Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Brax
Mia opened the trunk and started to hand over cookies, presents, and other Christmas stuff to the males of her family. I stopped her at her suitcase and my duffel and took over. She looked a little startled, like she didn’t expect me to do that. I didn’t know what that said about the ex Gabe had briefly mentioned—Chuckie, Chad, Charlie, whatever his name was.
Judging by the way she interacted with her two very tall, very built brothers, both of whom were eyeing me like I was something that the dog had dragged in, I could see how she was, in a lot of ways, one of the guys. Which was one thing I really liked about her—she had zero sense of entitlement.
For some strange reason, that made me want to do even more for her. Besides, that’s what a good boyfriend did, right? I wouldn’t really know since I never let my relationships last long enough to find out.
The D’Angelo house looked like it had jumped right off the Hallmark channel, only to land in a rolling landscape dotted by pine trees. Mom D’Angelo hugged me like I was one of her own. The first thing she said—whispered, actually, was “Thank you for making my daughter so happy.”
For someone who’d been through hell and back, I marveled that she was completely keyed in to her daughter’s well-being. She instantly made me feel like she was the kind of mom who would be just fine with her clan putting their feet up on cushy ottomans in a big, beamed family room with a crackling fire, or helping themselves to food in the fridge or falling asleep on the couches after an amazing dinner.
The bros had taken our travel bags as soon as I’d set them on the ground, so I tried to take some of the packages brimming over from Mia’s arms. Apparently, she’d brought presents for everyone, something else that amazed me. I was starting to think that she loved Christmas as much as her mom.
“I’m not helpless—hey!”
That was from me subtly tickling her side and then snatching the pile of gifts. “Hope you brought one for the dog.” I couldn’t resist poking fun.
“I would never forget Cooper,” she said adamantly.
I laughed and shook my head. “Of course you wouldn’t.”
Mia’s mom stood near the front steps as we piled into the house. Despite all her friendliness, she also looked at me with shrewdness—a carefully assessing gaze. I sensed that she’d seen our interaction and was sizing me up, seeing if I was good enough for her daughter.
Of course, I, Brax, was not. But Brax, Boyfriend for Hire, would have to be. And so I shifted the packages and placed a hand gently on Mia’s back like maybe a good boyfriend would as she headed up the front stairs to the wide front porch and tried not to notice her great ass. She instantly stiffened under my touch. Yeah. Awkward. But hey, I would play my part to the max, because a promise is a promise.
Thank goodness her parents were absolutely not going to tolerate any hanky-panky in their home. Sharing a room would be really uncomfortable, considering we’d actually done said hanky-panky.
Speaking of that, it was the really, really awesome kind. Like, the kind that comes around only in your wildest dreams. Where you’re so in sync, you start to think that this person really understands you. Gets you in ways no one had before.
Good thing I’d decided long ago that getting serious wasn’t for me.
As I walked up the steps and passed over the threshold, the dog rushed to squeeze through the doorway with us, and I was so busy avoiding stepping on him that I immediately clunked my head on a giant ball of mistletoe.
Mia, who was next to me, righted the swinging ball. “Are you okay?” she asked with concern. She was close, right next to me. We both became aware of the mistletoe, the logjam of family, and Cooper barking excitedly, not to mention each other. And we both sort of froze.
Kiss or not?
I cleared my throat.
“Don’t you two even know what to do with the mistletoe?” Caleb said, shaking his head. He’d been sizing me up ever since I’d stepped out of the car. I didn’t think I’d met him before, but I knew of him—being an orthopedic resident from UW, he’d definitely rotated through Children’s as part of his program. He had the reputation of being levelheaded and friendly, although I’d never guess that from the evil eye he was giving me.
“Shut up, Cay,” Mia fired back. She grabbed the packages from my arms and handed them over to Caleb. Who promptly shot me a dirty look.
I wasn’t one to avoid a challenge. Before I could think, I closed the gap between us, bent my head, and kissed her. Mistletoe was mistletoe, right?
Her lips were tense with surprise, but then suddenly yielding, soft and warm. She tasted like coffee and cinnamon and cool December air. I tried to keep the kisses short and brief, but she pushed closer to me, closing the gap between us. She kissed me deeper, moving her lips against mine, wrapping her arms under my jacket, around my waist. I felt their heat and the soft brush of her hands through my shirt.
We just fit together, our bodies, our lips, our hands. For the sake of decency, I finally pulled back, sucking in a breath of air to try and calm my pounding pulse, disguising my shock at the intensity of those few PG-rated kisses. (At least I hoped we’d kept them PG.)
