Chapter 7
Mia
Just as I’m about to tell Jason my news, Andrea returns with our meals.
‘The chicken,’ she says, setting the plate down in front of me. ‘And the steak.’ She sets Jason’s plate down and smiles at him. ‘Can I get you anything else?’
Jason looks at me to answer.
‘I think we’re good,’ I say to Andrea.
I wait until she leaves, then try again to tell Jason my news, but before I can, Jason starts talking.
‘Do you work tomorrow?’ he asks.
‘No, but I need to finish a paper that’s due next week. Why?’
‘I was just thinking maybe you could stick around.’
‘You mean stay in Haydon Falls?’
He shrugs. ‘Just for the day. I could show you around. Maybe take you to the orchard.’
‘I’d love that. But I don’t know if—’ I stop, deciding not to finish that thought. I was going to say he may not want to take me around town once he finds out my news.
What if I didn’t tell him? What if I waited until tomorrow? Would it really be that bad to wait?
I want more time with Jason. I want to see what he’s like when he’s here, living his regular life.
I want to see where he lives and what his family is like.
If Jason decides to be in our child’s life, I should know more about him.
Spending a night with him in a hotel room isn’t enough to tell me who this man is and what he’s really like.
‘I’ll stay,’ I tell him. ‘I’d love to see more of the town.’
‘But you hesitated. Why?’
‘I was just rearranging my schedule in my head. I can get back Sunday and still have time to get everything done.’
‘Great!’ He cuts into his steak, but then stops. ‘Oh, shit. I have a game tomorrow.’
‘Could I go?’
‘You want to go to a high school baseball game?’
‘Sure! It sounds fun!’ I’m not really into sports, but I’d like to see Jason coaching the game. I want to see how he is with the kids.
‘We’re probably going to lose, but if you really want to go, you can. I promise we’ll do something fun when it’s over. My parents might come. If they do, you could sit with them. Actually, that’s a bad idea.’
‘Why?’
‘They might tell you things I don’t want you knowing. Stupid shit from when I was a kid. Or they’ll spend the whole time asking about us, trying to figure out if we’re dating.’
‘Do they know about me?’
‘They know we met at Noah’s wedding.’
‘But they don’t know we . . .’
‘No, and I’d never tell them. But anytime I’m with a girl, even a friend, they assume I’m dating her or might in the future, and then my mom goes into matchmaker mode, trying to sell me to the girl in the hopes we’ll get married.’
‘She’s pressuring you to get married?’
‘She has for years, and now that my brothers all have girlfriends, it’s even worse. She’s determined to find me someone.’
‘Is that what you want? Or do you like being single?’
‘I don’t mind being single. I’m not going to just pick someone to avoid being alone.’
‘But you still want to get married someday, right?’
‘Definitely. Like I told you the night of the wedding, I always thought I’d be first to get married out of all my brothers.
I never had the desire to go out and party and meet girls.
I ended up doing that, but only because I was single.
Even my family thought I’d be married by now with a kid or two.
But now Nick will be the first to get married and first to have a kid. ’
‘His fiancé is pregnant?’
‘Not yet, but she will be. They’re already trying.’
Nick won’t be the first to have a child.
Jason will. He just doesn’t know it yet.
I wonder what his family will think of that.
Will his parents be upset that he’s having a child without being married?
My parents will. They’ll be devastated. They’ll be thrilled about being grandparents, but their excitement will be overshadowed by the disappointment of me not being married.
‘Where are you staying tonight?’ Jason asks.
‘I don’t know yet. I thought I’d stop at one of the hotels in town. Is there one you’d recommend?’
‘There’s a fancy historic one a few miles from here but it’s kind of expensive and they’re doing renovations so it could be loud. The other one has a tour group staying there so I’m not sure they have any rooms.’ He pauses. ‘You could stay with me.’
‘That’s probably not a good idea,’ I say with a nervous laugh.
‘Why? I’ll take the couch. You can take the bed. It’s a big apartment. Only one bedroom but there’s plenty of room.’
‘I don’t want to make you sleep on the couch.’ I glance at the table next to us where a couple is being seated with their baby. They look happy, the three of them together as a family.
‘Mia.’ Jason waits for me to look at him. ‘Nothing’s going to happen.’
‘We said that the night of the wedding,’ I say, lowering my voice.
‘We never said that. In fact, I think we both knew exactly what was going to happen that night. This is different. We haven’t been drinking and we’ve already decided there isn’t a future for us.’ He sounds sad when he says it. I feel sad hearing it.
