Earning Her Love

by Hazel Gower

  * * * *

  Mia came in and out of consciousness many times, and Alex warred with himself over what he’d done. Not only had he taken three weeks of personal leave, he’d taken over the care of Zane, Mia’s son, moving the child into his home and making him an honorary Douglas. He’d lied to officials, even his own work, claiming that Mia was his fiancée. He’d signed paperwork affecting Mia’s care and told everyone he would be looking after her when she got out of the hospital.

  His family had been amazing, helping him with Zane and sitting with Mia when he couldn’t. He didn’t like to leave her in the hospital by herself. He wanted someone with her when she awoke. Every time Mia had awakened she’d asked about Zane and what happened. Alex wasn’t sure if she forgot what had happened or she just wanted to make sure it was the same. When he explained everything and told her where Zane was and what he’d been doing she fell back asleep again. Mia stayed awake a little more each time she awoke. She always asked about her son first, making sure he was safe, before she asked about herself. The last time she awoke Alex asked her if she would like for him to bring Zane in as he was eager to see his mum.

  Mia had shaken her head and groaned, “No. I don’t want him to see me like this. I don’t want to scare him. Wait until I don’t have as many machines on, and things attached to me, and I can stay awake for longer than half an hour. Tell him I love him.”

  He nodded and then got his mobile out. “You can tell him. Mia, he needs to hear your voice.”

  “You’re right. I should have at least thought of that.”

  He smiled at her. “I do that sometimes.”

  Mia yawned. “What?”

  “Be right.”

  A smile graced her battered face, and even in her state Alex thought she looked beautiful.

  He called his parents’ house. “Hello, Mum. Can you pass the phone to Zane? His Mum wants to talk to him.”

  “Sure. I’m so happy she is up and ready to talk to him.” The line went quiet, and Alex leaned over and held the phone to Mia’s ear.

  Tears ran down Mia’s cheek. “Hi, baby. I hear you’re being a super good boy.” Mia chewed on her lip as she listened to Zane. “It sounds like you’re having so much fun at…” She choked on a sob. “Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Yes, you are super lucky. Yeah, that is good that you saw Beth and Landon.” She took a deep breath in. “I’m so proud of you. Oh, okay. I love you. I’ll see you soon. Bye.”

  Alex took the phone away and put it to his own ear to see if his mother or Zane was still there, but the line was dead. He put the mobile back in his pocket and looked at Mia. She was crying, and his heart ached. He hated it when she cried, because he had no idea what he could do to help her feel better.

  Clearing his dry throat, he reached for her hand and held it. “You’ll see him soon. As I’m sure you heard, he is being spoiled rotten.” Mia sobbed harder, and he groaned. Had he said the wrong thing? “I’m so sorry.”

  Mia hiccupped. “What are you apologizing for? You’re amazing, and so is your family. If I wasn’t in so much pain, I’d think I’d died and gone to heaven. I’m crying because when all this is done my son is going to know what he’s missing. I can’t give him everything you have.”

  She burst into tears again, and Alex had no idea what to do. He pressed the call button for the nurse, and when they came he made a hasty exit.

  Alex called his mother back and asked what Zane had said to Mia and explained what happened. His mother sighed. “I have no idea how I raised such clueless sons. Mia was upset because she thinks that once she gets better we will be out of her life and Zane and her won’t have you or even us.”

  As soon as his mother told him, he moaned at his own stupidity. How hadn’t he figured that out? “Well, I’ll have to show her that won’t happen.”

  * * * *

  Mia was staying awake now for a decent amount of time. Most of the time Alex was beside her when she awoke, either reading a book, on his laptop, or watching TV. He didn’t say much, just sat quietly and watched over her. This time when she awoke was no different, Alex sat on the chair next to her bed reading a book. The last couple of days she’d started talking to him about things other than her son. At first she’d found out that he barely left her side. Once she’d eaten dinner and fell asleep, he went and got Zane from his parents and didn’t come back until after breakfast when he dropped Zane back off at his parents. Mia slept from sixish at night to nine-thirty AM. The drugs she was given were strong, and she knew that sleep helped her heal.

