Mia gripped his hair and gave it a tug, and when he lifted his head she kissed him softly. “I really don’t want to move, but I have to.”
“I know.” He kissed her again, then levered himself off her and flopped over onto his back beside her. “You’ve got to start wearing panties, Mia. The thought of you walking around without them drives me crazy.”
She rolled off the bed to her feet, tugged the gown back into place while her eyes raked down his body from his face to his feet. “Says the man who’s only wearing one sock.”
He looked down and laughed. “You wanted me to hurry.”
She bent to kiss him and smoothed his hair back from his forehead. “I love that you have so much energy in the mornings, and in the afternoons, and in the evenings. I’d like nothing more than to forget about this meeting and spend the day in bed with you, but I have to go.”
“Hey, you need to do what you need to do. No worries. I’m going to check on Mama and I thought I might visit your grandma too, if she’s home.”
“She’ll love that. I’ll slip up here for lunch if you’re back by then. Text me.”
She went into the closet to get her clothes. Gage put on his boxer briefs and stretched, then leaned against the doorframe and watched her. The closet was a great deal like the aisles of the store. Everything organized to the nth degree. Even her shoes were aligned on one tall, narrow shelf.
He noticed the edge of what looked like a door behind a section of suits when she reached for one.
“Is that a door back there, Mia?”
“Yes, that’s my escape hatch. It was mandatory that I have a secondary exit from the apartment in case of an emergency. If there’s a fire, the elevator shuts off. So this leads to the storage area on the first floor close to a back exit. There’s another one in my office, in the storage closet in the bathroom.”
“It’s locked isn’t it?”
“Yes, and it’s opened with the same key as my front door.”
She grabbed a suit and paused beside him to rake back his hair. “I’ll be out in ten minutes.”
She would, too. She was the only woman he knew who could take a shower and dress in ten minutes. Another ten for her makeup and hair and she was out the door.
He got dressed, grabbed her coffee cup, went into the kitchen, and washed his hands. While he made her a plate of eggs and toast, he decided being a househusband for a month on leave wasn’t a bad gig at all. If the rest of his stay could continue just like this, maybe he’d convince her to come out to California and live with him. There was no reason why she couldn’t start a branch of Promises there.
*
Mia hung her clothes on the back of the bathroom door and adjusted the water before bundling up her hair to keep it from getting wet, since it took hours to dry.
When she stepped into the shower and the water hit her skin, she tingled all over with the renewed sensuality and wished Gage was here with her.
He’d been seducing her from the moment he moved into the apartment. And she let him. It was almost embarrassing how much she enjoyed it. Sex had never been that important to her before, but now she couldn’t get enough.
Was this the honeymoon phase of an affair? And how long would it last?
What was she supposed to do when he was gone? Go out and find someone else? She tried that for almost three years after he left, and it didn’t work.
There was just no replacing him.
And what if this was all he ever wanted?
They avoided discussing the future because he had his career and she had hers. He worked nearly three years to become a SEAL and had a team who depended on him. She worked four to earn her degree and another two to build her business.
So how were they supposed to be together?
One of them had to be willing to sacrifice and relocate. But there were no Navy SEALs in Louisiana. Only California and Virginia. California was eighteen hundred miles away, and Virginia a thousand. There was no halfway point close enough.
She got out of the shower and dried off. Why was she worrying about this? He might not even be thinking along these lines. This might just be a fling and he could walk away without a backward glance. He already said he wanted them both to walk away feeling better about how things ended before.
But he hadn’t said anything about what would happen afterward, in the here and now.
She rushed to brush her teeth, put on her makeup, and do her hair.
She forced a smile as she left the bedroom and joined him in the kitchen.
He looked up at her from the stove.
The vision was on her before she could brace herself. The walls around her were aflame, and smoke, thick and hot, rolled up from the floor. She choked and coughed as she gripped Gage’s arm. Gage dragged his shirt off and wrapped it around her face.
The fire spiraled upward in a column that cut them off from the stairway.
“Mia.” Gage’s hands on her shoulders brought her back to the present.
She gripped his shirt and rested against him.
“What is it?” His hands molded her against him.
“There’s going to be a fire.”
“Here?”
“I don’t know. There was so much smoke I couldn’t see. It was like the air was drawing the fire upward in a spiral.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I think so.” She felt a little nauseous. And her eyes were oversensitive to the light in the room.
“Will you shut the blinds?”
“Sure.” He urged her toward one of the stools at the island and waited until she was seated. He crossed the room to the two large windows in the living room and closed the blinds.
He returned to her, looking concerned.
“I’m okay. It just leaves me a little dizzy.”
“Did you get a sense of where you were?”
“No. Nothing seemed familiar. The fire was too intense and the smoke…we couldn’t see or breathe.”
“We?”
“Yes, you were with me.”
That didn’t seem to bother him at all. He never missed a beat when he said, “Later, when you have time, sit down and write down everything you saw. So we can keep an eye out for something similar.”
