Page 35

35

MIA

I stared at my vibrating phone as if it were a bomb that would detonate if I touched it. The number flashing on the screen was one I’d been avoiding for days. Ever since Logan had resurfaced, he’d been like a plague, calling me nonstop. He was worse than the bookie who had his hooks in me for months.

Sighing heavily, I glanced around the lobby where a few moms and dads waited outside the dance studio. I then peeked through the tiny window on the door and glimpsed Poppy in her purple tutu. With shaking fingers, I answer Logan’s millionth call.

“What do you want?”

“Mia, finally. I’ve been trying to reach you.”

I looked skyward. “No shit. Why won’t you leave me alone? We have nothing to talk about.”

After a pause, he said. “I didn’t mean for things to go this far, but you refused to hear me out weeks ago.”

My stomach instantly started to churn. “W-what do you mean? How far have things gone?” Realizing my voice had risen to a high pitch, I glanced around the room again and lowered my tone. “Logan, what are you talking about?”

“I’m desperate, Mia…”

“And I’m done helping. I paid your debt.”

“Well, now I’ve got a new one.” He made a sound—somewhere between a moan and hysterical laugh. “Once you get into bed with these guys, you can’t get out.”

“I’ve helped you enough… against my will.” Anger practically boiled my blood when I remembered how he’d disappeared and left me at the mercy of a criminal. “I have nothing left.”

“That’s not true.”

I frowned at the chilling edge that his voice suddenly took on.

“You’re screwing a billionaire.”

My blood ran cold, and the room started to spin.

“I knew he had money as soon as I saw him. Then I saw the two of you take off in some fancy car…” Logan spat the words as if he resented Michael, a man he didn’t know, because he was successful. I’d actually dated this sorry excuse for a man.

“If you want money, how about getting a fucking job?” I hissed. The woman sitting across from me glanced up from the magazine she was flipping through. Her glaring raised eyebrows made me hunker down in my seat.

“I’ve seen you with him and his kid.”

The mention of Poppy made my heart sink into my ass.

“You’re living the high life, Mia. Surely, you can help out a friend.”

My jaw clenched to painful proportions. If we were face to face, I’d likely claw his eyes out for calling me his friend. “I’m just the nanny.”

“Come on, Mia,” he drawled. “Don’t lie to me. Anybody can tell you two are fucking.”

My fingers tightened around my phone.

“I bet if you ask him for a couple thousand, he’d hand it over to you. That’s chump change for a guy like him.”

“How do you even know about them? Have you been stalking me?” I bit out. Them… My fantasy family. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten caught up in my stupid dream and played house with my employer and his daughter. Look at what I'd done. I’d brought my trouble right to their doorstep.

“You came back to your apartment the other day. You didn’t see me outside. I was waiting for you, so I could ask you to help me again, but then I decided to follow you. I was curious about that wicked ride you showed up with. Admittedly, I had thoughts of ‘borrowing’ it, but then I saw something way more valuable. Michael Hayes… That’s his name, right?”

“Stay away from him.” My voice trembled with fury and apprehension.

“I wonder what our mutual friend will think about having a billionaire on his roster. If you don’t get me the cash I need—because I know you can—I’ll have to introduce him to Hayes. Better yet, why don’t you and I trick a few million from your rich boyfriend, Mia? We could have it made.”

Nausea washed over me, but I forced myself to keep it together. “Please, don’t do this, Logan. If you ever cared about me at all…” What was I saying? A man who could date and live with a woman for months and then callously throw her to the wolves couldn’t possibly have a heart—couldn’t have possibly cared. He was blackmailing me, for goodness’ sake.

“I don’t have a choice!” His voice was frantic. “Look, I’m sorry, Mia, but I’m desperate. They’ll kill me. I’m doing what’s necessary to survive. You’re my only way out of this. If you don’t get me the money, I’ll send them to your boyfriend.”

I couldn’t speak. I could only clutch my phone while my heart pounded in my ears.

“They gave me three days,” he said in a calmer tone. “So, you’ve got two.”

The silence on the other end of the line was deafening. Lowering my phone, I gazed straight ahead. There was no way I’d con Michael out of money to help my disgusting ex. There was only one thing left to do. I had to get away from Michael and Poppy for their safety. I’d die before I’d let those sleazebag thugs go anywhere near them.

The door to the dance studio opened and a bunch of little girls in tutus of all colors spilled out. Poppy spotted me and a megawatt smile lit up her face. “Mia! Mia! I learned how to do a pirou…” She paused and her eyebrows formed adorably confused lines. “This!”

I smiled as she did a 360 spin on one foot.

“Wow. That’s amazing.” I tried to hide my misery and show as much excitement as I could. “You’ll be a prima ballerina before we know it.”

She jumped and clapped with glee. “I can’t wait to show Daddy.”

“Yeah… Come on, sweetie. I snatched her up instead of taking her hand to lead her through the door.” Although her little arms wound around my neck, she gave me a bewildered look. I didn’t usually carry her, but I needed to get her to the car fast. After discovering that Logan had been watching me, my paranoia was at an all-time high. What if my tormentor whom I hadn’t heard from—probably because he had Logan back in his clutches—was watching me too?

Poppy was a precious bundle worth billions . I hated myself for putting her at risk.

I nearly made a hole in the kitchen tiles, pacing while I waited for Michael. I’d already told Poppy goodbye in a way, and I was waiting to drop the bomb on Michael that I had to quit. It killed me to leave like this, but what choice did I have? I stopped pacing long enough to rest my head on the cool granite of the island because I was getting overheated from anxiety.