  She’d learned that Alex had a sister, Stephanie, who was close to her age. Mia hadn’t known about Stephanie, she’d only seen the brothers as Stephanie hadn’t taken Olivia swimming. Mia met Stephanie when she was still only waking for less than an hour at a time. Mia was a little intimidated by Stephanie at first. She was beautiful, and definitely not shy.

  “Oh, you’re awake. Hi, I’m Stephanie, Alex’s sister. Call me Steph though. Mum and Dad are the only ones who call me Stephanie. So how are you feeling? Want me to press for the nurse? I heard they are giving you the good drugs.” Stephanie, er, Steph, hadn’t even given her the chance to answer before she reached over and pressed the nurse button. “So you’re the girl who’s going to put a stop to my oldest brother’s bachelor days. I didn’t believe it at first. I mean, Alex is almost forty and hasn’t found a woman. I see even with your bruises, cast, and everything attached how pretty you are. You also have the most adorable little boy. So for Zane to be the amazing little guy he is, you must be pretty amazing yourself. I can see why my brother is attracted to you. It makes me wonder if the theory of why he hasn’t found a woman is true. I just thought no woman would want to put up with him.” She winked, and paused as the nurse came in.

  “Miss Lexington. How is your pain? Ten being excruciating and one not that bad.”

  Not able to help herself, Mia looked at Steph, feeling like she might answer for her as Mia hadn’t had the chance to talk since she awoke. Sure enough, Steph grinned her way. “Oh, Mia was just telling me she was a ten. Poor thing. You better give her the good stuff.”

  Mia opened her mouth to deny what Steph had said, but shut it when the nurse leaned over her to check her head and brushed her left side. Shards of pain shot through Mia, and she moaned. The nurse pulled away quickly, and Mia caught a guilty look on her face before she quickly concealed it with a sympathetic one.

  “I’m sorry. Let me go get you something for that pain.” She rushed out of the room.

  Mia looked at Steph. “Thanks,” she rasped out, her throat dry from not talking much.

  Steph smiled. “No problem. You’re really brave.”

  Mia shook her head, wincing at the throbbing pain it caused. “I’m not. I’m so scared.”

  Steph got out of her seat and came closer so she hovered over Mia. “Don’t be.”

  The nurse came in, and Mia moved as she checked her name tags and then put some drugs into her drip. As she emptied the syringe, the nurse said, “They should take affect soon.” She checked the machines quickly before leaving the room again.

  Steph moved back into her line of vision. “You have no reason to be scared. I’ve met one of your friends, Beth, and she is a great support, and you have us Douglases now. Even if you and my brother don’t work out, I can already tell you and me are going to be really close. So you’ll always have a Douglas.” She sighed. “We’re hard to get rid of.”

  Mia chuckled, and then groaned when that caused pain too. She closed her eyes and let the drugs do their work.

  * * * *

  The next time she awoke Alex was sitting where Steph had been. Turning her head so she could see him better, she smiled. “Morning.”

  He looked up from his book. “Hi. How are you feeling today?”

  “Good.”

  “You’re looking brighter. You have color in your cheeks.” Alex’s eyes held warmth as he smiled at her.

  “Thanks. I think today I’m ready to start sorting thing
s out. My head feels clearer, and I can’t stop thinking about all the things that I have to do and have missed while I’m here.” She reached up and massaged her temple. Everything ached, but she was strong, and it wasn’t as bad as yesterday.

  Alex leaned in closer. “It’s only been five days. I’ve spoken to your work and tried to help you as best I could.”

  Guilt weighed on her at all Alex had done for her and Zane. There was no way she’d be able to pay him and his family back. “I know, and there is no way I’ll ever be able to repay you for all you’ve done for me. You’ve become my guardian angel.”

  Alex shrugged. “All I want from you is to get better. I’m glad I could help you in your time of need. I don’t expect anything from you.”

  Mia felt heat rise in her cheeks as he said he didn’t expect anything from her. Was that true? She wondered why he’d taken her on as a responsibility and helped her with looking after Zane. “Why did you do it?”

