The Academic Bride

by Lucy McConnell

  Ryder laid his hand on her leg. “What would he tell you about changing jobs?”

  Mia felt the question like a cold hand on her bare back. “He’d say that I should be true to my heart and that no amount of money is worth my happiness.”

  “Are you true to your heart?” Ryder asked.

  Mia searched his eyes, finding so much more there than just a question about work. Was he asking her if he had a bigger place in her life, if she had room for him in her heart? Unable to answer him, she said, “You almost died, Ryder. That’s the kind of thing you tell family.” As soon as the words were out, a hypothetical hypocrite sign flashed above her head. The Montgomerys were the closest thing to family she had, and she kept someone and something that was very important to her a secret from them.

  He leaned back. “You’re right.”

  Mia put her shoes back on. “I’d better go.” She had a lot to think through, and apparently so did Ryder because he nodded and turned back to the flames.

  Jasper followed her to the back door and barked once in parting. There was a heaviness to her steps that hadn’t been there when she arrived. As she buckled in, she looked at the empty seat beside her and cursed that she’d forgotten what she’d come there to do. Well, she couldn’t go back—not tonight. Not after she’d run off at the mouth, dishing out advice she was unqualified to offer while at the same time not saying the things that really mattered.

  Chapter 13

  Mia plunked away at her tasks, barely noticing the forms and files that passed through her hands. It wasn’t that she wasn’t doing competent work; it was that it held no interest for her. She longed to be on the mountain today. The snow had melted in the spring rains and there was mud, but she wasn’t the type to be squeamish about a little mud.

  Her conversation with Ryder replayed over and over in her mind. She fashioned different outcomes each time. Once, she told him that she had fallen in love with him and he took her in his arms and kissed her until she burned hotter than green Magic Fire.

  Another time, she told him she was in love with his whole family with a kiss that had her fanning herself with a file folder. Carter walked in, wished them the best, and left them to cuddle in front of the fire and kiss the night away.

  The last version of the story ended in her cooking dinner in his house, her baby bump brushing against the counter and Ryder wrapping his arms around her from behind and telling her he knew she’d be gorgeous because he’d dreamed about her.

  Smacking herself in the face with a file, she groaned.

  Her desk phone rang and she picked it up. “This is Mia.”

  “Mia! Roy, I’ve got Mia on the line,” said Bonnie.

  Mia smiled. The two of them could have a whole conversation without her. “Hi.”

  “Mia, we’re having a family dinner tonight. You have to come.”

  Roy yelled in the background. “Tell her about the mashed potatoes, they’re her favorite.”

  “Amos is making his garlic mashed potatoes—you know, the really creamy ones.”

  “I know them—they’re fantastic.”

  “So you’ll come?”

  “Of course.” Mia scratched her neck. Bonnie gave her the deets. She said goodbye and hung up, laying her head on her desk.

  “And we’re back to slacking off,” teased Sandra. She’d returned from the conference with a list of reservations for company schmoozing parties and a pleased smile.

  Mia jerked up right. “I wasn’t … sorry.”

  “Man troubles still?”

  Mia decided to leave her personal life out of this conversation like she should have done from the very beginning of this whole mess. If she’d never kissed Ryder after giving him mouth-to-mouth, none of this would have happened. “Nope.”

  “Legal called—they need the Montgomery release. Where is it?”

  “It’s at Ryder’s house.”

  “So he hasn’t signed it?”

  “He wanted to look over it.”

  “More like have his lawyer look over it.”

  She cleared her throat. “He is a lawyer, so …”

  “That’s not what I need to hear.” Sandra folded her arms. “Mia—make this happen.”

  “I’ll go there right after work.”

  “I don’t expect you to spend your personal time on this. Leave early if you have to.”

  Mia nodded. When Sandra left her cubicle, she smacked her head on her desk once more for good measure and then got back to work.

