25. Mia
Chapter 25
Mia
I could hear both Brinna and Ian arguing about me from upstairs and I decided to make an appearance for Ian’s sake. Brinna’s not wrong. Everyone online is talking about how I’m pregnant, have something on Ian, or this is just a stunt to help his corporation. That last one isn’t wrong, but right now, only Ian and I know that. There have been some things said about the playboy brother Sawyer, in all of this, too. He sounds nothing like Ian and I’m not too excited to meet him tonight at dinner.
“He won’t.” I say as I stand in the doorway to Ian’s office. Neither one of them saw me walk in while they were arguing.
“Mia.” Ian walks over to me with a look like I’m a sight for sore eyes and I’ve got to say, I like that look he’s giving me, so I kiss him on the cheek.
“It’s nice to see you again, Brinna. Does my outfit look okay for the interview? I know sometimes certain colors or patterns don’t look good on camera.” I ask her as I pat down the pink pantsuit that the personal shopper sent me.
“Mia, you look great.” Brinna looks at my left hand and I know what she’s looking for. She looked yesterday, too. She’s looking for a ring, which I don’t have, but Ian must have thought of that, right? I’m sure he’s got something lying around this place that we can use for a ring.
I grab my hand. “Oh, I forgot my ring. Ian, can you please go grab it for me? I think I left it in the other room.” I smile, hoping he picks up my hint. Maybe Paula has a ring he can borrow.
“Sure. I’ll be right back,” Ian says as he leaves Brinna and I alone in his office.
“Look, Mia. I like you, but I’m not convinced this is real.” She holds her hand up as I’m about to protest. “And I don’t need to know. Plausible deniability and all. But you should know what you’re getting into with Ian. He’s a great man, and not too hard on the eyes, either. But he’s got a lot on his plate and playing house with you, or anyone else, isn’t in the cards for him. He’s meant for great things and he’s accomplishing that quite well alone.”
I stand quietly and let her finish her tirade as I decide I don’t think I like Brinna as much as I thought I was going to.
“Are you done?” I ask her.
“I’m just trying to protect Ian. He’s a great friend, and I’d hate to see his business, reputation, or family get hurt in all of this. That’s all I’m saying. I’m just doing my job by protecting him and Gallo Enterprises.” Brinna raises her hands in defense of her speech.
“Well, if you’re quite done. Ian and I are in love. Because no one’s ‘heard of me’,” I use air quotes to quote her from earlier, “doesn’t mean that this is fake. Has it occurred to you that maybe I just needed to make sure he was ‘the one’ before I announced myself to the world? Before I subjected myself to the vultures online?” I shake my head, “No. It has not. Ian has been respecting my wishes by keeping everything between us and below the radar, and that’s another reason I love him and can’t wait to be married to him. Which will happen, Brinna. Ian and I are getting married. No matter what everyone else thinks.”
“I don’t mean to offend you, Mia.”
“It doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t mean to do, Brinna. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks, says, yearns, imagines, or talks about. What matters is how Ian and I feel about each other. That’s it. We matter to each other.” I take a deep breath and slowly exhale, “And when did women decide to berate each other instead of applauding each other? Why does it have to be so hateful? I’ll never understand that.”
“I don’t know, but you’re not wrong. Some of the most vile things I see are usually committed by one woman to another woman.” Brinna says.
I shake my head as Ian walks in and stands next to me. He puts his arm around my shoulders, and I lean into him, absorbing his strength.
“Here you go. I found it on my side of the bed.” He says as he hands me a ring.
Taking it, I try to contain my breathing and reaction in front of Brianna. It’s the most elegant and beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. It’s exactly what I would want if I truly was getting married.
“Oh, Mia. It’s beautiful!” Brinna says as she takes my hand and looks at the ring. “Ian, you did a great job getting this for her.”
As I stare down at the ring, I can feel Ian watching me and I wish I could show him how much I appreciate it, but I can’t because of Brinna standing there.
This is all getting really real really quick.
“Ian and Mia, I want to thank you both for giving us a peek into your lives.” Says Sofia Pope, the host of the Today Show and the one that has been interviewing Ian and I for the last few hours.
“Thank you for coming.” I answer back as Ian holds my hand and the three of us wander around the gardens with the camera crew filming us.
