Chapter 9
Killian
“Your father is a busy man, Killian,” my mother says to me, and I have to grind my teeth to keep myself from snapping at her.
“I understand that,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm and even. “But if I knew he was going to cancel dinner, I wouldn’t have rushed here. I could’ve come this weekend for the charity event,” I point out, and my mother sighs.
She tucks her short, dark hair behind her ears and glances at me, her dark eyes giving me a challenging look.
“What do you want me to do, Killian?” she asks, shaking her head. “Your father’s schedule is out of my control.”
“I’m not blaming you, Ma,” I reply. “It’s just typical, that’s all.”
“Don’t start, Killian,” she retorts, and I can’t help the chuckle that escapes my lips.
“Start what?”
She frowns at me and I make my way towards the back door.
“Where are you going?” she asks me.
“No point in hanging around right now, is there?”
There’s a part of me that wants my mother to tell me to stay. I’d never admit that out loud, though. I don’t even like admitting that to myself.
But if my relationship with Mia was real, which she thinks that it is, why the fuck doesn’t she care about meeting her?
Because she doesn’t really care about you, Killian, I remind myself. My entire family has always been about optics and how things look to outsiders. My mother doesn’t care if I’m happy or not. She doesn’t care about the woman who is going to be my wife.
She just cares that we all look good in pictures together, and that her friends think that we’re all a big, happy, loving family.
It’s why I was estranged from them – my parents, for so long. I hate this world and everything that comes with it.
“I have some things to do the next few days,” my mother says as she flips through the mail that’s on the counter.
She doesn’t look at me at all when she says, “We’ll see you and meet your girlfriend at the event on Saturday.”
“My fiancée,” I correct her, and I see her shrug, but she still doesn’t look up.
I leave the house without another word, trying to tamp down my anger.
I don’t know why I’m letting my mother get me worked up.
I know how she is. She and my father have always been like this; dismissive, aloof.
They don’t care about what’s going on in my life; they never have and they never will. I know that.
I walk back towards the cottage, wishing that I was anywhere but here. I think I forgot how fucking awful it was because I’ve been gone for so long now. Being back here brings out the worst in me, and I honestly just want to get the meeting between my parents and Mia over with.
Once they meet, and my father sees that this is legitimate, we’ll start the process of wedding planning.
Well, more like, my mother will start it. She’ll act like Mia has a say, but she doesn’t. It’s whatever my mother wants. And the sooner we get married, the sooner we can move into our own house together.
It’s the Savage way. And I hate every fucking thing about it.
I always thought my oldest brother, Reign, would get out. But he met Calista and fell deeply in love, and her parents are just as fucked up as ours are. She didn’t want to leave them entirely, so Reign stayed for her.
Maddox wouldn’t ever dream of leaving; he loves living the good life too much to jeopardize being taken out of the will. He’ll marry someone who looks good on paper that my father likes, and he’ll probably cheat on his wife every chance he gets.
And then Jeremy. He’s young, and he still has a long time before he has to worry about marriage. And as long as I’m here, doing what my father expects of me, then his rehab is all paid for, and I don’t have to worry about him.
I wonder briefly if my mother knows that my father is essentially blackmailing me. I don’t think she does, but nothing would surprise me about my parents at this point. They’re horrible people.
I sigh as I open the door to the cottage, stepping inside. Mia’s standing by the mantel, looking at the pictures that are on the wall above it, and she practically jumps when I walk into the room.
She turns to face me, and I’m truly blown away by how beautiful she is. I like her with dark hair. It suits her. It really brings out the blue in her eyes; they almost look darker, like mine.
She’s wearing tight jeans with thigh high boots, and a black top that has a plunging neckline, her perfect tits on full display.
She swallows nervously when she sees me.
“Change of plans,” I tell her, and she frowns.
“How come?”
“My father’s busy,” I say quickly, not wanting to get into it. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” she asks. She grabs the leather jacket that I got for her off the back of the chair and slips it on.
Mia in a leather jacket drives me fucking crazy. I knew I was playing with fire when I grabbed it for her, but I had to buy it. It’s what she was wearing the first night I met her, and she looks so sexy in it.
“Dinner,” I tell her, and she just nods, surprised.
We make our way outside, the sky dark as we walk across the lawn. She almost trips and she reaches out to me. I grab her, steadying her, and she gasps when my fingers graze her bare skin where her shirt has ridden up.
“Sorry,” she stammers nervously, and I smirk to myself. I love knowing that I make Mia nervous.
She’s so feisty and bratty ninety-nine percent of the time, and then she has moments like this when she’s blushing because I touched her. She’s a fucking enigma to me, and I remind myself again that I can’t fall for her bullshit.
We head towards the SUV, and I open the door for her. She gives me a weird look, and I chuckle.
“What?” I ask her.
She shakes her head as she climbs inside, and I shut the door behind her and make my way around to the drivers seat.
I get into the car, starting it up.
“I’m surprised you didn’t cuff me,” she says quietly, and I can feel her gaze on me.
I look over at her with a smirk on my lips.
“I still can,” I tell her. “Are you asking to be cuffed?”
She rolls her eyes, sighing. “No.”
I chuckle as I pull out of the parking spot and drive down the long driveway.
“Where are we going?”
“Dinner-"
“I know, Killian,” she cuts me off. “Where?”
“Does it matter?” I ask her.
She shrugs, looking out the window.
We’re both quiet as I drive towards my favorite Italian restaurant in Rosebrook Falls – Donatella’s.