Mia looked dazed, her eyes soft and unfocused. She managed a quick smile, then backed up before following Beth into the foyer. Caleb mumbled something and walked ahead of me.
I was grateful to direct my mind to the house and trail behind Caleb to recover my senses. Its Victorian character was evident from lots of woodwork in the foyer and a large staircase with a shiny lacquered banister strung with lighted garlands. The banister was the kind that made me imagine kids sliding down it, screaming with glee. I tried not to let my pediatrician brain interfere by imagining ER visits for sprained ankles and fractured wrists.
A small peek into the family room gave me a glimpse of the largest Christmas tree I’d ever seen, glowing with multicolored lights. And a big fireplace just like I’d imagined, complete with a roaring fire. It was like another universe for someone like me. Sure, the foster families I’d stayed with had their trees and their traditions, but they were always someone else’s. As a teen, I’d grown to hate traditions, resentful for never having had any of my own.
I rubbed my forehead, certain that I’d fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole into this close-knit family. As with a few of the foster homes I’d had so much hope for, I had to be careful not to like this home, this family too much.
“This way, come on.” Beth led us up, up, a grand staircase and into a hallway with high ceilings framed by carefully crafted moldings. The house had lots of quirky nooks and crannies, mostly filled with Christmas decorations like Santas, floral arrangements with pine and berries, and little lit-up ceramic trees, and it felt cozy and lived in.
We stopped in front of a tall wooden door that must have weighed a hundred pounds off its hinges.
“You and Brax can share your room,” Beth said. With a flourish, she opened the door to a room done up in red-and-white bed linens, complete with a small Christmas tree glowing with red and pink lights. A giant window offered a panoramic view of the backyard, complete with the hugest hill I’d ever seen, covered with a blanket of snow so pure white, my eyes hurt.
Wait…did she say share ? The room was more amazing than a hotel. And the big poufy bed made me think of all the things we weren’t going to do here.
I could not share this room with Mia. Period. I didn’t have the self-control to keep my hands off her. I knew this to be a fact.
“Wait,” Mia said, looking a little alarmed. “Where’s my bed?”
There was a bed in the middle of the room. One with a nice white wooden headboard. The dog immediately made a leap for the cushy pillows and settled right in. I didn’t see the problem.
“We decided it was time to upgrade to a queen. It’s hard to fit two people into a double bed.”
“It looks really nice, Mom,” Mia said. “But, um—I thought we’d put Brax on the pullout in the library.” I lifted a brow, surprised at her slight stammer. Apparently, someone else was nervous about the sleeping arrangements too.
“A couch would be more than fine,” I chimed in a little too eagerly. I had to get myself out of this room somehow.
“That’s where Emma’s sleeping.” Beth put her hands on Mia’s shoulders. “Listen, we’re so thrilled to have you two. We just want you to be able to come home and relax and…and we know what it’s like to be in love.” She winked at me. “We’re not that old.”
Mia’s cheeks turned the same exact red as the bed linens. We were hosed. So at the very least, I had to antagonize her a little more. After all, I was here to do a job, and dammit, I was going to be the greatest Boyfriend for Hire ever .
I walked up behind her, wrapped my arms around her, and tucked my chin over her shoulder, unable to ignore that she smelled sweet, fresh, and clean, and…addictive. After nuzzling her neck longer than I should have, I looked up at her mom. “It’s a great room. Thank you.” Then I pointed straight ahead to the poster taped to the closet door. “Hey, Nick Jonas. Cool.” Apparently, tearing him down had not been part of the reno project.
“He is cool,” Mia said while poking me in the stomach. Which made me hide my oomph with a laugh.
“I figured I’d let you decide what to do with him.” Her mom smiled and, with a twinkle in her eye, said, “You two are the cutest.”
I could tell Mia really wanted to flee from my arms screaming, but she relaxed back against me, and when she did, her hair brushed my cheek. Again, I had the sensation of her somehow fitting perfectly against me. She was warm and soft and…
Oh no. My body was showing the evidence of being very close to her and touching her, and how did that happen so quickly?
I pulled away, but not without some side effects from the closeness. Like a weird tingling in my hands from where I’d held her. And a slight pounding in my chest that I quickly rubbed away. My senses being filled with that soft, powdery scent made me imagine all kinds of things I had no business imagining.
I stepped back just as her mom said, “I’ll leave you two a few minutes to settle in. Then come down and have dinner, okay?”
