Chapter 12 Mia
MIA
“Great dinner, everyone,” Arthur said, getting to his feet. “But we’d better head to bed. It’s another big day tomorrow! Cycling and game night!”
Slowly, everyone else followed his lead, getting to their feet, stretching, and patting full stomachs. Alone or in pairs, they headed off to their rooms or to the villa’s bar. Mia stood, too, and walked with Evan back toward their room. They called out their goodnights, and everyone called back.
“That was fun,” Evan said as they crossed the patio toward the villa. “But I’d better get back to work.”
“No way.” Mia pivoted to face him, grabbing his arm so he couldn’t walk further.
He was much taller than her, and right now, he was so close that she could smell his aftershave.
He was close enough to kiss — or to punch.
She wasn’t sure what would feel better. Narrowing her eyes, she said, “I survived the first day, but there were a lot of questions about ‘us.’ We need to get our stories straight.”
“You handled things fine today.” Evan looked down and raised his eyebrows. She was still holding his arm, and he put a hand on top of hers.
“I know, but we still need to talk. We’re going up to our room, I’m taking your laptop, and you’re not getting it back until we have a solid story in place.”
Evan grinned, and her heart did an involuntary backflip. “How can I say no when you threaten me like that?”
“Every teacher knows that if bribes stop working, threats might do the trick.” Mia winked to show that she was kidding, and Evan chuckled. The sound was deep and warm.
“I don’t know that I appreciate being compared to a stubborn high schooler.”
“Then stop acting like one.” Mia gave him a stern look, and Evan bowed his head in a nod.
“Fair point. I have been distracted. But to be fair, I’ve been distracted with work, not videogames or Chia Pets or whatever high schoolers these days are into.”
“It’s Chia Pets.” Mia patted his arm. “Definitely Chia Pets. If you meet a high schooler, be sure to talk about Chia Pets.”
Evan narrowed his eyes. “I feel like you’re messing with me.”
“Definitely not.” Mia turned, flipping her hair, and started back toward the villa. Without looking, she knew that Evan would follow.
He was being weird still — distant and too focused on work — but they’d regained some of the easy banter they’d had at the last wedding, and Mia had to admit that she was enjoying it.
It was fun to flirt and tease and joke. But she had to be careful; she couldn’t let herself believe that they were doing anything more than flirting and joking.
There would be no more kissing. And there would be no more of her heart doing backflips and her knees growing weak when he was close.
Or, at least, she would try to ignore any heart backflips and knee weakness she encountered.
After all, Evan was handsome, charming, and funny, but he was also obsessed with work, had ghosted her for a month, and had abandoned her with his family at the first opportunity.
They climbed the stairs to their room, where Mia opened the door onto the balcony.
The sun was dipping to the horizon now, casting bright oranges and pinks and reds across the sky, and a faint chill had entered the air.
Mia grabbed a sweater and went to sit on one of the balcony’s chairs.
A moment later, Evan followed. They sat quietly for a few minutes, looking out over the rolling fields and hills dotted with stone houses and farms, before Evan cleared his throat.
“So, what do we need to talk about?”
“First, I’ve got a lot of questions about our relationship,” Mia said. “Like how we met, how long we’ve been dating, that kind of thing. I told the same story about the mango that we told at the last wedding when people asked how we met, and I said we’ve been dating for eight months.”
“Great.” Evan raised his eyebrows. “That all seems fine.”
“But the bigger problem is that your family expects me to know you, at least a little, and they’ll expect you to know me, too.
Your mom mentioned that you’d founded your company right after your college graduation, and she asked me to confirm the year.
And later, Luka made a joke about a soccer team that he seemed to think I should understand.
Stuff like that. If we don’t know anything about each other, your family will start to get suspicious. ”
“Okay, fair enough.” Evan sat back, crossing one ankle over his knee.
“I’ll give you a quick history, then. So, I graduated from Stanford with my BA in business studies and went straight for my MBA, also at Stanford.
The MBA graduation is probably what my mom was asking about.
I moved to San Francisco a little while later, because Silicon Valley is the place to be for a tech start-up, and I’ve been there ever since.
The soccer joke was probably about my ongoing feud with Luka about the best soccer team.
He says Real Madrid; I say FC Barcelona. ”
“I didn’t know you were a soccer fan,” Mia said, surprised.
