22. Ian
Chapter 22
Ian
W hat the fuck is your problem, Gallo? Telling Mia she can’t go to her kickball practice like you own her. What the fuck were you thinking? I chastise myself as I down my whiskey and pour myself another one.
Talking to Mia about Sawyer brought up some bad memories of my little brother stealing my girlfriend right out from underneath me. It happened over ten years ago, almost fifteen years now, but it still stings. We were just kids back then and, in the end, that girl wasn’t worth the time of day. Hell, I can’t even remember her name.
But knowing that Mia will be in the same room as Sawyer has my hackles up. Especially knowing that this is a fake relationship between us. Who’s to say when this is all over, Mia doesn’t run to Sawyer? That would probably kill me.
I decide against a third drink, even though thinking about water under the bridge with my brother makes me want one more. Instead, I decide to work. It’s my saving grace and right now, my happy place.
I set up my home office like my office at the country club, with all modern décor but warmer tones. It’s unique to me. I sit down and send a group text to my parents and my brother, giving them the time of dinner tomorrow night. Then I send a note to Paula letting her know of all the visitors for Mia tomorrow and that my family will be over tomorrow night. My brother sends just me a text back.
Sawyer: So, she said yes?
Me: Obviously
Sawyer: Are you telling mom and dad about your arrangement?
Me: Obviously not
Sawyer: Good to know. I’ll keep my mouth shut.
And your hands off of Mia, I think to myself, but don’t text it back. That was a long time ago and I’m just in a pissy mood. It’s not his fault, so no need to take it out on him.
Me: Thanks
Sawyer: No problem. One more thing.
Me: What?
Sawyer: Did you get her a ring?
Me: Fuck
Sawyer: LOL See ya tomorrow night
He loves his emojis and sent a few diamond ring emojis.
Now I’m shopping online for engagement rings that would be appropriate for Mia to wear. Normally, I would expect that the biggest one would be sufficient, but that doesn’t feel like something Mia would want or wear. No, simple and elegant seems to be more her style.
That’s when I see exactly what I’m looking for. Elegant and classic, but edgy. It looks just like Mia, beautiful, and I have to have it for her. I know this isn’t a genuine relationship and I’m finding that I’m having trouble remembering that point, but I want her to have this ring.
Reaching out to my jeweler, I send him the link to the ring I want, and he emails back to me. He has that one in stock and will have it sent to the house tomorrow. I’m surprised he responded so quickly, since it’s so late at night. I just expected to hear from him in the next few days, but am pleasantly surprised and thank him for his diligence.
Now, it’s time to get back into these financials for the Bahamas deal and how I’m going to get this guy to sell me all four of these islands.
It’s just before midnight and I decide that I’ve done all I can for today and that it’s time to turn in, so I shut down my laptop and make my way to my room. Besides, I barely got any sleep last night and tomorrow night will be taxing enough as it is with my family coming over. Best to get some decent sleep tonight.
As I climb the stairs, I can picture Mia standing up here, looking down at me and putting me in my place. As she should have done. I still feel terrible about the way I talked to her. When I get to the top of the stairs, I look over at her door and notice that the light is still on in her room.
I knock on her door. “Mia? Is everything okay?”
She opens the door while wearing one of my T-shirts and with a towel wrapped around her head. My breath catches in my throat. Her long, tan legs are gorgeous. But what catches my eyes are her hard nipples showing through the white T-shirt she’s wearing. My dick takes notice, too.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I stole one of your shirts to sleep in.” She looks sheepishly at me, like she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“No. Not at all.”
She smiles. “Thanks. Did you need something?”
Snapping me back to our conversation. I can’t stop looking at her long legs or the fact that she’s not wearing a bra. “Um. Ah. No. I don’t. I was just making sure everything is okay since I saw your light was till on.”
“Oh, yeah. Well, I got excited about setting up my shop and lost track of time.” She points to her notebook that is opened on the table in the living room.
“What were you doing that got you so lost?” I ask, mostly because I don’t want her to close the door in my face, but also a bit because I’m just curious.
“Come on in. I’ll show you.” She opens the door wider for me to enter. “I’ll be right back.” She disappears into the bathroom.
I look down at her notebook and see that she’s designed her logo and has a rough draft of the layout of her website.
“What do you think about the logo and the website?” She asks as she comes back into the room with a robe on and her damp hair released from the towel. “I’ve always dreamed of the logo but was afraid to put it down on paper until today.”
“I like it. A lot. And the setup for your website is nice, too. Will brides be able to purchase the dresses online?”
“Better.” she says with excitement and then shuffles through her notebook to a page to show me. “They’ll be able to actually see themselves in the dress before ever having to try it on. See? They just upload a picture of themselves and then pick the dress they want to try on and they can see virtually how it will look.” Mia keeps flipping pages, showing me how she plans to set up the page.
“What’s this right here?” I stop her flipping on one page in her book.
“That’s where brides, if they choose to, can donate their wedding attire to an organization that helps people that don’t have the financial means to pay for a wedding.” She tries to move on to her other pages, but I stop her.
“Wait. You’re also setting up a non-profit?”
“Yeah. So?” She sounds defensive.
“Why would you do that, Mia, when you haven’t even set up your own business yet?”
She tries to clean up her papers and notebook and won’t even look at me when she replies, “Because there are girls out there, not unlike me, that think that they’re not good enough; that they’ll never be able to have a wedding. Not to mention being able to afford a dress. I just thought that if the bride or the bridal party wants to donate their dresses to Mia’s Corner, then I could help more people.”
I stop her hands and lift her chin so that she’s looking at me. “Mia, that’s just so…”
“Stupid? Idiotic? What?”
“Amazing. Thoughtful. Kind.” Her eyes look into mine and I can’t help myself. I lean in and kiss her. Softly. Her lips still taste of honey and before I know what I’m doing, I cradle her head in both of my hands and push her against the wall next to her.
Mia’s hands are on my arms as I hold her against the wall and kiss her again. I can’t help myself and I just want to get lost in all things Mia. She’s not fighting me or pushing me away. She’s kissing me back. Our kisses last for what seems like forever and a nanosecond.
“Ian.”
I can hear the ‘stop’ in her voice and so I just lean my forehead against hers while we catch our breath.
“What are we doing?” She asks, and I don’t have an answer for her, so I say nothing.
She taps my chest and pulls away and I let her go because I don’t know what the hell came over me. Mia walks to the other side of the room and grabs her discarded towel from earlier and wipes her forehead. “What was that for, Ian?”
“I’m sorry, Mia. I didn’t mean to assault you.”
“Assault? That’s a rather strong word to use, don’t you think?” Her eyebrows are raised. “I’m just as guilty as you are.”
I put my hands in my pocket and lean against the wall that I just had her pushed up against. “I don’t know what it is about you, Mia, but I want you. Badly.”
She nods and looks around the room. “Why?”
Her question takes me off guard. “What do you mean, why?”
“Just what I asked. Why do you want me? What is it about me that makes you want me, Ian?”
As I think about her odd question, I walk towards her on the other side of the room. “I’ve never met someone that thinks about others before herself. I’ve never met someone that refuses to take advantage of me even when I try to give it to them. I’ve never met someone that has offered to pay for dinner like you did the other night in the parking lot. I’ve never met someone that has the soul of an angel, her dreams in her crosshairs, the self-esteem to demand what she deserves, and the body of a goddess. That’s why I want you, Mia. This last week since I’ve met you has turned my world upside down and it’s never been clearer. You are what I want, Mia. You.” I lay my heart on the line and then walk away from it and wait to see what she does with it.
I wasn’t expecting her to hand it back to me.