She didn’t want to think about it anymore. She needed to focus on the meeting. “I think I need one of those beignets for fuel to keep me going until I get back.”
He searched her face. “Okay.”
*
He wanted to stay with her, but Mia insisted he drop her off at the bank, and Jessica was going to pick her up on her way to the gallery. But Gage worried about leaving her to face Clarkson alone.
By the time he whipped the car into the rehab center parking lot he’d resigned himself to the fact that he couldn’t be two places at once, and he wasn’t going to change Mia’s independent streak…and really had no desire to.
The brick structure stretched long and lean in front of him, and he looked forward to seeing how Mama had settled in. The hospital sent her here to do some physical therapy to build up her strength before going home. He wondered if she might not be a little afraid of returning to the house, so, to put her mind at ease, he came armed with photos of the cameras and lights he installed.
When he got out of the car, a stiff breeze rustled the trees and his hair fell across his forehead. He raked his fingers through it, shoving it back in place. He needed a professional haircut, something he’d forgotten to do. He wasn’t in Africa anymore. Thank you, Jesus. He flinched away from the memory.
His phone rang and he eyed the number. It was a New Orleans exchange. Not many people knew he was back, and even fewer had his number. He decided to answer it.
“Hey, Gage. It’s Decker. Can we meet sometime today?”
“Sure. When’s a good time?”
“I’m at work but it’s slow. If you could run by now, it would be good.”
“I can’t right now, I’m at the rehab center. But I can get there in an hour. Text me
the address and I’ll swing by after I go in and see Mama.”
“Good enough.” Decker hung up and Gage heard the ding of a text arriving. He glanced at the address and recognized the general location. He could use the GPS on his phone to find it.
Mama was settled into a semiprivate room, and he hoped having company would help her ease into the situation. He checked in at a desk in the lobby, and, following the directions the receptionist gave him, wandered down a long, ultra-modern hallway to a wing of rooms. He paused at the fourth room on the left.
Mama Bet was sitting up slightly, her breakfast tray pulled over the bed. She still looked battered, but someone had done her hair into the wavy bob she always wore, and she looked more like herself. Also, she was wearing one of her own gowns. When she saw him she smiled, though the movement seemed careful. Apparently her face still hurt.
The room was painted pale yellow and had long sofas on either side, one per patient. Both were upholstered in a blue-green fabric. And there were two chairs covered with a flower print. Though the floors were tiled like the hallways, a large area rug the color of oatmeal padded the floor.
“You can move this table thing away. I’m done with breakfast,” she said.
Gage pushed the table to the side and bent to kiss her. He pulled one of the chairs close to the bed and leaned forward to take her hand. “How are you doing this morning?”
“I want to go home.”
“I understand. But they won’t send you home until you’re strong enough to stand and walk. And you don’t really want me or Roman carrying you to the bathroom, do you?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know I don’t. They won’t let me walk just yet because I’ve been a little dizzy. They said if I fall and hit my face I might do more damage.”
He eyed the dark area that covered the better part of one side of her face under her eye. Her cheekbone had been fractured during the attack and had been set during her jaw surgery. “You’re healing, Mama. Just give it a few more days and you’ll be home.”
She stuck out her bottom lip in a momentary pout. Though she wasn’t moving much, she seemed to have regained that sharp gleam in her eye. “How are things going with Mia?”
“I think she’s beginning to forgive me for leaving.” But not completely. “She’s more cautious now than she was six years ago.” Plus, he was finding that sex didn’t necessarily have the emotional impact he was hoping it would. But he was focused on doing other things to show her how much he cared. Making her breakfast, giving her support in every way he could.
“If I had a mother like hers, I’d have gotten married when I was sixteen instead of eighteen, just to get away from her.” Mama drew a deep breath, flinched, resting a hand against her ribs. “She’s built walls around herself. That’s what you do when your trust has been broken too many times.”
She looked down at her hands. “After you left, Camille tried to marry her off to any rich man’s son she could find. She tried to sabotage her college enrollment. And canceled the scholarship she earned. Her grandmother stepped in and called her father. He withdrew the money from the account he set up for Mia to make certain Camille couldn’t access it and opened a new account for Mia with twice what he gave Mason. And she still had money left after she was through. She used some of it for the legal stuff she had to file to start her business, and for some updates that had to be done to the building.”
“She thinks her grandmother paid for her college. Why wouldn’t her father want her to know he had a hand in that?”
“I don’t know. I suppose he must believe Camille has turned both Mia and Mason against him and she might not be willing to accept anything from him.”
Anything the man did would be more than the bitch from hell of a mother had ever done for Mia. “Why would a mother work against her own daughter’s success?”
“Punish the child and some of it is bound to bounce back to the ex-husband. Mason is his mother’s son, but Mia has never bought into what her mother’s selling. She may be enough like her father that Camille resents her. Camille wants to be the most important thing in everyone’s life.”
Gage shook his head. Decker was like that as well. “I’m going to meet up with Decker after I leave here.”