  “Do what?” His gaze narrow, his lips turned down, and he genuinely looked confused.

  “Why did you lie and tell everyone I was your fiancée? Why did you help me? I mean, I wasn’t exactly nice to you when I met you.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Bullshit,” Mia muttered. She gasped, not believing she’d just said that to him. She may not have known Alex long, but she did know he wasn’t one to go into anything without a plan. He wasn’t the type of man to not know what he was doing and why. She pierced him with her best glare, which probably wasn’t very scary from a hospital bed.

  Alex ran his hand over his head before sighing loudly. “There is something about you. From the first moment I laid eyes on you I haven’t been able to get you off my mind. You weren’t like the other women. Even after our coffee, you didn’t change. I became more intrigued. I looked into you and found out what I could. When I learned how young you are I promptly stopped. The problem is it didn’t stop me from thinking about you.” He gave a hollow laugh. “I know I sound like a dirty old man, but swear I’m not that or a stalker.”

  Her heart was going a million miles an hour. She was surprised the monitors hadn’t started going off. Mia could barely believe what Alex was saying. He was interested in her… Mia Lexington? She giggled at his dirty old man comment. Ha, she didn’t think of him as that. God, he was anything but.

  “I know you’re not any of those things,” she said.

  “Ha, no you don’t.” He raised his eyebrow. “How old do you think I am?”

  “Thirty, maximum thirty-two.” Mia felt heat rise on her cheeks. “I really hope I’m not insulting you.”

  Alex gave a deep belly laugh. “Oh, you’re good for my ego.” He leaned closer and gathered her hand in his, rubbing circles below her knuckles. “I’m thirty-nine. I’ll be forty in a couple of weeks.”

  “No way.” She stared at him, gulping as she noted that when the gene fairy was giving out things to those being born, she gave Alex everything, he was pure male masculine beauty, with great olive skin, dark blue eyes, and big, plump lips. This close he looked even younger. She’d bet her last dollar he was one of those lucky men who just got better with age.

  “It’s true. So now you know I’m way too old to be interested in you.” He let her hand go.

  Maneuvering in the bed, careful of her cords and IV, she turned to him. “Say what? I’m confused. Why would you be interested in me? Not only am I a struggling single mother, I’m not exactly model material.”

  “What does looking like a model have to do with me finding you attractive and wanting to date you?”

  “You want to date me?”

  Alex groaned. “Yes, isn’t that basically what this whole conversation has been about?”

  “Yes… No. I don’t know. I’m confused now.” A headache formed, and Mia rubbed her temple again.

  “How about we start again? Mia, would you consider going on a date with me? I know we can’t do it now with you in here, but we can spend this time getting to know one another.”

  Mia chewed on her bottom lip and studied the man before her. Should she give him a chance? She obviously trusted him in some way or she wouldn’t have let her son stay with him, or let him speak with the doctors about her condition and sign things on her behalf as if he were her next of kin. Could she trust him with her heart? The last person she’d let in left her pregnant and without a family. Her family, her parents, who were supposed to love her unconditionally, disowned her. Mia’s own father wouldn’t even look at her after she told him about Zane.

  “Get to know me while you’re in here.” Alex’s eyes pleaded with her. “I promise if you don’t like what you learn, when you get out I will leave you alone and won’t bother you again.”

  Zane would be devastated if she yanked him away from his newfound family. Alex had done so much for her, he deserved a chance. “Sure. But only if we agree to stay friends in the event that it doesn’t work out.”

  Alex smiled and Mia swore her heart missed a beat. “Great. Now that we’ve talked about that, what did you want to sort out today?”

  “Lots of things. I need to ring Centerlink and explain the change in my work situation to see if I can get some help so I can pay some bills. I need to cancel daycare as I won’t be working and can’t afford it, and figure out a way to put speech therapy on hold until I have money again for that.”

  “Your friend Beth told me about speech therapy. My parents have taken Zane and will take him again this week.”

  “Oh no, they can’t do that.”

  His brows furrowed. “Why?”

  “Well, I don’t have money for it now for starter. Second, that’s a lot to ask of your parents.”

