Page 22

22

MICHAEL

I glanced at the cake still sitting on the counter. “ Happy Birthday, Mia!” was scrawled on it, and a big 22 candle was stuck in the middle. Since I did a thorough background check on her and knew plenty of details, like her birthday, I mentioned it to Poppy. I thought we could do something special for our amazing nanny.

When Mia left earlier this evening, she said she’d be back in a few hours, so rather than present her with the cake and gifts we got her, I decided we could wait until she got home. That was a mistake because it was past eleven, and she still wasn’t home. Was she out with the guy she went on that date with? Had they gotten serious? The possibility had me grinding my molars.

Releasing a slow hiss of breath, I told myself, for the millionth time, to get over Mia. What she did during her personal time shouldn’t concern me. Our platonic relationship was working out just fine. I returned my attention to the spreadsheet on my laptop. Not long after I got back to work, my landline rang. That was strange. No one rang that line. Getting up, I went to the phone hanging on the wall.

“Hello?”

“Hi.” A man’s voice greeted me. “Is Mia there?”

I gritted my teeth. If it was her significant other, I’d likely lose my shit because why the fuck would she give him my home number? “Who is this?”

“Jonathan Clarke. I’m Mia’s brother.”

My shoulders relaxed, and I instantly felt like an idiot for my jealousy. I felt bad for practically snarling at the man. “Oh… She isn’t here.”

The man’s deep sigh had me on alert. “Is everything alright?” I asked.

“Are you her boss…? I’m sorry, she didn’t give me your name.”

“Michael Hayes.”

There was a pause that had me raising my eyebrows.

“Wait… the Michael Hayes as in Hayes Global Equity?”

My eyebrows, which Mia liked to make fun of, arched even higher. I guess her brother was a fan of the finance sector. “Uh-huh.”

“Wow… Mia didn’t tell me that… Look, I’m sorry to bother you, but she gave me this number to call in case of emergencies. This is an emergency.”

My entire body went rigid. “Is Mia okay?”

“I sure as hell hope so. We were with our parents, and Mia was pretty upset when she left. She’s not answering my calls, so I went to her apartment. She isn’t there, and you said she isn’t at your place. It’s been hours with no call-back. She never disappears on me like this no matter what. I’m worried about her…”

Running my fingers through my hair, I told him, “If I get in touch with her, I’ll tell her to call you.”

“Thanks.”

My heart pounded as I hung up. From what I’d learned, Mia and her brother were pretty close. Something must be wrong if she wasn’t answering his calls. Plus, she said she’d be home by now, and she wasn’t. My stomach dropped into my ass as I thought the worse. It hit me that I cared a hell of a lot about her. Grabbing my cell phone, I called Lincoln.

“Hey, man,” he greeted. “Everything okay? You don’t usually call this late.”

“Are you busy?”

“Nope.”

“I need a favor.”

“Name it.”

“Can you come over for a bit? Poppy is asleep, and I need to run out. I don’t want to wake her. It’s an emergency.”

“Say no more.”

I heard shuffling as if he was already on the move. Thank god for great friends.

The tracker on the Bentley I’d given Mia access to (because it was the most child friendly of my collection) led me to a parking lot behind a popular bar. I parked beside it and peered into the dark interior. Mia wasn’t in there, so hopefully she was in the bar.

When I made my way inside, I was glad it wasn’t too crowded. The low thumping music didn’t overpower the hum of conversations. I scanned the room, my heart hammering in my chest because there was no sign of Mia yet. Finally, I spotted a familiar blonde head in the far left corner at the back of the room, and I let out a relieved breath. Her back was turned, and her head was down, so she didn’t see or hear me approach. She gasped when I slid into the seat across from her.

“Jesus fuck , Mia. You scared the shit out of me… and your brother,” I growled, but then I froze when I took in her face.

Her eyes were red and swollen, and mascara created black tracks down her cheeks. She looked utterly distraught. In that moment, I experienced a myriad of emotions. Relief that she was alive and well, confusion about why she was sitting alone in a bar crying, and murderous rage because I wanted to kill the person who’d caused her misery. The last to hit was a wave of unease because hell if I knew what to do with a woman’s tears. Sensitivity and the ability to comfort weren’t my strong suits.