Of all the nights for Michael to be late… I just wanted to get my heartbreak over and done with… rip it off like a bandaid. My heart started to race when I heard the faint ding of the elevator’s arrival.

Footsteps echoed through the foyer. I waited for Michael to come into the kitchen as usual. However, he didn’t appear. Instead, I heard him call, “Mia?”

Surprised, I followed his voice and found him in front of my bedroom door. When it was this late, he didn’t bother me… although, most nights, I waited for him in his bed, which he liked.

“Michael.”

He turned. “You’re still up. I’m glad because I felt awful about waking you.”

“It’s okay…” I took him in. His suit was immaculate as always. However, his tie was loose and his hair was disheveled. That unkempt hair usually meant he’d had a stressful day, and ran his fingers through it a million times. “Bad day?”

“No…” The creases in his eyebrows said otherwise.

“Is everything okay, Michael?”

“I don’t know, Mia.”

My heart dropped at the thought that Logan or the bookie had jumped the gun and threatened him. “Michael, I can ex?—”

“You’ve been acting strange lately.”

I clamped my mouth shut.

“I know there’s something you’re not telling me, and I…” He folded his arms and rocked back on his heels. “I thought I’d show you how much I trust you, and hopefully you’ll see that you can trust me.”

My gaze dropped to the floor in shame. He trusted me, and I’d brought trouble into his life. “Um… okay…”

Michael blew out a breath. He seemed nervous, and that wasn’t like him. “Alright.” He glanced at my door and then down the hall toward his office. “You know what? I’ll tell you right here and get it over with. You’ve probably wondered about Poppy’s mother,” he began.

That sent my eyebrows up a notch. It was totally unexpected. “Sure, but I got the impression it wasn’t something you wanted to talk about, so I never asked.”

“That’s just it. You shouldn’t be afraid to ask me anything.”

While I observed him, the thought of asking for help with my problem crossed my mind. However, I was sure asking him to bail me out of trouble with con men and bookies wasn’t exactly what he had in mind when he said anything . So, I lied. “I’m not.”

The raised eyebrow look he gave me mirrored skepticism, but he continued, “Poppy’s mother was the first woman I tried to date after years of avoiding anything serious. I’d spent a long time building my business, keeping people at arm’s length, but I thought maybe it was time to change that. She was... beautiful. Charming. Everything you think you’d want in someone. But she was also superficial and money-hungry.” He sighed. “I’m ashamed to say it took me a while to figure that out.”

“No…” I placed a hand on his arm. “Never be ashamed to open yourself up for the chance at love, Michael.” My beloved grandmother always told me that.

He grimaced. “Well, love was nowhere in that equation… not even close. She tried to trap me with a pregnancy. Still, I was willing to man up. A few months later, she told me the baby wasn’t mine, and she took off to party with a man who was, at the time, richer and famous. She said the baby was his. I put it out of my mind and was relieved to get her out of my life.”

Although shock rolled through me, I tried to keep my expression mutual because I saw the sliver of pain in his eyes that I’d seen before. The morning after what was supposed to be our one-night stand, I’d glimpsed evidence that he’d been lied to and hurt before.

“Then one day, I got home and found an eight-month-old literally on my doorstep, abandoned by her mother.”

I couldn’t suppress my emotion then. I gasped, horrified.

“I was shocked and livid that a human would just leave a baby like that. What if I hadn’t come home, for Christ’s sake?” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “There was a DNA test result—as if I needed that to know Poppy was mine.”

Yeah, his genes didn’t miss at all.

“There was also a note. One fucking sentence saying she didn’t want to be hampered by a child. I haven’t seen her since, and I’m not sure what I’ll tell Poppy when she starts asking about her mother.” He heaved a sigh. “I wasn’t angry that she left Poppy with me. Hell, I was relieved because no child should stay with a mother like that. I was pissed that I’d missed out on eight months of my kid’s life because her mother was a liar and just an awful person.”

“You hate liars,” I murmured, remembering how furious he’d been when I’d fibbed about my age. My eyes skated away from his. I was a huge liar. Not only that, but I’d put him and Poppy in danger. If I told him now, he’d probably think I was worse than Poppy’s mother. Maybe I was.

“Yes, but that isn’t why I’m sharing this, Mia. I’m comfortable letting you in…” He took my chin between his fingers. His eyes were intense and assessing as they bore into mine. “You can let me in too, Mia. If something is wrong, just tell me.”

My lips parted, but the words got stuck in my throat. Michael wasn’t stupid. He was one of the smartest and most observant people I knew. Of course, he could tell something was off with me.

I wanted to let him in so badly it hurt. I was in way over my head with my ex and his mess. But involving Michael would put him and his family in more danger. I loved him too much to hurt him like that. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I shrugged. “Nothing is wrong. I’ve just been stressed with family stuff. You know how my folks are…”

He frowned. “So, it isn’t about… us?”

Finally, I could look him in the eyes without guilt because this was the god-honest truth. “I’ve never been happier with us. You’ve shown me what a real relationship is supposed to be, and I’ll always cherish that.” I let out a laugh, and a tear rolled down my cheek. “You broke the boyfriend curse.”

Amusement shone in his eyes, but his eyebrows dipped as he wiped away my tears. “Then why are you crying?”

Because I had to walk away from the best thing to ever happen to me. The thought of Michael and Poppy resenting me for abandoning them was like a knife to the chest. However, I shrugged and said, “I don’t know…” I threw my arms around him. “I want to stay with you tonight.”

He hesitated briefly, and I could practically feel his confusion, but his arms wrapped around my waist. “Of course.”

I’d make the most of the one night I had left with him.