“One last question. Mia,” Sofia looks at me, “everyone wants to know why Ian. What is it about him that made you fall in love with him and be willing to be in the public eye?”
We all stop walking and Sofia has one arm across her waist and her other arm propping up her chin, creating a pensive look. It’s all for the cameras to make herself look like she really cares, but I doubt she actually does.
I turn to Ian and look at him and then back to Sofia, “Because he’s the peanut butter to my jelly.” I shrug.
“And who doesn’t love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?” Sofia laughs and looks directly into the camera. “Well, folks, there you have it. Love in its purest form. Ian Gallo and Mia McIntosh. In love and getting married.” She turns back to us. “Do we have a date set for the wedding yet?”
Ian laughs, “One thing at a time, Sofia.”
“Fair enough.” Sofia looks back at the camera again. “Thank you for watching. I’m Sofia Pope for the Today Show . Stay tuned for your local weather.”
“And we’re out. Good show, Sofia.” The producer says as the cameras and the guys with the microphones that were hanging over our heads walk away.
“As if you and I had nothing to do with it.” Ian whispers in my ear, and I try to contain my laughter.
“Thanks again, Ian,” Sofia says over her shoulder as she’s walking away. And just like that, the entire thing is over.
“That was easier than I thought.”
“Wait until dinner. That’s going to feel like the Spanish Inquisition compared to this,” Ian says as he guides us through the lawn and back up to the house. “Come inside. I got you something."
"What? When? Oh, and by the way, this ring. Where did you get it?”
“I had my jeweler bring it by this morning. Do you like it?” Ian asks with anticipation in his voice, as if my opinion really matters to him.
“Ian, it’s so beautiful. Thank you. I’ll take good care of it while I have it.” I smile as I look down at the ring on my finger. It feels funny wearing a ring on my left hand and I play with it a bit. “It fits perfectly. How’d you know my ring size?”
“I guessed. You really like it? When I saw it, I immediately knew it was for you.”
I nod. “It’s beautiful and the girl that gets this ring for real will be the luckiest girl in the world.” I look up at Ian and he has a funny look on his face that I can’t seem to decipher. “What?”
He shakes his head, “Nothing. Come. Let me show you what I got you.”
We walk through the great room and down the hall to his home office. He picks up two small, white rectangular boxes and hand them both to me. “Be honest. If you hate them, no harm, no foul, okay?”
I take the boxes and nod. “Okay.” I open one of them and see a line of business cards and I pull one out. It says:
Mia McIntosh
CEO/President
My logo is in the top left corner. It’s all I can do to not cry. “Ian.” I whisper.
“Do you like it? Did I step out of line by getting them made?”
I shake my head. “No, not at all. I love it.” I choke out as the tears win and they fall down my face. My dream is really coming true. I’m the CEO and president of my own bridal company. How did this happen?
Ian scoops up an errant tear with his thumb. “Open the other one.”
“Isn’t it just the same thing?” I ask. Both boxes look identical.
He shakes his head as he hands me the other box. “Here.”
I open this box and it’s another stack of business cards, but this one has Mia’s Corner and that logo as well on them. Again, my name is in the center with the title ‘Owner’.
My hand covers my mouth. “Ian.” It’s all I can say. This is such a thoughtful gift, even though it’s something so small. “How did you?” I look up at him.
“While you were sleeping, I sent your drawings to Mrs. Wilcox, and she worked her magic.”
I look down at both cards and cannot believe this is all really happening. “Ian, thank you so much. It’s so thoughtful.”
“Not too much?” he asks hesitantly.
“No. Not at all.”
He’s smiling from ear to ear, proud of himself as he should be. This is the most thoughtful thing someone has ever done for me. Granted, they’re only business cards and anyone can have them made up. But he thought about me and did them for me. It may be a small thing for him, but it’s monumental for me and I’m so grateful.
Ian’s phone rings on his desk. “I’ve got a video conference call with my staff in Seattle. I need to take this call.”
“Oh, yes. Of course. I need to go and do some research on business licenses and such now that I’m a CEO.” I hold up one of my business cards and smile big. “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you around six? My parents and brother will be here around six fifteen.”
“It’s a date.” I smile.
Ian shakes his head and smiles. “No. That’s after they leave, remember?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”