Chapter 8 #2
‘Mom, Mia’s met enough of the family. I’ll just take her out for breakfast. I’ll take her to Maury’s.’
‘Maury’s doesn’t have my homemade apple pastries,’ Mom says, smiling at Mia.
She smiles back. ‘Those sound delicious.’
‘Well, then, it’s settled. You’ll join us for breakfast.’
‘Wait—what?’ I look between Mom and Mia. ‘What just happened?’
‘You’re having breakfast with us.’ Nick chuckles. ‘Try to keep up.’
He thinks this is hilarious—Mom inviting Mia over, hoping to fix us up.
The jerk should be helping me, not laughing at me.
He’s been there. So has Sawyer and Brody.
Mom’s tried to play matchmaker for all of us, but now I’m the only single one left and she’s putting all her effort on finding me a wife.
I need to tell her Mia’s not sticking around and that the only way I could date her is if I followed her to Boston.
That’d instantly stop Mom’s attempts to set us up.
The last thing she’d want is for me to move away.
She finally got Nick back to Haydon Falls after all the years he lived in New York.
She doesn’t want to see another one of her sons leaving town.
‘He said they’ll be there at eight,’ Mom says, setting her phone down.
‘Who?’ I ask.
‘Brody,’ Mom says, as if I should know she just texted him. She turns her focus back to Mia. ‘He’s our youngest. His girlfriend Kate is opening a store downtown. You should have Jason take you there. She has some beautiful items for sale. She has such good taste!’
‘Mom, isn’t eight a little early for breakfast?’ I ask. ‘Mia probably wants to sleep in. She had a long day today.’
‘I’m an early riser,’ Mia says. ‘Eight works for me.’
Sawyer comes up to the table. ‘I didn’t know the whole family was coming by tonight.’
‘I didn’t either,’ I mutter.
‘Can you and Gina come by for breakfast tomorrow?’ Mom asks Sawyer.
‘Sure,’ he says. ‘Any reason why, or is it just breakfast?’
‘Jason’s bringing Mia to the orchard,’ Dad says. ‘We can’t let her come by without feeding her.’
‘Get used to it,’ Sawyer says to Mia. ‘Every time you show up to Mom’s house, she’ll feed you.’
What’s going on here? They’re all acting like Mia and I are a couple when we clearly are not.
I’ve told my brothers more than once that I’m not going to date someone who doesn’t live in the area.
They know Mia is moving away, so why is Sawyer talking like she’s going to be spending time here and going to my parents’ house?
And why is Mom insisting on having Mia over for family breakfast?
Are they really that desperate for me to have a girlfriend that they’ll push me to date a girl who’s leaving in a few months?
‘It’s getting late,’ I say to Mia. ‘You want to head out?’
‘Um, okay.’ She seems surprised that I want to leave, but she doesn’t know my family. If we stay any longer, they’ll have us engaged by the end of the night.
I go around the table and help her down from the barstool.
‘It was really nice meeting all of you,’ she says to my family.
Dad smiles at her. ‘We’ll see you bright and early in the morning. Be sure to bring your appetite. Martha really puts out a spread when we have company.’
‘I’m looking forward to it.’
‘See you guys tomorrow,’ I say, taking Mia’s arm and directing her away from the table.
We make our way outside and head to the truck.
‘Sorry about that,’ I say.
‘About what?’
‘My family. I love them, but they can be a little much.’
‘I didn’t think so. They seem like very nice people.’
‘They are, but they’re also meddling.’
She laughs. ‘They just want you to be happy.’
‘I am happy. I have a great job. Great apartment. Great friends.’ I stop at the truck and open her door. ‘The only thing missing is a wife and kids, but if it doesn’t happen, I’m okay with that, and my family should be too.’
‘You’d really be okay not having a family of your own?’
‘It’s not what I want, but I’ve accepted it may not happen. If I can’t find the right girl, I may just end up single.’
‘But the night of the wedding, you talked about how much you wanted kids.’
‘Yeah, well, I kind of need a girl for that.’
‘Jason, I—’ She stops and grabs hold of the truck door.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Yes.’ She takes a breath. ‘I just got dizzy for a moment. I think I need to sit down.’
‘Let me help.’ I take her arm and help her into the truck.
As we’re driving back to my apartment, she takes several deep breaths.
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ I ask.
She nods. ‘I’m just tired. I’ll be fine.’
We get to my building and I help her out of the truck, then take her hand as we walk to the door. Maybe I shouldn’t hold her hand, but I don’t want her getting dizzy again and falling down. And I like holding her hand. It’s small and soft and fits perfectly in mine.
As we take the elevator up to my floor, I don’t let go of her hand. She doesn’t attempt to pull away so I keep hold of it as we walk down the hall to my apartment. I finally let her go as we go inside.
‘Do you want something to drink?’ I ask.
‘No, I think I’ll just go to bed.’
It’s not even ten. I was hoping we could stay up and talk. We talked all through dinner but it wasn’t enough. There’s still so much I want to know about her, but it’s probably better if I don’t. It would just make me like her more.
‘Do you need extra blankets?’ I ask as I stand at the door to my room, watching Mia unzip her overnight bag.
‘I think I’ll be fine.’
‘Let me know if you need anything. I’ll keep the TV off so I don’t wake you up.’
‘Jason, I don’t want you changing your routine because of me. Go ahead and watch TV.’
‘I think I’ll just go to bed, now that we have this early morning breakfast,’ I say with a sigh.
She laughs. ‘I’m looking forward to it. Your mom sounds like a great cook.’ Mia walks up to me at the door. ‘Thanks again for letting me stay.’
‘I’m happy to.’
She pauses, her eyes on mine, then hugs me.
I’m so surprised by the hug that it takes me a moment to realize I should be hugging her back.
I put my arms around her and instantly get that familiar feeling again, like she’s been with me forever.
Why does that keep happening? Why does being with her feel so right when I know in my head that it’s wrong?
I’m not getting involved with a girl who’s moving away.
‘It’s really good seeing you again,’ Mia says, resting her head on my shoulder. She almost sounds sad, but maybe that’s just how she sounds when she’s tired. ‘Goodnight, Jason.’
‘Goodnight.’ I kiss her forehead before letting her go. I wasn’t even thinking. I just did it, but I shouldn’t have. She’s just a friend, staying here for the night.
I close the door and grab a blanket from the hall closet. I take it to the living room and toss it on the couch.
‘Shit,’ I mutter, realizing I forgot to grab something to sleep in.
I don’t want to go back to my room. Mia might already be in bed. I take off my jeans and shirt. I’ll sleep in my boxers and put on my clothes before Mia wakes up. I lay down on the couch and set my phone alarm for six. That’ll give me plenty of time to get up and get dressed before Mia wakes up.
I can’t believe she’s here. I never thought I’d see her again and now she’s in my apartment, sleeping in my bed. I still don’t know why she’s here. Is she just saying goodbye, or is there more to it than that?