. He opens the basket. “Help me for a second?”
I catch one edge of the blanket opposite of him. We spread the bright red checked beach blanket out on the dry sand.
Dropping down on my knees, I peer into the basket. “What kind of delicious things are in here?”
“Go ahead. Feel free to break it out.”
“Champagne! Oh, and fresh fruit. And what is this? Oh, my god. Look at these little sandwiches. Cheese! I love that kind. And cannoli? Wow. This is epic.”
“Maddy’s a rock star.”
“I agree. But you’re my rock star.” I lean and wrap my hand around Bishop’s neck. We hold eyes for a dozen heartbeats. I touch my lips to his forehead. “Let’s pour some champagne and go stand with our feet in the water.”
“I’m good with that.”
He pops the cork and pours two plastic champagne flutes full of bright sparkly yumminess.
“Race you to the water.”
He laughs, “With full glasses of champagne?”
“Yes, you’ve got great coordination. Come on.”
“If I spill my drink, you’re get
ting a spanking.”
“Careful,” I joke, “I might just trip you up on purpose.”
He sips off his drink.
“That’s cheating.”
“No rules were established.”
I laugh. “Ready?”
He counts down. “Three. Two. One. Go!”
We sprint for the water. Of course I expect him to win, he’s always faster, but I am always close behind. It’s harder than I thought to keep my champagne in my glass. I have to watch it the whole way.
We’re both laughing and gasping for air when we make it to water’s edge. “I won.” He shouts.
“You have an unfair advantage. Your legs are at least a foot longer than mine.”
He takes a drink, raises his glass. “True statement.”
“Why don’t we do something that I have an advantage in?”
He shakes his head. “Oh lord. What am I about to get myself into?”
“Can you do a handstand and balance that cup on your foot?”
He busts out laughing. “Girl, I am not wasting my drink on that craziness.” He shoots down the last of his champagne. Then he scoops up a cupful of saltwater. “Take this. There’s no way I can get it on my foot after I get into a handstand. And if you can do that, well, you automatically win.”
He takes off his shirt and runs back up the beach, tossing it onto the beach on the dry sand.
His muscles shift and twist as he lowers his hands to the wet sand. He kicks one leg up, then the other and holds a perfect handstand. “I always love watching you do that.”
He settles his body into a tall column of strength. “Ready.”
I set the cup on his foot, carefully placing its little base right in the arch of his foot. ‘Okay, here we go. Should I count?”
“I hope you can count high, because we’re going to be here for a while.”
I start counting in my head. When I hit one hundred twenty, I say. “Okay, so maybe you are going to win this too.”
He laughs.
“Let’s see if you can walk on those hands and keep the cup there.”
“Good lord, woman. I’m a lifeguard, not an acrobat.”
