Page 20 of Prove Me Wrong (The Sunburnt Hearts #5)

It hurt me how little they trusted me to be a dad.

And now I guess there’s nothing left between us.

I pushed them away as soon as they shared their heart-wrenching thoughts, and I haven’t regretted it since.

Ignoring their calls and messages seemed to work, because neither of them has tried contacting me in nine months, and genuinely, it’s been so relieving for me.

It still stabs at my chest to know that they doubted me, but how was I meant to give up Jade? I couldn’t.

Running my tongue along my lip, I push my mum’s words out of my head. I have longed for someone to say those words to me. And coming from Mia, it makes my chest melt.

“Thank you, Grey,” I murmur gently, looking across at her.

Gaze meeting mine, I stare into her silvered irises, heavy with intrigue and understanding. Every unanswered question glistens in her eyes, but she never pushes me. Just like how I never push her.

It’s what I learnt in therapy after Jade was born. To never push people who aren’t ready to speak. And I know there’s something deep within Mia that she’s hiding behind her steel walls that I’m hoping she’ll share with me one day. But right now isn’t that day, and I’m okay with that.

The corners of her lips curl before she looks back to the screen, but I catch another glimpse of her blushing cheeks that makes my insides stir.

I have held off on girls since Em and never thought twice about catching feelings for them.

But Mia isn’t after me for money or my name.

She loves Jade in the same way Tatum and Nathan do, and that’s why I wanted her to look after my daughter.

Mia was truly offering to help me out of the goodness of her heart, and not to score a date with me.

That’s when I realised that I wanted to know everything about her. That I could trust her.

When the race is only halfway finished, Mia hums quietly to herself before standing and wandering over to the bookshelf I have set up in the corner of the room.

It’s stained black, with a few plants filling spaces, displaying my collection of novels.

Some are torn and frayed, whereas others I haven’t cracked open.

Her hands skim over the fabric spines agonisingly slow as she reads through every title, face tight with concentration as she moves to the second shelf.

Fingertips stopping on my copy of Hamlet—which is almost falling apart, since I have read it so many times—she pulls it off the shelf, assessing the frayed, cracked edges. “A Shakespeare fan?”

My eyes narrow as I stand and walk towards her, a smirk dancing on my curious lips. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” My voice comes out lower than anticipated, but it brings her eyes back up to mine.

Her throat moves as she blinks away, placing the book back in its spot and staring at my shelves. “It’s not a bad thing that you are well read. It means that there’s more to you than just car racing and lemon squares.”

I laugh and see her cracking a grin. Turning back to the bookshelves, Mia sighs softly before grabbing a bunch of books at once, placing them on the floor beside her socked feet.

Frowning down at her, I quickly ask what she’s doing, since I’ve never had anyone try to steal all my books.

“I’m fixing them for you,” she murmurs and continues clearing the shelves as I hover behind her in shock .

I look back at Jade, who is mesmerised by her drawing. “Fixing them?”

Mia peers at me over her shoulder, dipping her chin, a ghost of a smirk appearing. “You’ll see when I am finished. It’ll look so much better.”

Eyebrows rising to my hairline, I chuckle before falling back onto the couch. “You’re lucky I’m not a neat freak and need things in a particular order, Grey.”

She huffs out a breath. “Please, I have seen your pantry. There’s no order in there.”

I gasp, feigning offence, and stormy eyes roll in my direction.

I feel the tingling in my fingers again, like I’ve slept on them and they have pins and needles, but only when I’m in her presence.

After a few minutes of turning books, moving plants, and blowing dust off some ancient copies, Mia stands back and smiles before glancing my way. “What do you think?”

Standing again, I move closer to see that she’s moved my most loved books to the top of the shelves. The rest is filled with matching colours, authors group, and it’s even categorised.

“Now that you mention it, my bookshelves do look a lot better.” I grin down at her.

Mia giggles, and my eyes shut as I try to file that noise away in the back of my mind for later. I am definitely going to want to hear it a hundred more times.

Turning to peer up at me, I feel the vibrations ribboning from her body, mingling with my own energy, as if a string is trying to tie us together. Her smile deepens, pale pink lips stretching. My gaze drops to study them when Mia continues. “I used to work in a bookstore in Sydney. ”

“Ah, so that’s how you became so good at this?” A golden brow arches.

She just grins and nods her head. “I just think they should be displayed properly. If you cherish them, then they deserve to look nice.”

I feel my dimples appearing as I think about her words of cherishing things. There are a few things that I truly cherish in this world, and I guard all of them with care. And Mia has become one of those things. I’d shield her from everyone if she let me, and I really hope that she will one day.

A loud ringing cuts through the room, pulling my attention from her monotonous eyes to her phone on the coffee table.

I can make out the word MUM on the screen when Mia moves past me, rushing over to decline the call.

Shoving it into her shorts pocket, I watch as her shoulders slump a little, my stomach knotting in response.

Questions flood my brain as to why she’s ignoring her mum. Is it too awkward for them to speak in front of me? Does she not talk with her parents either?

Flared grey-blue irises shift to mine before Mia shoves hair behind her ear, clearly feeling a little nervous now.

Throat working, panic flaring her delicate features, I don’t push her with questions, even though they’re piling on the end of my tongue like a stack of letters.

The last thing I want to do is freak her out.

She’s only just getting comfortable enough to joke with me.

“Are you okay?” I ask warily.

Nodding quickly, she wipes at her nose before grabbing her keys off the coffee table. “Yeah, but I should probably go. Gran might need my help with something,” Mia blurts out. She pecks Jade’s blonde curls before walking towards the door.

My heart sinks a little inside my rib cage. “Grey?”

Looking my way, her hand rests on the doorknob, lips pursed tightly and eyebrows pinched together tightly. “I’m sorry,” she murmurs.

I stop in the doorway, not wanting to crowd her.

I’ve seen the way she rubs her skin when she’s nervous.

The hitches in her breath when I’m close to her.

I went to therapy to get my anxiety under control after Em, and to see Mia struggling with it stings my chest. I want to know what it is that makes her so afraid and cautious, but I’m going to have to wait for her to tell me when she’s ready.

“Thank you for letting me stay and watch. I really enjoyed it,” Mia whispers before pulling open the door. “I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

She leaves before I can mutter anything else.