Page 31

31

MIA

We stepped off the elevator, and the silence between us was unbearable. The tension between Michael and me almost suffocated me in the car. I wasn’t sure if he had stayed quiet because Poppy was asleep or because he simply didn’t want to talk to me. I didn’t mind the latter because I certainly wasn’t in a chatting mood. I was still pissed at him for his behavior earlier. I was hurt, too. I couldn’t get his words out of my head.

“I didn’t bring you here to flirt with my friends.”

It wasn’t the words per se, but the way he’d said them. It was like he was reminding me that I didn’t belong. That I was just the nanny and not part of his world. Deep down, it was what I’d been fearing all along. What was a man like him doing with a girl like me? As my parents tended to emphasize, I just wasn’t good enough… for anything.

By the time we reached our adjoined suite doors, I wanted to cry again. Eyes on the floor, I willed my tears back and hurried ahead to my door. However, Michael picked up his pace and stepped in front of me to block my escape. I looked up at him with a frown.

He held a sleeping Poppy in one arm and pointed at his door with his free hand. My eyes narrowed to slits at his unspoken order. “No, thanks,” I said primly.

His jaw tightened as he turned to unlock his door. “Get inside, Mia. We’re going to talk.”

“How about you go ahead and get Poppy into bed? I’m going to mine.” He was my boss, but how dare he think he could give me orders like that?

“Mia…”

Ignoring the warning in his voice, I sidestepped him. However, I didn’t make it to my door. Before I even realized that Michael moved, my feet left the floor. My jaw dropped as I registered that he’d picked me up to carry me into his suite as if I were a bag of groceries.

“Michael!” I whisper-shouted because I didn’t want to wake Poppy. “Put me down.” The more I wiggled, the tighter he held on. As outraged as I was, I acknowledge how attractive it was that he was to be able to securely hold his sleeping child while carrying an adult. When he put me on my feet, I huffed my indignation, all the while trying to ignore how strong and incredibly hot he was.

“This is pretty much kidnapping, you know that, right?”

He gave me his signature scowl. The one that scared others but was strangely attractive to me. “Don’t be so dramatic. Have a seat while I get Poppy to bed.”

I glowered at him. “No. I’m going to my room. You can’t force me to?—”

“Mia. Sit. Down.” His voice was low and authoritative, with that steely edge that always sent an involuntary shiver down my spine… in an erotic sort of way. It made me want to obey, but I wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

His gaze bore into mine, and the tension between us thickened. As we engaged in a silent battle of wills, my resolve weakened because I realized that I was more turned on than angry about his demanding attitude.

“Mia…” His low, stern tone resonated with warning. “Sit down . We’re going to talk.”

With a huff of frustration and arousal, I plopped down on my ass as he told me to because, damn it, Michael giving orders in that tone was the hottest thing ever. Or perhaps it was the fact that I never felt threatened in the least even when he was authoritative. Safe . I always knew I was safe with him… and I loved him.

When he gave me a satisfied look and sauntered away, I threw my purse down beside me and glared at the pretty and expensive accessory. My entire outfit cost a fortune. My wealthy boss had surprised me with the ensemble this morning. I’d walked into my suit after going out to breakfast with Poppy and found gift boxes boasting the names of brands I’d never be able to afford. The other night when I had told Michael I might decline Olivia’s invitation to her wedding because I didn’t have anything to wear, I’d never expected he’d buy me things.

At first, I’d been delighted because I’d never worn a Dior dress in my life. I fiddled with the jewelry draping my neck. I wouldn’t even have dreamt of wearing this many diamonds either. However, as I’d stared at the items Michael had delivered to my room, my heart sank. What if he went out of his way to buy things because he didn’t want me to embarrass him? He simply wanted to make sure I fit in with all his rich friends. I’d been feeling out of place in his world all week and then he made that comment at the reception…

Heaving a sigh, I got up and started to pace. As I made my way toward the large windows, I told myself for the millionth time how stupid I was to have fallen for a man who would never see me as more than his daughter’s babysitter… who he sometimes slept with. As I pressed my forehead to the cool glass, I sighed. My mission to find Mr. Right had failed epically. I wasn’t right for him .

“Mia.”

I jumped and whirled around to face Michael. He stood watching me with his hands in his pockets. He’d take off his tuxedo jacket and his bow tie. With the top buttons of his shirt undone and his hair disheveled as if he’d raked his fingers through it several times before coming back in here, he looked scrumptious. However, I needed to stop checking him out like that because he was probably about to lecture me for supposedly flirting with his friends , which was ridiculous. He was likely going to redraw that employee-employer line too, so… maybe no more hot sex with my boss.

He watched me as warily as I watched him. It was confusing because he wasn’t giving off the energy of someone who was about to dish out admonishment.

“I’m sorry about the alleged kidnapping,” he began. There was a note of amusement in his voice, and I laughed.

“I can admit when I’m being melodramatic.”

He took a step toward me. “I’m also sorry about the way I behaved at the reception.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “I wasn’t flirting with Spencer.”