“Michael… Oh, God…” She started to frantically wipe her tears with her sleeves, which smeared mascara all over the off-white material. Like an idiot, I just gawked at her until my logical self scolded me into action. I grabbed a handful of napkins from the holder in the center of the table and handed them to her.

She gazed at me with wide eyes as she dabbed at her face.

“What the hell happened, Mia? Are you alright? That’s a stupid question. Obviously, you’re not. Tell me what’s wrong.” Jesus . Since when did I panic and ramble like this?

She sniffed and then groaned. “You can’t see me like this… What are you doing here, and did you say something about my brother?”

“He called the house. He’s been looking for you.”

She hung her head. “I’m sorry he bothered you.”

“It was no bother.” I glanced around the room and then brought my attention back to her. There was an empty bottle and a glass on one side of the table. Mia followed my gaze.

“It’s just wine,” she said. “I don’t have a drinking problem or anything crazy like that. I never drink on the clock, I swear. I don’t drink and drive at all. That’s why I’m still here. After I spiraled and had a few drinks, I realized I couldn’t drive, and I just sat here… I’m responsible with your child, Michael. Always . I’d never?—”

“Mia.” My voice was firm but gentle because it seemed she was on the verge of hysteria. “Calm down.”

She pulled in a sharp breath and went quiet.

“You don’t have to tell me how responsible you are with Poppy. I know you are. You’re free to do whatever you want in your personal time.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring your car back on time.”

“There was no curfew on the car.”

“I wouldn’t have let anything happen to it. I made sure to stay on the good side of town.”

I grunted my slight amusement. “I was more worried about you than the damn car, Mia.”

She stared up at me with soulful doe eyes that made me want to fix everything for her even though I didn’t even know what was wrong.

“How did you find me?” she asked.

“After about a dozen unanswered calls, I resorted to using the tracker. Not that I have it on there because I don’t trust you. It came with the vehicle…”

She nodded. “I get it.”

“I was just so worried,” I said. “What happened?”

Mia shook her head and sighed heavily. “You don’t have to do this. My personal problems have nothing to do with you. I don’t want to waste your time.”

“Goddamn it, Mia. Tell me what happened. Did that ass you’re dating do something to you? I’ll fucking kill him…”

I stopped when I registered my feral tone.

Mia gawking at me.

“I mean…” I rubbed my nape and gave her a sheepish look. Ah hell.

Mia sat back, and her eyebrows furrowed. “What ass am I dating? I’m not dating…”

“Oh.” My gaze slid away from her. “I thought… That guy you went out with a few weeks ago…”

“I haven’t seen him since. I was just doing Amber a favor, really. That blind date totally flopped.”

“Mmm-hmm,” was all I could get out because, for one, I was embarrassed by my outburst. Two, I was ecstatic that she hadn’t been dating. Was Lincoln right? Was I in love with Mia? My heart thudded violently at the thought as I gaped at her. I’d almost had a heart attack when I thought something bad had happened to her. I threatened to kill a man I’d never even met over her…

No… No . I cared about her, that was all. Swallowing hard, I looked her in the eyes. “Mia, tell me what happened.”

“You’re my boss…”

“Right now, I’m your friend.” How could I not be? How could I not care about her when she’d done wonders for my child? I’d always thought I provided Poppy enough emotional stability and room to express herself, but since Mia came into our lives, I’d watched my little girl flourish . I owed her big time, and paying her generously wasn’t enough. If she needed someone to talk to, as much as I usually avoided the emotional stuff, I’d be that someone.

Getting up, I offered a hand. “We don’t have to talk here. Come on, let’s get you home.”

Mia stared up at me as if she wanted to ask if I knew what I said. Of course, I was aware that I implied my home was hers. It was, and I hoped it stayed that way for as long as possible for my and my daughter’s sake.

Her expression softened when she looked at my offered hand, and she accepted. The moment my fingers wrapped around hers, I knew the professional line that had been drawn was getting blurrier by the second.

I sat quietly and watched Mia as she dug into a slice of her birthday cake. After we got home, she showered and met me in the kitchen. She looked slightly less distraught, but I didn’t pressure her into talking.