I want us to have a future. We just can’t. I need to take care of my parents and Jason’s life is here.
‘C’mon, it’s just one night,’ he says. ‘You can even lock the door to my room if you’re that worried about it.’
I smile. ‘I’m not worried. I know you’re a gentleman.’
‘Not always,’ he says with a smile, ‘but I try.’
‘Okay, then yes, I’ll stay with you.’
The baby at the table next to ours giggles as her dad picks her up and holds her.
‘She’s adorable,’ I say, staring at the baby.
‘She is,’ I hear Jason say. I look back and see him gazing at the baby, smiling at her. ‘She reminds me of Nash’s baby.’
‘Who’s Nash?’
‘My cousin,’ Jason says, looking back at me. ‘He lives in Chicago. He’s Austin’s brother. Remember the guy playing in the band that night? The one with all the muscles?’
‘Yes, I remember him. His brother has a baby?’
‘She was born last February. Nash and his wife, Callie, come up here all the time. My mom insists on it. She can’t go more than a few weeks without seeing the baby. Nash and Callie lived up here last fall while Nash fixed up a house on my parents’ property.’
‘Who lives in the house?’
‘Nobody. My dad offered it to me and my brothers, but none of us want to live that close to our parents. My dad might end up renting it out. I can show it to you if we go over there tomorrow. Nash did a really nice job on it. It’s got that modern farmhouse look people are into right now.’
‘I’d love to see it.’
‘I should also take you to Kate’s shop. She’s Brody’s girlfriend. She’s opening a home store just down the street from here. It’s almost done. I think you’d like it. You could be one of her first customers.’
‘It’s nice she’s opening a place in her hometown. Supporting the local economy.’
‘She’s not from Haydon Falls. She’s from Chicago. She moved here to be with Brody and open her shop. Same with Gina, Sawyer’s girlfriend. She’s from Green Bay. She moved here to open her brewery. Nick’s the only one who ended up with a local. He went to high school with Lyndsay.’
We finish our meals and Jason pays the check.
‘Ready to go?’ he asks, pushing his chair back.
‘Yes. I’ll just need your address to put in the nav system.’
‘You can just follow me.’
We go outside and he walks me to my car, then I wait as he walks to his truck. I didn’t know what he drove. I imagined him driving a small car, not a huge pickup. He looks really sexy in it, all rugged and manly.
I need to stop this. I can’t be getting turned on by Jason.
We’re not dating. We’re not even friends.
I haven’t talked to him in months. But it feels like we’re continuing where we left off.
After some initial awkwardness, we both relaxed and talked like we did that night, like we’d known each other forever.
But we can’t repeat the part of that night that resulted in my current situation, which is why my hormones need to get in line and stop making me want Jason.
‘Welcome home,’ he says as we go into this apartment. ‘Or home for the night.’ He laughs as he picks a shirt off the floor. ‘I don’t normally throw clothes on the floor. I was just in a hurry to change after the gym so I wouldn’t be late for dinner.’
As soon as he mentioned the gym, my thoughts went back to that night, in his room, when he took his shirt off and I saw his chest. I couldn’t believe how ripped he was. I still remember how his body felt, the weight of him when he was on top of me, how it felt when his—
‘Mia?’
I wake from the memory and see Jason by the couch. I’m still standing at the door.
‘You can come in,’ he says, laughing a little.
‘Yeah, sorry. I’m kind of out of it. I’m just tired from the drive.’
‘You want to go to bed? I know it’s early, but if you’re tired you should sleep.’
‘I’m fine.’ I walk up to him. ‘Want to give me a tour?’
‘Sure.’ He motions to the room. ‘The expansive living area is perfect for lounging around watching sports, making a late-night snack, and hosting friends.’ He walks over to the wall by the couch.
‘Take note of the artful decor.’ He points to a painting on the wall, then the wooden bowl on the coffee table that holds his remotes.
‘The comfortable furnishings.’ He points to the gray leather couch.
‘And of course, the entertainment options.’ He points to the huge TV on the wall.
I laugh at his performance. ‘Very impressive.’
‘The tour isn’t over.’ He comes over to me and takes my hand, leading me down a short hallway to the one and only bedroom.
It has a dresser, two nightstands, and a king-sized bed covered in a dark blue comforter.
‘I think you’ll find the bed very comfortable and spacious.
’ He points to a walk-in closet. ‘Feel free to use the closet if you need to hang anything up. Any questions?’
‘I think I’ve got it,’ I say, laughing at his formal tone. It’s not at all him, which is why it’s so funny.