Chapter 6 Mia #3
‘Not much to tell, Mrs Robinson. I’ve just taken on a new job at Pembley Sanders. That’s why I wasn’t able to join my family on the cruise – I’m still in my probation period.’
Of course Sam’s a job-hopping derelict, Mia thinks as she wipes down the counters. Probably hasn’t held down a job for more than a year since he graduated.
‘Is it full time work?’ Martin asks.
‘Yes, and hopefully fewer hours than the last place. The benefits were fantastic – they even provided company housing – but all I did was work. My boss had no concept of work–life balance.’
Mia snickers under her breath. Ideally Sam’s boss was a fire-breathing dragon who also incinerated him on a daily basis.
‘The new job’s not glamorous in the slightest, but it pays the bills and then some.’
‘Are you saving up to buy your own place?’ Penny motions for Martin to gather up a few more wine glasses.
‘Yes, that’s the goal. I’ll need to save for another year or so.
Then I’ll be able to start the house hunt.
I’m not looking for anything too extravagant.
A couple of bedrooms and maybe an outdoor space if I’m lucky.
Although I’m not thrilled about the idea of moving again.
I’m just getting settled into the new place.
Still have a few boxes left to unpack.’ Sam crosses one ankle over his other knee, exposing his sock.
Mia is at first thankful that he’s no longer barefoot, then irritated by the whimsical llamas in rain boots sprinkled all over the bright purple hosiery.
Doesn’t the man have the decency to dress like a grown-up?
Martin chuckles. ‘I think we still have a few boxes in the basement from when we moved to London years ago. You’re doing all right, son.’
‘Pity you don’t have anyone to share the new place with …’ Penny hints, her meaning rather obvious, but Mia has to give her some respect. Penny’s fishing for information and she’s not ashamed to go after it. ‘Your good looks will be wasted if you don’t find someone soon.’
Sam chuckles. Mia glances over at him. Martin has poured both him and Charlie a glass from a new bottle of wine.
Sam nods in thanks, and Mia sees that the back of his neck is a little red.
Interesting. She didn’t know Sam Williams was capable of feeling embarrassment.
Maybe now he would understand a little bit of what she’d felt all those years ago.
Martin chimes in as he returns to the seat beside Penny. ‘I ran into your mother at the pharmacy last year. She said your sister is married with two children. Have you thought about whether or not you want kids too?’
‘Ah, I’m not sure,’ Sam hedges, now visibly uncomfortable with the spotlight being squarely placed on him. ‘Charlie, when is Molly coming up here?’
Charlie grins like a cat with a mouse. ‘Oh, no. You’re the one in the hot seat right now. Don’t try to tap me in.’
‘Yeah, leave your fake girlfriend out of this,’ Mia pipes up as she pinches sprigs of rosemary on to a plate for the garnish.
Charlie’s mouth drops open. ‘What? She’s not fake. Why would you say that?’
Mia shrugs. ‘I’m just saying, I’ve never actually met her. From what Mum says, none of us have.’
‘I’ve met her,’ Sam says supportively.
Mia jabs the air in his direction with her wooden spoon. ‘You don’t count. You’re an untrustworthy witness.’ Sam raises his hands in mute surrender.
Turning back to the oven, she bends to pull out the roasted squash. She’ll blend this up, add it to the sautéed ingredients, and then she’s planning to whisk up some sour cream and milk to dot in each bowl as it’s served.
‘Is there anyone you’re interested in currently, Sam?’
Mia is appalled to realize that she wants to hear his answer to Penny’s question. Very badly. Distracted by her rogue thoughts, she dumps the squash into the blender and jabs the on button. The machine roars to life, drowning out Sam’s response.
‘Ack!’ Mia frantically hits the power button again, and the machine chokes off. The upper cabinets are now coated in little bits of bright orange puree. In her distraction, Mia forgot to place the lid on the blender, and now there is squash everywhere.
‘Are you all right, darling?’ Martin half rises from his chair, and Charlie and Sam both swivel to look at her.
‘I’m fine.’
‘That’s quite the mess,’ Penny observes. ‘Is the soup ruined?’
‘No.’ Mia pushes away her annoyance and grabs a rag from under the sink. ‘There’s plenty left and this will clean up easily.’
‘Let me do it,’ Sam says, coming to stand beside her.
She’s about to protest, but really, doesn’t he deserve to do more? He could clean every inch of this house, chop all the wood on the property, and they still wouldn’t be even. She tosses the rag at him. ‘Be my guest.’
Sam works quietly beside her while the others carry on with their conversation.
Mia is finding it nearly impossible to stay focused on her task.
She’s thankful that the growl of the blender hides her pounding heart, in disbelief that Sam is still able to rile her up so easily.
Sam moves with unconscious athleticism, and she watches him from the corner of her eye.
His fingers flex around the rag he’s using to clean, and Mia only has to close her eyes to recall the sensation of those same hands sliding into her hair.
Shivers run up and down her back. In an effort to push away the memories, she forces her focus back to blending the squash, pouring it into the other ingredients once it’s smooth.
She tastes it once more, and mutters, ‘Needs some nutmeg.’ She’s about to rummage through the spice cabinet again when the little nut grater appears at her elbow.
‘This what you’re looking for?’ Sam smiles at her, and there’s an apology in his eyes.
She can see it. She could have it too, she knows this.
He would say all the right things, and she wouldn’t be able to do anything except forgive him.
He leans closer, and she breathes in a whiff of that enchanted forest again.
The smells of the soup are replaced by a spicy, knee-weakening aroma. Mia’s ovaries cry out in protest.
But she is not that weak. She won’t be wooed by a pair of warm brown eyes and an apologetic smile.
Instead, she snatches up the nutmeg and purses her lips as she peruses Sam.
‘If you two want to have any of this soup, you’d best get yourselves to town to buy that bread.
It’ll be ready in half an hour and I’m not planning to serve it cold. This isn’t a gazpacho.’
Charlie reluctantly shoves back from the table. Sam shoots her a tentative look. ‘Any chance you want to join us, Mia?’
She plants her hands on her hips and scowls at him. ‘Any chance you’ve invented a time machine and can now undo the past?’
Sam’s smile fades and he ducks his head. Charlie claps him on the shoulder in an attempt at camaraderie and heads out. Sams follows him without another word. Mia checks her phone, and mercifully, there is another text from Lucy.
I hope you’re plotting revenge on Charlie for doing this to you. I’m thinking Veet in his shampoo. Or should we shave his legs while he sleeps? Ooh, just one of them. That will teach him, the hairy weirdo.
Mia smiles, cheered by her friend’s fierce loyalty. I love it.
Her phone vibrates a second later with another text from Lucy. Is Sam still hot though?
Unbelievably. It’s infuriating.
The nerve. He could have at least got a little fat or developed a skin condition or something.
See, this is why she loves Lucy. Girlfriend’s got her back, and they practically share a brain. Mia slides her phone into her waistband and tunes back into her parents’ conversation.
‘Well,’ Penny is giggling as she refills her wine glass for the third time, ‘I’m just saying. If I were thirty years younger, I would offer to have Sam’s babies.’
‘Mum! Don’t be gross!’
‘What? That boy is absolutely scrumptious,’ Penny defends.
Disgusting. Her parents have always been a little inappropriate, though. Mia should be used to it. Shaking her head, she hunches over the stovetop, making the last few adjustments to the soup while her father’s belly laugh fills the kitchen.