It’s a small place; it looks like a hole in the wall, honestly, but Donatella Giordano is the best cook I’ve ever met. Her chicken parm is out of this world.
I pull into the lot, and Mia’s quiet as she gets out of the car, taking everything in.
For a moment I think about the fact that I spent six months with Mia in the past but never once took her here, and then I remember that the two of us were smoking a lot of weed at that time.
Well, I was smoking a lot of weed at that time, and I think Mia just didn’t want to feel left out. We were always lazy and ordering takeout, lounging around the tiny apartment that I was renting back then.
I don’t smoke at all anymore. I thought I’d miss it, but I don’t.
I hold the door for her, which she seems surprised by, and she walks into the restaurant with me right behind her.
It’s quiet; there are only a few other couples here. I look around the room, and then Donatella’s voice startles me.
“My boy!” she shouts jovially, her voice loud and booming.
I turn to face her, unable to keep the grin off my own face.
“It’s been so long!” she exclaims, and I nod, letting her pull me in for a hug. “I missed you!”
Donatella is what I always wanted my own mother to be like. Warm, nurturing, caring. A great cook.
Cynthia Savage is none of those things.
“I missed you, too,” I tell her, and she kisses both of my cheeks before she pulls away and looks at Mia.
“Who is this beautiful young woman?” she asks, and Mia blushes.
“Donatella, meet my fiancée,” I say, and Donatella squeals, grabbing Mia’s hand.
She looks down at the ring that I put on Mia’s finger earlier tonight, and grins.
“Beautiful,” she says, then she looks up at Mia again. “Both you and the ring.”
“Hi,” Mia says nervously. “I’m Mia. Thank you so much.”
“So nice to meet you, honey.” Donatella pulls Mia in for a hug, too, and I can tell Mia is surprised by that.
When they pull apart, Donatella puts her hands on Mia’s shoulders and says, “Killian is family, which means you’re family now, too.”
Mia nods, and she has a strange look on her face; is she going to cry? But then she swallows and tucks her hair behind her ears. She gives Donatella a big smile and quietly whispers, “Thank you.”
Donatella leads us to a booth in the back and looks at me.
“Your usual?” she asks, and I chuckle, surprised that she still remembers.
I nod, and she hurries away back to the kitchen.
“She’s sweet,” Mia says quietly. “She really likes you.”
“Surprised that someone does?” I ask, and she shakes her head.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” she says carefully. She picks up her glass of water and takes a sip. “I liked you, too, Killian.”
I snort. “You liked me so much that you trashed my place, took my money and ran.”
Her cheeks turn a deep shade of crimson, and she opens her mouth to speak but a waiter comes over with a basket of bread and butter, and whatever Mia wanted to say is forgotten.
The rest of our meal is quiet. Mia looks sad, and I fucking hate it. I tell myself that I don’t care, that it shouldn’t matter to me, but it does.
We’re paying our tab when I hear another familiar voice and I turn my head, unable to keep the smile off my face.
“No fucking way.”
I haven’t seen Hunter Lawson in years. He gives me a half hug, greeting me with a huge smile.
“How are you, man?” he asks. “It’s been so long.”
“Too long,” I nod in agreement.
“You’re back?”
I nod again. “Hunter, this is my fiancée, Mia.”
He shakes Mia’s hand, still grinning.
“Never thought I’d see the day that Killian Savage would settle down. In Rosebrook Falls, none the less.”
I chuckle. “Gotta grow up sometime.”
He laughs, too. “Come to Ned’s. I’m just picking up food for my mom, but I’m heading over there after.”
It sounds tempting. It’s early, and playing pool and drinking a couple of beers beats the alternative of having to go back to the estate.
I look at Mia, and she nods.
“Sure,” she says. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
The way that she’s looking at me right now makes me want to lean over and kiss her.
“Why the hell not?” I reply, and Hunter grins.
“I’ll meet you there,” he tells me. “Some of the old crew will be there.”
I nod, then I say goodbye to Donatella, and we make our way out to my car.
Once we’re inside it, I look over at her.
“You sure you don’t mind going to the bar?” I ask her.
“It’s better than being cuffed to the headboard,” she says with a shrug, and I sigh, looking away from her. She’s making me feel bad, and I can’t afford to feel bad for her.
I turn the music up as we pull out of Donatella’s. It’ll be nice to see the old crew again.
Back in high school, there were five us of that were very close; me, Hayden, Hunter, Liam and Axel.
After Axel died, we all kind of went our separate ways. Me and Hayden stayed close, but Hunter started dating Taylor Vaughn, and he did his own thing. Liam moved to California, claiming it was too hard to be in Rosebrook Falls after Axel was gone.
I hate thinking about Axel, honestly. I feel like all four of us were partially responsible for his death.
We were at a house party the summer after we graduated.
I was hooking up with Farrah in someone’s parent’s bedroom.
Hunter was following Taylor around like a lost puppy.
Hayden was in a beer pong tournament. And Liam was passed out.
None of us were paying any attention to Axel at all, and we didn’t even know that he had left the party with Scott Dubrow, who was fucking wasted.
Scott crashed into a tree, and they both died instantly.
I shake thoughts of them away as I drive towards Ned’s. Logically I know that it wasn’t our fault that Axel died. But I wish that one of us was paying attention to him that night. He was mopey that entire summer because his girlfriend at the time dumped him, and we should’ve been there for him.
We were just kids, though. Dumbass kids.
I pull into Ned’s and turn the car off, looking over at Mia.
“Ready?”
She nods, and then the two of us make our way inside.