The dog jumped down from the bed and trailed Beth out. And then suddenly, Mia and I were alone.
“Look, don’t worry. We’ll be fine,” she rushed to say, staring nervously at the bed. “I’ll sneak out once everyone’s asleep and crash on the family room couch.”
Her forehead creased in worry, and I had the impulse to reach over and smooth it out. Maybe take her back into my arms and kiss that worry away. Because those kisses under the mistletoe had lit me on fire. But no, that would be the worst thing. What was I thinking? Just being in this room was making my hormones go wild.
“You’re not sleeping on a couch for three nights,” I said. “I can sleep anywhere.” I absently examined some photographs on her bookshelf. In the center, there was one of two little girls with birthday hats that said “5” on them, sitting in front of two pieces of chocolate birthday cake. One of them had curly blonde hair like Mia, but I didn’t recognize the other one. A best friend or a cousin, maybe? The dark-haired little girl had cake all over her mouth and chin—like, she’d probably dipped her entire lower face into the cake to take a bite. Mia’s cake, on the other hand, was missing a tiny bite, and her mouth was free of crumbs, but she was smiling just as widely.
So much of Mia was a story I didn’t know. Puzzle pieces that I had no clue how they all fit together. Worried I was staring at the photo too long, I turned around. “Your family’s nice.”
“I know .”
I heard a pfffft sound and turned around in time to see Mia sinking down onto the quilt, her eyes filled with tears.
Usually, in the hospital, she performed with toughness and the strength of steel. Granted, she had a few tears when I’d told her Rylee’s test result, but now she was full-blown crying.
I sat next to her. “If it helps, I get what you’re doing.” While I didn’t fully understand it, I knew that Mia loved her mother. A lot.
“I’m glad you do, because I’m really not sure how it all came down to this.” She swiped at her eyes. “I’ve dragged you into this mess, and I’m an awful daughter. I should have just told my mom the truth. I should have told all of them the truth.”
“Actually, I think you’re an amazing daughter.” I nudged her elbow in a playful way. That made her smile. A little.
If she were anybody else, I would’ve put my arm around her. But that would have been like lighting a match to a fuse. If only I could stop thinking about touching her. Instead, I gave her another paltry nudge.
As she glanced up, I realized that tough, strong, impervious Dr. D’Angelo looked uncertain. And very much like she could use someone on her side.
I shrugged, disguising my almost desperate need to make her feel better. “You kept up your mom’s spirits at a really hard time.”
She made a dubious sound. “Thanks for seeing some good in this.”
Trust me, I saw more than that. Her soft, full lips, those big, full-of-feeling eyes, and the glow of the Christmas tree lights on her hair were making me forget why I’d ever let her go.
“Brax, what did my mom say to you before we came in?”
“Say to me?” I asked, stalling. I knew exactly what she’d said, but repeat it? No, thanks.
“I know it was something. She whispered in your ear, and then you turned sort of red.”
“She thanked me for making you so happy,” I finally said, figuring I shouldn’t lie. I instantly regretted it. Why, oh why, didn’t I lie? Because that started Mia crying all over again. In a panic, I ran to the bathroom to grab a box of tissues. “Hey, it’s all right,” I said. “Better wipe those tears, or she’s going to accuse me of making you really, really unhappy.”
She didn’t even crack a smile, instead pulled out a couple of tissues and blew her nose sort of loudly. “She thinks I look happy. All a ruse.”
I sat down and put my arm around her, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to pretend she was Jenna. It didn’t work. “It’s not a ruse.” I opened my eyes and forced myself to be the friend she needed. “Look, you have a great reason to be happy. Your mom is doing great. Your family is here together. And when the time is right, you’ll be strong enough to tell her the truth. If I know your mom, she’ll understand.”
“I’m not strong enough to do it now. I’d ruin everyone’s holiday.”
“All right, then,” I said, giving her the most platonic squeeze I could muster. Believe me, it took everything I had to pull that off. “For the next few days, I’m going to be the best fake boyfriend you’ve ever had.”
That finally got me a tiny crack of a smile. And even that made me ridiculously relieved.
I was grateful for a rap on the door.
“Yo, Braxton,” one of the brothers called out before I could even open it. Hopefully the nice one.
I swung the door open to reveal Liam, all six feet five of him, grinning and quietly rolling up the sleeves of a red flannel shirt. With his beard, he looked like a burly lumberjack ready to chop something—hopefully not me, figuratively or not.