“I know. I figured he was the one doing all the flirting.”

True. However, I couldn’t tell Spencer I wasn’t interested. I certainly couldn’t tell him I was already in love with his friend because our casual affair was supposed to be a secret.

He hung his head. “I let my jealousy get the best of me.”

I stared at him, completely thrown off by his admission. Michael Hayes—calm, composed, always-in-control—was jealous? It didn’t compute. He was the one who’d insisted we keep things casual.

“Oh…” My hands dropped to my sides. “I thought you were upset because…”

He tilted his head. “Because what?”

My face practically caught fire, and my eyes slid away from him.

“You thought what?” he insisted, taking another step closer.

“I assumed you were angry because I’m not…” How did I explain my insecurities about our differences without sounding like a fool?

Michael’s eyes narrowed on me. The more confused he seemed, the more embarrassed I got. “Mia, you’re going to tell me what the hell is wrong right now.”

I rolled my eyes at his command. He just couldn’t help being bossy.

“You’ve been acting off,” he added. “I need to know if I’ve done something wrong, so I can fix it.”

“You haven’t done anything.”

He sighed. “Then what’s been up with you? We were fine until we got to Boston.”

My eyes lowered to the floor. I was reluctant to share my true feelings in fear that he’d think I was being childish. However, I had to come clean. My eyes met his, and my shoulders slumped in defeat.

“It’s just... I don’t fit in here, Michael. This world you live in—it’s not mine. I’m a nanny. I’m not like your friends or the women you’re used to being around. I don’t have a gazillion degrees or money. I don’t fit you .” That realization hit me hard when we got here.

For a moment, he just stared at me. “Mia…” His tone was disbelieving. He shook his head. “I don’t understand why you’d feel that way.”

I threw my hands up. “Come on, Michael. Isn’t that why you bought me all of this?”

His gaze followed as I swept a hand over the gorgeous soft pink creation of a dress and the insanely expensive shoes and jewelry. “You didn’t want me to embarrass you. This is how you all look every day!” Seriously, the women in his circle were freaking fabulous twenty-four-seven, it seemed. “I can’t afford any of this… I’m not sophisticated and… and… I don’t have any direction in life…” The moment those last words spilled from my lips, I wanted to kick myself. I hated that I’d allowed my parents’ opinion of me to affect me like this.

Michael gawked at me, and he wasn’t really a gawker. “I brought you the dress and everything else because I wanted to do something nice for you, Mia. I…” He cleared his throat and combed his fingers through his hair.

My eyes narrowed to slits. Was that a slight hint of color I saw in his cheeks or were my eyes playing tricks on me?

“I had hoped to impress you,” he murmured. “When I invited you to come with us, you were supposed to be my date for the wedding.”

My lips parted, but I wasn’t sure how to respond, except with a lame, “Oh…”

“When you jumped to the conclusion that I wanted you to come along to babysit, I didn’t correct you. I should have.”

“Why didn’t you?”

His eyes flicked to mine. “I’ve been changing the rules too often since you and I…”

“Reunited after that one-night stand?” I finished softly.

He made a grunting sound and nodded. “I was embarrassed to be so unsure about us. Uncertainty isn’t a suit I usually wear. I’ve been doing and feeling things with you that I don’t typically experience, Mia.”

I swallowed hard. What was he saying exactly? “There’s an us?”

Those sharp green eyes seemed to pierce me all the way to my soul. “I want there to be. I’ve been thinking about something more than casual.”

My heart jumped and did a couple of pirouettes. However, I kept my cool… barely. “I would like that too, but…” My teeth sank into my lip to punish the flesh. “I still feel so out of place in your life. You’re the Michael Hayes.” That was how my brother reverently said his name all the time. “And look at your friends. They’re all successful, brilliant, and wealthy. They’re so polished, so sure of themselves. And I’m just… me.” The twenty-two-year-old who barely started to get her life together just the other day. The one who was still caught up in trouble that I couldn’t even tell Michael about.

“That’s right. You’re you. You’re the woman who steamrolled into my life and made it better. No one gets me the way you do. No other woman has ever come into my life and proved to love the most important part of me—my kid—as you have. You belong with me, Mia.”

There went my heart doing acrobatics again. It then raced with hope and excitement as he covered the distance between us. Still, I asked. “Surely you want to be with someone like Elena. She’d probably be a better fit for you.”

“So you’re telling me what I want now?”

Raw, ugly jealousy always surfaced when I thought about how good they looked together, but I wanted him to be sure he wanted to be with me . I shrugged. “You two look good on paper.”

He snagged my chin. “I don’t want to hear another word about any other woman. I know what and who I want.” His gaze dropped to my mouth, and I almost groaned out loud. That magnetic pull between us that neither of us seemed able to resist was on full blast.

“I want you too, Michael.” So much. “I want something more, but I still work for you.”

“Mmm-hmm.” He stared at my mouth as he lowered his head.

The sound of that mmm-hmm said he wasn’t worried about it. I decided that I wouldn’t either. Finally, I was getting what I wanted, and I’d take it.