  He shrugged. “It’s no problem. They offered. And don’t stress about money. We have you and Zane sorted.”

  “No. I can’t have you paying for things I haven’t got money to pay you back for.”

  He sighed and leaned forward. “We’re not concerned about you paying us back. Look, let’s worry about money and all that later. You concentrate on getting better first, and then we’ll discuss all this again when you are.”

  Glaring at him, she silently made a promise that she would do anything she could to pay back this amazing family. Giving up trying to win the glare-out with Alex, she groaned in defeat. “Fine. Well, I also need to cancel swimming lessons. He’s already missed two, and he’ll miss another this Friday.”

  “Zane hasn’t missed any. He’s been going.” Alex’s cheeks reddened. “When I went to your apartment I got him his swimmers along with some of his other things.”

  “Who’s been taking him?” Mia knew Alex hadn’t because he’d been at the hospital with her at least one of the times she remembered.

  “Lockie is taking him or Owen.”

  “Oh, that’s just cruel.”

  “Huh.” His eyes narrowed on her. “Why is it cruel? They like Zane. He’s a great kid. Zane loves swimming lessons.”

  Mia giggled, and it felt so good. “I know Zane loves swimming. It’s cruel to the other children in the class. Between Olivia and Zane, with two Douglas men...” She shook her head. “Have any children drowned yet?”

  Alex rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad.”

  “Um…yes, it is. You don’t notice because you’re focused on your niece. You and your brothers are…” Closing her eyes, a vision of his brothers came up, Lockie with his cover model looks and Owen with his thick, muscular body and blond hair. Then there was Chad, the rugby star, with his athletic body and dimpled smiles. He was married and off the market, but he was still dream worthy.

  Alex growled, and she laughed at the sound. It was so manly. “You better not be picturing my brothers now.”

  Her giggle turned into a laugh, and her cheeks heated. She opened her eyes and smiled at Alex and winked at him. “Now why would I need to think about them when I have you here?”

  * * * *

  They were slowly getting to know one another, and the more Alex learned
about Mia, the more he liked her. She was a kind and caring person and always put her son first. She had a couple of close friends, and her best friend Beth, Mia would do anything for and helped out as much as she could.

  Alex entered Mia’s hospital room, which she now shared with two other women. One had been in a similar situation as Mia, and the other was new and he wasn’t sure what she was in for. He had a surprise for Mia. He’d spoken with her doctor and he’d given Alex permission to bring in some food. Mia had been eating solids for a couple of days now and was starting to get her appetite back.

  Mia was sitting up in bed now, hooked up to only the IV. She had a cast on her left leg to mid-thigh, but the bandages on the rest of her body, except her head, were off. The hospital gown showed the bruises on her arms, and you could see the scrapes and yellow bruising on her face. She smiled as soon as she spotted him. He was late today, coming in at lunch time and not his usual nine, nine-thirty.

  “You’re here.” Mia sounded just as happy to see him as he was to see her, and that had his heart soaring. He groaned, because as he thought that he realized he sounded like the biggest pussy on the planet.

  What was this woman doing to him? Not only had he had an instant attraction to her, the more he was with her the stronger his feelings got. The more he wanted to see her, spend time with her, and just be with her. He’d never felt this way about a woman. He was almost forty, and he’d never felt even half of what he had for Mia with anyone else.

  An uneasy feeling settled over him. He hoped he wasn’t pushing Mia into something she didn’t want. He hoped she felt something for him, and not just gratitude for him helping her out. Alex was already so invested, and he didn’t want his heart broken. He didn’t want her to feel any guilt by giving him a chance. Fuck, he sounded like a pussy.

  Setting the food on the bed table, he opened the container and got the spoons and forks out, placing them in the food. Alex handed hers to her and then got his own and went to the chair beside her bed and sat, moving himself closer so they could talk.

  Waiting until she had taken a few bites, he lowered his voice so their conversation wouldn’t be overheard by the other patients. “I want you to know that if you want to be just friends, we can be. I don’t want you to feel pressured by me and feel you have to give me a chance because I’m helping you.”