“Hey, Brax,” he said, giving me the once-over. “Mia, we’re borrowing him right after dinner tonight, okay? We’ll have him back by midnight.”
Borrowing ? Was that code for taking me out to the barn, getting me drunk, and making certain I was worthy of their little sister?
Mia walked up behind me, her hand resting lightly on my upper arm, where it felt like a firebrand. “You’re not taking him out to the barn and getting him drunk.”
Great. I was right .
Mia’s mom came by. “Nobody’s taking anybody anywhere until the dishes are done.” She tapped Liam on the shoulder. “And by the way, I could use a few hands to help set the table.”
“We’ll be right down, Mom,” Mia said. Closing the door, she leaned against it and heaved a sigh.
I rubbed my neck. “The barn, huh?”
“Listen,” she said in a coach’s voice as she paced in front of the bed. “My brothers are going to interrogate you. We have to get our stories straight, or they’ll see right through everything.”
I leveled my gaze on her. How hard could this be? I knew her. I mean, maybe I didn’t know the details of her past, but I knew who Mia was on the inside as surely as I knew, well, myself. So, piece of cake, right?
Worry creased her face. “There are critical things you don’t know about me. Things my brothers will bring up.”
I counted on my fingers. “Jail time, previous marriages, grinding your teeth when you sleep?”
“Ew, gross,” she said, her nose crinkling up adorably. But she still looked seriously concerned. Why? Could she possibly have even more secrets than the whole fake-boyfriend thing? Could she be a pathological secret keeper?
And I thought I was tight-lipped.
“Okay,” I said, the problem solver in me wanting to fix whatever was wrong. “Tell me what foods you hate. Besides peanut butter.”
She jerked her head up. “How do you know I don’t like peanut butter?”
“Because you don’t ever eat Valerie’s famous chocolate-peanut butter-oatmeal cookies.”
“I always take one,” she said defensively. “Because she insists.”
“And then you toss it.”
“ No one sees me do that,” she said. “I’m very discreet.”
I lifted a brow. “What else should I know?”
“I always win the sledding competition.”
“Sledding competition?” This was getting more and more terrifying.
“You’ll see.”
Right. “If I were you,” I said, “I’d be more worried for me. I mean, you’ve got oak trees for brothers. What are they, like six-five and two-fifty?” That was the trouble with being a doc. Your main weapon was your brain a lot more than your brawn. Not that I didn’t work out, but I had more of a runner’s build than a bodybuilder’s. And these guys…well, they were big and beefy and as full of muscle as WWE fighters.
She smiled. “They really were linemen in college.”
Of course they were. “Exactly what are they going to do to me in that barn?”
It was her turn to count on her fingers. “Brand cattle. Pick up the tractor and see how far you can move it. Make newbies shovel horse poop.” My eyes must have gone wide, even as I was glad she was back in fighting form. “Don’t worry, city boy,” she said with mischief in her eyes. “They’re usually mellower after they’ve eaten, so you’re safe. Probably.”
I couldn’t take that sitting down, so I grabbed her in a firefighter hold and tossed her over my shoulder.
She let out a squeal, pounding me on the back and demanding to be put down.
So then I tossed her onto the bed.
Unfortunately, a side effect was that I landed with her, right on that bed, our bodies tangled up together, so close I could see the vibrant spring green of her eyes. They were the kind of green you see in May when it’s eighty degrees and the sun is streaming brightly through the leaves, and they were wide and round with surprise.
And then things got quiet.
A shock ran through my body. An awareness. A slow, steady quickening of my pulse.
I sat up quickly, struggling to pretend I hadn’t just experienced an inner earthquake.
I couldn’t shake the memory of her in my arms, laughing and out of breath.
“You need to laugh more,” I said. My voice came out low and gravelly.
In that one moment, the world seemed to stop. And I saw her. What I mean is, I saw the raw, honest feeling in her eyes. The attraction I’d tried so hard to hold at bay zapped between us like a hot wire.
I tore my gaze away and forced myself to get off the bed. I busied myself opening my duffel bag, trying to find a nice sweater to wear to dinner. Which made no sense since I already had on my nicest sweater, but I had to focus on something, anything else.
“By the way, they make you do that with one hand,” she said, a mischievous grin spreading over her face.
I frowned. Mia was lying on her side, propped up on an elbow. She mimed bench-pressing a heavy object—the tractor, I presumed. Then she laughed again, sending all the tension inside me breaking like a dam.
Something inside me loosened. Go ahead, brawny D’Angelo brothers, tear me apart. Hearing her laugh—twice—had been worth it.