  At four, she packed up her lunch sack and headed out, wondering if she was crazier for being excited or grateful to Ryder for calling her out on changing jobs. The afternoon had dragged by, and she realized she wasn’t cut out to be indoors all day. She’d finish out the projects she was working on and then ask to transfer back to the lifts. Ryder was right. Or her dad was right. Mia shook her head. They were both right. She needed to be where she was happy. Everyone had a passion in life, and hers was Ruby Mountain, skiing, and helping others see the beauty in each visit to the resort. Following her heart was the brave thing to do.

  If only she had enough courage to bring her two worlds together and come clean to Ryder and the Montgomerys.

  Ryder answered the door wearing a pair of nicely cut jeans and a polo shirt. His knee brace was bright against the dark denim. “Hi.” He leaned against the doorframe, probably to take the weight off his bum leg since he wasn’t using crutches, but on him gimpy came across as casual sexy.

  “Hi,” Mia breathed, hating that just the sight of him brought all the swirly twirly feelings to the surface. “How come you’re all dressed up?” She hadn’t seen him in anything besides pajamas and sweats.

  “I have a special dinner tonight.”

  “Oh?” Special dinner was code for date. He had a date? What happened to the whole “we’re engaged and I want to have babies with you” thing? Maybe his head had finally cleared and he realized they hadn’t pledged to tie the knot in less than a week.

  Actually, he hadn’t said anything about a wedding, or twins, or moonlight kisses last night when she was here. As much as she was grateful to him for forcing her to look at where she was in life, where she was going, she missed his lighthearted flirting and her heart ached at the thought that he had been truly teasing this whole time. He wouldn’t have led her on just to distract himself through all of this—no way. Er, would he? The possibility was far too hurtful and, and world-shattering.

  “I came by for those papers. Have you had a chance to sign them?”

  He stepped back, moving slowly to maintain his balance, and picked up a familiar envelope off the side table. “I did. I never planned to sue Ruby Resort.” He tapped one end of the envelope against his palm. “Is that why you stayed with me? Because you were worried I’d go after your company?”

  Mia shook her head. “No. Not at all.”

  “Then why did you stay?” He was looking at her, looking at her like what she had to say would tilt his world one way or the other.

  “I—” She wanted to tell him she loved him. The words were right there. She could taste their sweetness. But she couldn’t bring herself to take them from inside and put them out there. Not when he was headed off to a date with another woman and certainly not if he’d played her heart like a well-tuned piano. “I wanted to help a friend—and you have a great dog.” Her attempt at lightening the mood landed on the porch with a splat.

  Ryder shuffled his feet. He opened his mouth and closed it again.

  Mia stepped back. What was she supposed to say? That he was delusional and she’d been caught up in it because it was the most wonderful, amazing relationship she’d ever known? Even for a pretend engagement, it overshadowed every real moment or kiss she’d had with anyone else. She couldn’t say that. Not with Ryder looking at her that way. “Well, I have what I came for and you’re able to get around now, so I’ll see you around.”

  She hurried back to her car, put the papers on the passenger seat, and pulled away. She was ha
lfway down the street when she let out a throaty yell. Ryder Montgomery had skied into her life and left his tracks on her heart. Turning toward home so she could freshen up before the family dinner, she took a deep breath, refusing to cry. She needed the Montgomerys more than ever tonight.

  Chapter 14

  Mia pulled into the employee parking area of the B&B and had to find a new spot because her usual one was taken by a flashy blue convertible. Wondering which guest had garnered valet parking, she slid in next to Carter’s pickup and hurried through the back door.

  “Mia—hey, everybody, she made it,” Amos called through the open door to the private dining room.

  Isabelle came through and gave her a big hug. “I passed my history exam. At least, I think I did. I knew most of the answers on the multiple choice and had a solid essay.”

  “That’s great.” Mia hugged her back. “You’re the smartest seventeen-year-old I know.”

  She laughed. “I’m the only seventeen-year-old you know.”

  “That doesn’t make it any less true.” Mia soaked in Isabelle’s joy, ready to celebrate her victory of the dreaded test. This is why she loved the Montgomerys. The knowledge that she belonged in this family burned through her just as surely as the sense of heaven she’d felt at Ryder’s.

