Page 36 of Semi Sweet (Working For Love #1)

“I ’m afraid I can’t be your therapist. It would be a conflict of interest,” Mrs. Mizuno said. “That being said, I can make a recommendation or two.”

I nodded. Her home office was inviting with a variety of ferns and house plants.

Lavender essential oils from the diffuser made me feel at ease.

Sean’s mother sat in a brown leather armchair as she sipped from a teacup, one leg crossed over the other.

I sat on the matching chaise lounge across from her, looking through a small photo album of Sean’s baby pictures.

It took the edge off almost as much as the aromatherapy.

“I appreciate any insights you can give me,” I finally replied.

It was probably strange for her to be involved in her son’s affairs, even if this was probably the most indirect way possible.

“I don’t necessarily think you need to meet with someone regularly. From the sound of things, you just need some time to sort yourself out now that you have nothing holding you back.”

I’d filled her in on the gist of things, mostly the reasons why I’d stayed with Evan as long as I had. I stared at Sean’s little face as I told my story. It gave me something to focus on so I wouldn’t get upset.

“That’s good news,” I said.

“That being said, I think there are a few outstanding things preventing you from being able to completely heal,” Mrs. Mizuno continued.

I looked up from a photo where a young Sean was playing in a toy kitchen.

“You do?” Mrs. Mizuno nodded. “Some new scenery and a new job prospect were the first steps. I think reaching out to your family needs to be the next one. Whether they want to repair the relationship or not, you will not fully be able to move on without knowing once and for all.”

The very thought made me nervous, but half the reason I’d suffered as long as I had was because I pushed my feelings down and tried to make the best of things. I might be living a very different life if I had asked for help sooner.

“I know.” I heaved a sigh. “Sean has been telling me the same thing for weeks.”

Mrs. Mizuno smiled and took a sip of her tea.

“You can take this next step with a grain of salt because it could be construed as a mother talking and not professional. You can figure out who you are, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be alone.

” Her dark eyes held my gaze for several seconds, sharing the true meaning of her words.

“I'm worried it's too soon,” I tried to reason.

“No one can make that call but you,” she replied. “But you’ll never know if you don’t make a decision.”

Once again, I couldn’t help but agree. I’d been giving into the feeling little by little. I’d hold his hand, we would kiss. Maybe it was time to stop holding back and let the walls crumble down completely. I’d never loved anyone besides Evan, maybe it was finally time.

“Thanks. You’ve actually helped me a lot.”

“Let’s see how you are doing in a few weeks. If you are still struggling with things, I can recommend a few of my colleagues.” Sean’s mother rose from her chair with her now empty teacup, guiding me out of the office and towards the kitchen. “Sean and Akira are making dinner.”

The smell of something delicious wafted down the hallway and I could hear Sean and his father’s voices speaking animatedly in the distance.

“Having you back in Aspen would be nice,” his father said. “Your mother will sleep better at night.”

“I wasn’t living under a highway overpass in Denver,” Sean countered.

“Bear will be happy, too.”

“I think you guys love my dog more than you love me.”

“Not true,” Mr. Mizuno said, almost sounding offended.

Both men looked up as Mrs. Mizuno and I entered the room. Sean raised his eyebrows at me as if to gauge how my meeting with his mother had gone. I smirked at him. I’d most likely share everything with him later. We had a lot to talk about.

“We’ve got steak marinating,” Sean explained. “I was thinking asparagus and some kind of potato for dinner?”

“You’re the chef,” I replied.

“This isn’t exactly my wheelhouse.”

Sean’s mother was setting the table and Mr. Mizuno had begun to prep the side dishes.

I felt idle as I watched them all work in unison.

Had they always been this organized or was it just for my benefit?

Something in my gut told me that instead of just standing there, it was time to take care of one of those outstanding things I’d discussed with Mrs. Mizuno.

I cleared my throat and announced, “I’ll be joining you at dinner, but I think I have something to take care of first.”

Sean’s mother looked hopeful while her son quickly closed the space between us. “If you need me, my parents are perfectly capable of finishing this up.”

I put a hand on his arm. “You visit with your parents.” I attempted to sound confident, but I could already feel my stomach filling with butterflies. “Sounds like you have things to sort out yourself.”

Sean nodded and I let him go, excusing myself from the kitchen and making my way into the guest room.

I shut the door behind me and sat on the bed with my phone, staring at the number for several seconds before I finally had the nerve to dial it.

Each ring made my heart palpitate. Each time I thought it connected, I felt my palms get sweaty.

After the fourth time, it clicked to voicemail and I was determined to not chicken out.

“You have reached the Hale family. No one is available to take your call, but if you leave your name, number, and a short message we will return your call as soon as possible.”

The beep came far too quickly. I panicked as I tried to figure out what to say. Finally, I decided to just go with whatever I could get out.

“Hi, it’s Olivia. I know, it’s been awhile…

.” I’d barely said anything and I could already feel my throat getting tight and my eyes welling up with tears.

“I left on really bad terms five years ago. I was wrong. I understand if you are all still upset with me, but I needed to reach out and let you know that things are different now. I wanted to let you know that I miss you and I want to see you again if you want to see me. I have a new number now, if you want to call me back, but you probably have caller ID, so you can see that yourself.”

I was rambling. I shook my head to get back on track. “I guess if you don’t call back, I’ll take it you are still upset with me, and that's okay, too. Just wanted to reach out. Bye.”