“I called my brother,” she said, breaking the silence. “He was livid that I didn’t answer his calls. After I apologized for causing him worry, he was pretty forgiving.”

I nodded and continued to watch her.

“I’m sorry about all the trouble tonight. I hate that you had to get Lincoln to come over so late.

“It’s fine. He didn’t mind.”

Lincoln left as soon as we got home, and he knew everything was alright.

“ Mmmm .” Mia closed her eyes to savor a bit of cake. “Strawberry cheesecake. I love strawberries and cheesecake.”

“I know,” I murmured, fighting the urge to stare at her mouth.

Her eyes flew open. “How do you know?”

“You told me during our yogurt clash,” I reminded her, my voice laced with amusement.

Flecks of pink formed on her cheeks, and her gaze slid away from me. I wondered what was going through her mind after my admission that I remembered our date in detail.

“I can’t believe you and Poppy got me a birthday cake,” she said.

My lips twisted into a wry smile at the way she swerved away from the topic of the night we met.

“Thank you.” She sighed heavily. “I’m sorry I missed the surprise.” She glanced at me as she waved a hand over the cake. “I feel so bad. Was Poppy disappointed I didn’t come home for the party?”

“She’ll be fine. It was my fault for not mentioning it to you.”

“If you had, I would have stayed here and told Mom where to shove her so-called birthday dinner,” she grumbled.

My eyebrows shot up, and she grinned sheepishly. “Well, actually, I wouldn’t have had the guts to do that. I would have come up with a convincing excuse not to go, though.”

“So, something happened at dinner with your family?” I asked, since we were on the subject. Her shoulders hunched and that sadness from earlier shadowed her features. “You don’t have to talk about it.”

Pushing her empty plate aside, she turned to me. Those sad eyes meeting mine were like daggers to my heart. I hated seeing the typically bubbly Mia like this. “I feel so stupid. I showed up at my parents, pretending to be the daughter they wanted. I wore a suit and put my hair in a chignon for goodness’ sake.”

Her disgusted scoff almost made me smile.

“I became my mother, and that still didn’t please them. What does a girl have to do to get a little approval from her folks?”

She blew out a dramatic sigh and threw her hands up. “It sucks to be the black sheep. Do you think your aunt Neddy is up for adopting a twenty-two-year-old? I like her. She’s the mother I’ve always wanted.”

“My aunt is crazy,” I joked.

Mia snorted. “Have you met me? We’d be the perfect duo.”

I chuckled and then eyed her with affection. I had it bad for Mia, and I had already stopped denying the fact. However, I couldn’t act on it because respecting the line she’d drawn was the decent thing to do.

“Look, I know you want to please your parents, but maybe you shouldn’t pressure yourself too much. You’re young. You’ve got time to figure things out.” I probably sounded as if I was quoting something out of a self-help book, but I was starting to feel edgy in this intimate setting.

“Everyone else makes it seem as if I don’t.” She hung her head. “I’m convinced my father hates me.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t.”

She didn’t look convinced. “Every time we talk, he makes me feel so worthless. I can never do anything right in his eyes, and it’s so frustrating.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and honestly, I wanted to bolt. As much as I wanted to be the person she talked to, I was starting to think this wasn’t a good idea. I might do something stupid like kiss her again. She apparently didn’t notice my struggle because she kept going.

“After our conversations, I always end up in this dark place, and before I know it, I’ve gone through a mountain of food and bottles of wine. That’s self-destructive behavior, isn’t it? Maybe that’s what a shrink would tell me. Ugh . I’ve been doing so well. I haven’t spiraled in months, and one dinner with the old man and there I go…” She threw up a hand and sighed. “Maybe he’s right. Maybe I am worthless. I mean, I’ve made so many horrible decisions, and he’s right about?—”

I snagged her chin between my fingers. “Mia, stop. I will not allow you to put yourself down like that. You’re funny, witty, and smart, and those are the things that drew me to you before I even met you in person. You turned out to be a ray of sunshine in mine and Poppy’s lives. You’re not worthless, you’re valuable to us. You’re fucking incredible.”

I dropped my hand as soon as I realized I was touching her. “And all of that is probably inappropriate to tell my nanny…” I blew out a long, tortured breath and got up before I lost my head like I typically did around her. “I should leave you alone now…”