  Dear Lord, I am so confused.

  Isabelle picked up the bowl with the infamous mashed potatoes. “Come on, Mia, we’re ready to eat. You too, Amos.”

  Amos wiped his hands off on a dish towel and tucked Mia’s hand in the crook of his arm. They walked into the dining room, and Mia’s worlds came to a screeching standstill. At the head of the table, Roy carved the roast beef. Sitting on his right side was Carter, laughing at something Roy had just said. Sitting on his left side was Ryder, a contented although reserved smile on his handsome face.

  Ryder was in the Montgomerys’ dining room. Ryder had come home. This was his special dinner. Not a date. Not another woman—unless you counted Bonnie, who was grinning as if it were Easter morning. She doted on Ryder, topping off his already full water glass and patting his head as she circled the room.

  As if truly given a vision, her two worlds merged into one and tears filled her eyes.

  “There’s my gazebo.” Carter motioned to the empty chair beside him.

  Mia shook her head in response.

  Her eyes traveled to Ryder’s questioning gaze. So many emotions rushed through her and she couldn’t decide which one to pick up and act on. Relief that he was here, that he’d reached out to his dad. Excitement for the peace on Roy’s face. His family was whole once again—and she’d played a small part in that. But most of all, there was love. Love for the Montgomerys and a different kind of love for Ryder. The kind that had her tongue-tied and nervous and ready to lay it out there.

  “Oh my gosh!” burst Bonnie. “Mia, you haven’t met Roy’s oldest son, Ryder. Ryder, this is our dearest friend—”

  “Mia’s family,” cut in Roy.

  “You’re so right, Roy. Ryder, this is Mia.”

  Ryder’s brows came together. “Family?”

  “We’re so glad she’s here.” Bonnie patted Mia’s cheek as she walked around to set the water pitcher on the table.

  Amos cleared his throat. “This is a sight to see.” He inclined his head towards Mia. “Some moments are exactly right.” He patted her hand.

  Unable to stay quiet one second longer or she’d burst with the love radiating through her, Mia gave Amos’s arm a little squeeze. “Amos, this is not one of those moments.”

  The room grew quiet and all eyes turned to her. Seeing Ryder and Carter at the same table had brought all of Mia’s thoughts and emotions and dreams into focus. She knew what she wanted. She also knew that by taking the next step, she might lose everything she held so dear.

  Speaking to Roy, she squared her shoulders and confessed the deepest feelings of her heart. “Roy, I’ve fallen in love with your son.”

  Roy slapped Carter’s shoulder. “I knew it would happen one of these days.”

  Bonnie squealed.

  Amos chuckled.

  Mia waved her hands. “Not that one.” She pointed to Ryder. “That one.”

  Ryder looked up, and when their eyes met he grinned and winked, making her knees go weak. She wanted nothing more than to throw herself into his arms and kiss him until the moonlight shone down, but she had more that had to come out. It all pressed against the inside of her, squirming.

  She returned his smile and then focused on Carter. She pressed her hand to her chest. “You’re not my gazebo, Carter. And I’m not yours.”

  Carter leaned back in his seat. “I guess I’m the pergola after all,” he said with his trademark half smile.

  Mia chuckled quietly. She and Carter were going to be okay.

  Roy? Not so much. He laid down the carving knife. “Ryder, what’s going on here? What did you do?”

  Mia waved her hands. “He didn’t do anything. It was me. It was all me.” She put her hand on her chest. “I see what you all have here—a great marriage, siblings that watch out for one another, dear friends.” She gave Amos’s arm a squeeze. “And I let myself believe it was possible for me too, that I could be a part of it. I haven’t had that dream in a really long time.” Her eyes stung and her vision blurred. “I fell in love with all of you, and knowing that you two weren’t speaking—” She wagged her hand between Roy and Ryder. “I didn’t see how I could be a part of the Montgomerys and love Ryder at the same time.”

  “But he is a Montgomery.” Roy lifted his hands, clearly confused.