I ended the call and flopped back on the bed. I supposed it was progress. I’d actually left a message instead of just hanging up. I’d been hoping for more of a resolution, but I tried to tell myself this was still uncharted territory.

My heart leapt to my throat when my phone began to ring.

I shot up to see my family’s number calling me back.

Had they listened to my voicemail? Were they about to cuss me out for trying to communicate?

I knew it was foolish to let the opportunity slide, so I fumbled with the phone, pressed accept, and held it to my ear.

“Hello?”

There was a beat of silence before a voice trembled on the other end of the line. “Livy?”

The voice was one I’d thought of often but hadn’t heard in years. I bit my lip before replying, “Mom?”

“Oh my God, Livy!” she wailed and I found myself weeping along with her. “Are you alright? What’s going on? Where’s Evan?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” I said as confidently as I could. Tears streamed down my face. “It’s a long story, but he’s gone, and I’m so sorry for not trusting you and Dad.”

“Oh, honey, we’re sorry, too. This went on for too long. You know your father, he wanted to teach you to be resourceful and independent. Are you safe?”

“Yeah. I’m not even in Denver anymore. I’m staying with a friend and their family in Aspen.” I figured there was no reason to tell her about Sean yet, especially when I wasn’t exactly sure how to describe my relationship with him at the moment.

“I’m happy to hear that. Your sisters and I think about you every day.”

I let out an anxious breath as I prepared for what I was going to say next. “Does Dad ever say anything about me?”

This time when she paused it felt like an eternity. I almost couldn’t stand to know what the answer was.

“Actually, he’s right here and he’d like to talk to you.”

I swallowed hard, telling myself I couldn’t move forward without dealing with the past.

“Sure,” I whispered. “Put him on.”

***

A while later, I headed out of the room and heard the sounds of the Mizunos eating dinner without me.

I was glad they hadn’t waited. My phone call had taken longer than I’d been expecting.

All three stopped what they were doing when they saw me enter the room tentatively.

I’d tried to take a few minutes to collect myself, but I knew Sean probably saw the red splotches on my face.

“Sorry,” I murmured as I sat down at the spot beside him.

They’d made me a plate–a perfectly cooked steak on a bed of mashed potatoes and garlic crusted asparagus on the side. Maybe savory meals weren’t his wheelhouse, but it was still light years better than anything I could make.

Sean immediately reached for my hand, rubbing his thumb across the top of it, but it was his mother who spoke first. “Was your phone call enlightening?” Her eyes were hopeful.

I nodded. “I got through to my parents.”

“Oh man,” Sean said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. My family is going to visit me soon.”

His eyes went wide. “Including your father?”

I was still in disbelief as I confirmed, “Including my father.”

I fought the urge to burst into tears of joy. Instead, I dove into my dinner, not realizing how hungry I was.

“An excellent development,” Mrs. Mizuno declared. “Sean-kun, it sounds like you have things to share, as well.”

He nodded, still running his thumb over the top of my hand. “You pretty much knew this already. I’m going to put an offer on the storefront. We did the math and I should be able to afford the rent to own payments. My parents are going to help me with the security deposit.”

“I consider it an investment,” Mr. Mizuno said. “If I recall, I think I said that when I signed him up for cooking classes when he was a boy.”

“That’s fantastic!” The thought that Sean would be in Aspen with me was comforting. “Do you think you’ll call it Mizuno’s? Or Sergei’s?”

“Actually,” Sean said looking up from my hand and into my eyes. “I was playing with the idea of calling it Semi Sweet . I kept thinking of the tagline to your social media account. It’s catchy as hell.”

A sweet break from my otherwise bitter life.

It had gotten sweeter as of late.

***

After coffee and helping clean up, Sean’s parents said their goodnights since they had to work in the morning and left Sean and I to ourselves in the living room. I leaned against him with my feet stretched out on the couch.

“I’ll have to go back to Denver for at least thirty days. It’s in my contract,” he explained. “Maybe longer if subletting gets complicated.”

“Are you serious about getting back into your old place?”

“Absolutely. I love my parents, but they are so regimented in their routine that my first task was going to help you find a place after this weekend was over. You’d be going to bed now and be trapped in your room. I can’t live like that.” Sean chuckled. “You willing to have a roommate again?”

“You trust me to get your bakery ready while you finish up in Denver?”

Sean sounded surprised. “You would do that for me?”

I nodded. “I mean, it’s going to be pretty lonely around here. Might be good to have something to do.”

My heart raced when he put his arms around my waist–a silent acknowledgement of his gratitude. “Would you watch Bear for me?”

Once more, I nodded. “I’d be honored.”

Sean explained we would visit Dan in the morning, after he dropped off his application for the business with the realtor. We only had a couple of days until Sean had to drive back to Denver and I had to start working at the Rocky Mountain Press again.

“Let’s go on a hike tomorrow,” he suggested. “I know a place not far from the apartment. Bear will be grateful.”

“I’d like that.

“Now that we’re alone, I hope my mother didn’t make you uncomfortable. She’s got a way of analyzing a situation that can be a bit blunt sometimes.”

I smiled, looking towards the giant window that showed nothing but darkness. “She gave me the kick I needed. There’s only one thing left to do before I can finally start over.”

“And what’s that?” Sean asked.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”