“I don’t have a bunch of shirts with the FC Barcelona logo or anything, but I do watch games when I have the chance.”
“Cool. Have you seen one in person?”
“Yeah.” Evan nodded. “A few years ago, Luka dragged me to Spain to see the teams play head-to-head in La Liga.”
“Aw.” Mia smiled. “That’s sweet of him. It must have been a fun trip.”
Evan looked away, and Mia’s eyes narrowed. “Let me guess… You worked the whole time.”
“We were launching a new product two weeks after the game,” Evan protested. “The work was important.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Wow.”
Evan sighed. “Okay, maybe it wasn’t my best move. But my family doesn’t understand how important my career is.”
“Right, because surgeons like your brother are known for not taking their work seriously.” Mia narrowed her eyes at him.
“It’s different for Luka. It’s like he has a switch in his brain. When he’s at the hospital, that’s all that exists, and when he’s home, the hospital doesn’t exist anymore.”
“That’s a good strategy.” Mia sat back. “Okay, so we know that you’re a soccer fan, a workaholic, and a Stanford graduate. What else do I need to know about you?”
“You’ve already met my family, so you know I have an older brother and plenty of cousins.” Evan drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “I think that’s it.”
“How about exes?” Mia asked. “I wouldn’t want to be caught off guard if you’ve had some serious relationship I don’t know about.” Despite her best intentions, her heart clenched as she waited for his answer.
“Nope, nothing of note. I never really dated anyone long enough to do family introductions.” Evan paused. “I suppose that makes me sound very shallow.”
“Not really.” Mia bit her lip and hesitated. “To be honest... I haven’t dated anyone long enough for family introductions, either.”
“Really?” Evan raised his eyebrows.
“You don’t have to look so shocked.”
“I mean… you’re accomplished, interesting, and beautiful. I would have thought you’d date plenty. And I’d have thought you were the type for serious relationships.”
“I don’t have time for dating, I guess,” Mia said. “My students are always my priority. And all the guys I’ve met have been…” She held out a hand, palm flat, and tilted it side to side “…iffy. Like you.” She couldn’t resist getting a barb in.
Evan winced. “Fair point. I haven’t made the best showing. So, what should I know about you?”
“Let’s see. You know that I’m a teacher and an only child.
My parents live in Sacramento, and I see them pretty often.
Though, like I told you at the wedding, I get lots of the same questions you do about when I’m planning to settle down.
” Mia considered. “I went to UCLA and got a dual bachelor’s and master’s in education and math. ”
“Impressive,” Evan said.
“Not really.” Mia sighed. “Not for my parents, anyway. They wanted me to become a lawyer or a doctor or something.”
“Why?” Evan asked.
“They wanted the best for me. And for them, that meant lots of money and prestige and security. My parents both worked at a grocery store, which didn’t pay much and sometimes meant very long hours, and they wanted me to have something different.”
“I think my parents were the opposite,” Evan admitted.
“My father manages the family wealth, and my mother runs charities. They wanted me to follow the exact same path they did. Even Luka becoming a doctor was strange for them, though they came around on that pretty fast. I think they saw the benefit of having a doctor in the family. They don’t understand why I’d want to start my own company and deal with all the headaches that go with that, though. ”
“It’s hard, not living up to what your parents want,” Mia said. Her stomach twisted as she thought of the way her parents always asked about her career and love life, and how they always tried to mask their disappointment.
“It is.” Evan met her gaze. “Which is why I really appreciate you coming and helping me.”
“It’s been fun,” Mia said. “I didn’t love the radio silence for a month, but I guess work always comes first, huh?”
“It has to.” Evan shook his head. “Imagine if my company crumbled after I’ve poured everything into it. My parents would act sympathetic, but they’d make subtle comments about how I should never have even tried.”
“I can imagine,” Mia said. She’d heard plenty of “subtle” comments today herself. “Is that the reason you work so much?”
“Partly.” Evan sighed. “But there’s more to it. I love my job. I love making something of my own.” He glanced at her.
“I feel the same way about teaching,” Mia said. She smiled. “I guess we might be more similar than I thought.”
“Because we both love our jobs and struggle with family expectations?” Evan nodded. “I suppose so.”
“Maybe we have more in common,” Mia suggested. “What was your childhood like?”