  Mia chuckled. “I know. I know. That’s why it’s so messed up. Why I was so messed up.” She focused on Ryder again. “I may have saved your life on the lift that day, but you know what? Seeing you sitting there has saved my heart.”

  “You saved his life?” Bonnie grabbed the back of Ryder’s chair. Her eyes huge, she stared at Mia. Everyone stared at her with a look of shock.

  Mia blinked, the question jarring her train of thought off the tracks. “He fell off the lift and—”

  The whole family was on their feet and around Ryder’s chair, talking all at once. Roy was yelling at Ryder about stealing Mia from Carter. Carter yelled at Roy that he wanted to find his own gazebo. Bonnie cried, fanned herself, and pleaded with Roy to watch his blood pressure. Isabelle threw her arms around Ryder’s neck. Amos let go of Mia and stepped into the fray, telling Carter that if he ever wanted to get married he’d have to make more of an effort—he couldn’t expect Amos to do all the work.

  Mia watched in horror. She’d ruined the Montgomerys’ peaceful home. Ruined Ryder’s reunion with his family. When she walked through the door, they had been laughing and smiling and mending fences. Her worst fears had come true. She’d ruined everything.

  For the first time since Mia set foot in the B&B a little over three years ago, she felt like she didn’t belong. Moving quietly, she backed out of the dining room, ran through the kitchen, grabbed her raincoat, and hurried to her car.

  Chapter 15

  Mia had waited until eleven for Ryder to call or text. The Montgomerys were really upset, but they rarely stayed up past ten-thirty on a Thursday night. If he was going to call, he would have called. When he didn’t, she turned her phone off, crawled under the covers, and hugged her pillow. She’d broken them. Ryder had loved her; she could see that clearly now. For whatever reason he went about things all backward, but the love had been there all along. And she’d gone and made things worse with his family when he’d finally gotten to a place that he could be with them again. That was probably unforgivable. She had to own the fact that what she’d done was bad.

  Without Ryder, she needed the mountain—needed to be where her dad’s spirit roamed free and where her spirit soared.

  The next morning, Mia marched into Sandra’s office and slapped a sticky note to her desk.

  “What’s this?” asked Sandra.

  “It’s my two weeks’ notice.”

  “But you j
ust started.”

  “I know. But I wish I hadn’t. All I want to do is be out there and have family dinners that don’t end in broken hearts and go back to my normal life where no one pretends they love me.”

  Sandra’s face filled with concern. “What happened with Ryder?”

  “He didn’t want me.” Mia bit her lip. He hadn’t said the words, but his silence said it all. “But it’s okay because I finally figured out what I want to be and do and where I belong, so I’m going to go back to who I was and I’m going to be okay.”

  “Mia.” Sandra moved to stand.

  “I’ll finish out the two weeks, but then I’d like my old job back.”

  Sandra nodded as she settled back into her chair. “It’s yours.”

  Mia thanked her and made her way back to her desk, feeling freer and like she’d righted a giant wrong.

  Brushing her fingers across the picture of her dad and her on her first day of work as a liftie, she whispered, “I followed my heart.”

  Wishing it didn’t hurt so much to have it break, she focused on work until lunch. With her insulated lunch sack swinging from her fingers, she made her way out to the lift, needing to feel the spring sunlight on her face and maybe find a sense of her father once again.

  The lifts didn’t run this time of year. If she’d been a liftie, she’d be doing maintenance in the barn today, repairing rips and treating rust spots on the chairs for the summer guests who enjoyed mountain biking. Maybe she’d take up the sport to fill in the empty hours that stretched ahead.

  Sitting in the seat, she kicked back to make it rock, the very thing those boys had done to cause Ryder’s fall. As if thinking about him had caused him to appear, Ryder tapped a crutch against the seat. “Mia, I need to talk to you.”

  Mia drank in the sight of him, lean, muscular in all the right spots, and so at ease—as if it wasn’t embarrassing to talk to a woman who had declared she loved you in front of your estranged family and then bolted. “Yeah.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. There was probably a lot he wanted to say to her—and she deserved every bit of it.