A frown creased Mama’s brow, “Be careful, Gage. I wish I could say Decker has changed, but he hasn’t. He may be off the drugs, but it hasn’t improved his attitude. He still believes we owe him everything just because he’s family. And you can’t trust him any more than Mia can trust her mother. He’s already cost you something dear.” She looked close to tears, and he gave her hand a squeeze.
She raised her chin and fluffed her bangs with her fingers. “Mia needs to break ties with everyone except Mamie, sell the business she’s built, and move away. That’s the only way she’ll be free of Camille and her influence. And Mason will never leave. Camille provides him with too much power.”
Gage understood that. Mason was Camille’s lapdog. “Mason got out on bail earlier in the week, and they’ve set a date for his hearing on the drug offense.”
“I just can’t see him buying drugs and keeping them in his car,” Mama said. “But when you think you’re above the law…”
He still had trouble believing Mia had planted the drugs in Mason’s car, even though he was there. But whatever Mason got, it wouldn’t come close to giving either of them justice.
They fell silent for a few moments. She closed her eyes. He had begun to think she might fall asleep, but she suddenly rallied. “Mason came sniffing around after you were gone, wanting to know where you were and what you were doing. I told him to take a flying leap off the Crescent City Bridge. I worried he was going to try and cause you more trouble, so I told Roman not to say anything about you to anyone. Especially not to Decker.”
They both knew Decker could be bought for a little money or a hit of cocaine, his drug of choice.
“You didn’t tell Mia anything either.”
“No. I was afraid she’d slip and say something. And she was already grieving. She looked like a walking ghost before she went to Baton Rouge.”
He flinched mentally from the description.
“She stayed in Baton Rouge and worked there to avoid coming home between semesters. Mamie would go up to see her, but Camille never made the trip. You’d think a mother would miss her daughter enough to visit.”
Mama took another brief moment to rest.
“When Mia finally came home, she moved back in with Mamie until her apartment was ready. Mamie has been a good grandmother to her and has tried to make up for Camille’s shortcomings. It took them eight months to remodel the building, and I don’t think Mia saw Camille the entire time.”
“Why would Mia go to dinner at her mother’s house if she cut ties that long ago?”
“What’s that old saying? …you keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. She at least knows what Camille and Mason are up to if she sits in on some of their business powwows.”
Jesus!
Mama looked a little worn, and her voice was getting weak. “You need to rest, Mama. Roman will be here after work, but if you need anything before then, call me.”
“I’m just a little sleepy.”
He brushed her hair back and bent to kiss her forehead. “Rest. I’m going to get a haircut. You might not recognize me the next time you see me.”
“I’d recognize you in the dark. You’re one of my boys.”
Emotion tightened his throat. “I love you.”
She smiled, but was already drifting off.
When he reached Mia’s car, he texted Decker that he was on his way, then keyed in the location and used his phone as a GPS.
CHAPTER 17
‡
Mia shook President Clarkson’s hand, then took a seat across the desk from him. He had a deep chest and a round belly, with gray hair following the edges of his hairline.
“Your mother called me yesterday. I told her I can’t discuss anything with
her since her name isn’t on any of your paperwork, but I did reassure her that your loan is secure with us.”
“I appreciate your discretion. I know how pushy my mother can be. I found Mr. Abney just as pushy. He tried to use his place on the board as leverage to gain access to some stock, and if he’s willing to do that with me, he might have already tried it with others.”
“I spoke with Mr. Abney. In fact he said you would probably call me and threaten action against the bank.”
“Only if you allow him to interfere with our business together, Mr. Clarkson.”
“I don’t suppose your relationship with Mr. Abney had anything to do with it?”
Mia stared at him. “I have no relationship with Mr. Abney. My mother does. A business relationship. I’ve met him exactly twice at dinners she’s given.”
Clarkson raised a brow, his expression showing some doubt. “That was not what I was led to believe.”
And of course he was going to believe Abney. They were both members of the board and the good ol’ boys club. “Will Abney is very good at leading people wherever he wants them to go. Or at least he thinks he is. And I believe he’s very good at covering things up as well. Like getting Mr. Oliver to tell him the particulars of my loan. What did you do to Mr. Oliver for talking out of turn?”
“Oliver has been reprimanded and suspended for two weeks.”
Two weeks for sharing her confidential banking information. Her anger surged, but she beat it back. She reached into her bag and pulled out a thick folder with the research Ming emailed to her about Abney. She’d spent some time in preparation for her meeting with Clarkson, printing out every page.
Mia handed the files to Clarkson.
“What is this?”
“Research into Mr. Abney’s past practices.”
“I don’t see how that will prove or disprove your relationship with him.”
“Open the files, Mr. Clarkson. I’ll wait until you’ve read what’s in the file.”
“I don’t put much credence in gossip, Ms. Blanchard.”
“Not gossip, Mr. Clarkson, court cases. Or aren’t you interested in protecting your bank from litigation?”
Hot SEAL, Midnight Magic (SEALs In Paradise) Page 15
