Chapter Ten
Josh
He had been seconds away from kissing her. Everything, from the way her eyes had begged him to take her to how her body had melted into his as he held her against the wall, had told him to proceed, to taste what he wanted to make his.
And then she told him to let her go.
No woman had ever refused him before.
No woman had ever messed with his head before. He wondered if she had felt his heart racing while her body was flush against his. Because he had felt it. Hammering in his chest as her gaze drifted from his eyes to his mouth.
Josh felt his phone vibrate and he read the incoming text. It was go time. And he had a raging hard on. Shit!
Paul was counting on him to keep the most important messenger Mia would ever have the pleasure of receiving occupied while Paul assumed his position. Josh slipped out the side door and made his way to the garage. Paul leaped at Josh’s sudden entrance. Christ, this guy, this typically reserved, never-rattled attorney was a bundle of nerves!
“Are you ready?” Josh asked.
“Ready? I would marry Mia tonight if I could. But I want to give her the wedding of her dreams and I’m afraid out on the back lawn isn’t it. Erin dropped a few hints to where Mia envisions saying I do.”
Josh stared at his friend. He had known Paul almost as long as he had known Erin. He had never seen Paul look so vulnerable, with his heart on his sleeve, giving it freely to a woman who was his match in every sense of the word. “And this monster? Is he ready?” Josh gestured to the jittery mess of fur at Paul’s feet. Decked out in a bow tie, a new collar and dog tag, Henry looked like he was going to jump out of his skin. Josh leaned down and gave Henry a stroke between his floppy ears. “Wise not to attach the ring to the collar. I don’t trust Henry not to ingest that diamond. It’s too tempting.”
“Yeah, I came up with this alternative only after watching a few mishaps on YouTube. I don’t feel like going through dog shit for the next week in search of a ring that Henry thought fit better in his mouth than on Mia’s finger,” Paul said.
Josh read the dog tag and smiled. It was short and sweet…and would melt Mia on the spot.
“Okay. Let’s get you engaged.”
***
Carina
“Maybe Paul took him for a walk?” Carina asked.
Mia looked every bit the worried mom. “No, Paul would have told me.” Mia stood on the deck and surveyed the backyard. Carina was just about to start looking for Henry herself when she saw the pup trotting toward them. Mia finally exhaled and put her hand over her heart. “That’s it. I’m microchipping him tomorrow.”
“Well, wherever he was, he sure looks happy.” Carina squinted as Henry approached.
Mia too appeared curious and stared at her dog. “And up to something.” Henry was wagging furiously and circling Mia as if he couldn’t contain himself any longer. “Don’t you look handsome in a bow tie!” Mia bent down and gave Henry a hug. “And a new collar?” Mia noticed the tag, read the inscription…and began to cry. Josh walked toward Mia and discreetly lured Henry away with some type of doggy treat. Paul suddenly appeared in front of Mia and knelt on one knee. Carina gasped as she watched the scene unfold.
“I knew the first night we met that my life was about to change.” Paul’s voice broke a little and his hands started to shake. “Mia, I love your strength, your determination, and how loyal you are to your friends and family. I would love to say you are my other half, but baby…if I were to be honest, you are everything to me. Marry me, Mia. Please be my wife. Please…say yes.”
Paul slipped the ring on Mia’s finger. Carina watched her friend stare at the elegant diamond. And then a sweet smile appeared on Mia’s face. “Yes…of course I’ll marry you.” Paul exhaled, took her in his arms and kissed her like he didn’t have an audience, like Mia’s Uncle Drew wasn’t looking on. Chase cut the silence with an ear-piercing whistle, prompting the rest of them to join in with applause and cat calling. Carina glanced at Josh. He appeared genuinely happy for his friends as he clapped and winked at Mia, but there was a look of sadness, a shadow that seemed to loom over him as he wished his friends well. Carina didn’t know how long she had been studying Josh, but she didn’t look away when his eyes locked on hers.
“Both of us…say yes,” Mia said. Carina pulled her attention away from Josh and placed her focus on her friend. Mia’s tone was playful, with just a bit of mischief. At some point, while Carina was in her own trance, Mia had broken free of Paul’s embrace and was now standing in front of her newly acquired fiancé and caressing her belly with trembling fingers.
Paul again dropped to his knee, both actually, and took her hands in his. “We’re having…a baby?”
Mia was a puddle by this point, as well as most of Mia and Paul’s guests. Carina just looked on in awe. Now that was a proposal….one that a woman would never forget. Mia wouldn’t be regretting her decision five minutes from now. Mia wouldn’t be going to Paul’s place of employment tomorrow with every intention of putting their engagement on hold due to second thoughts as Carina had with Eric. Mia knew she had found the man she would spend the rest of her life with. And now the blissful couple would be starting a family. Carina was so incredibly happy for her friend, but the scene before her also made her own insecurities and horrific memories come to the surface.
Mia nodded through her sobs. Paul stood and scooped her up. “We need a minute everyone…alone.”
“Take all the minutes you need. I’ll take care of your guests, including my own weeping fiancée,” Chase said. With tearstained cheeks, Paul smiled and the newly engaged parents-to-be disappeared upstairs.
Carina didn’t want to rain on anyone’s parade. But with Mia occupied and Josh having the nerve to breathe the same air as her, Carina thought it was best she made herself scarce. She looked around to see if Erin was anywhere in sight and finally located her in the kitchen. Carina knew she couldn’t leave without telling her hostess, so she was going to count on Erin to relay the message.
“Carina! Can you believe it? A wedding and a baby! Holy shit!” Erin ran over and gave Carina a quick hug. Carina had liked Erin the moment she had met her at the Phillies game. Erin might be beautiful, engaged to a millionaire who was every woman’s fantasy, and pregnant with twins, but she was one of the most down-to-earth women she had ever met. “We’re going to have so much fun planning her wedding and baby showers!”
Erin was just weeks away from walking down the aisle herself and all she thought about was Mia’s wonderful news. Her joy was so contagious that Carina forgot about her own troubles for the time being and concentrated on Mia and Paul. “I know! I’m so excited for them both. Do you know if she still wants to get married at…”
“Your brother’s winery? Absolutely! Mia and I talked about the Lucrezia Winery just last night. She told me she can’t imagine a more romantic location to say her vows.”
Carina had asked Mia to come home with her for a long weekend during college. She had taken her to meet her parents, but also made the rounds and introduced her to Brennan and Luke. Gabe and Jake had been unavailable at the time, as Gabe was out to sea and Jake had an away football game. Mia had been impressed with Brennan’s cooking skills, though it wouldn’t have taken much in those ramen noodle college days. But it had been Luke’s winery she adored. Carina knew it had been love at first sight with Mia. She had fallen for the winery’s charm the moment she had stepped onto the grounds.
“I know Luke would be honored to host her wedding. He knows how much Mia means to me.” Carina felt her eyes well.
“Carina, I know we haven’t known each other long, and this might be awkward to say, but I’m really glad you and Mia are talking again.”
Carina blinked back the tears and said, “I know she feels bad about shutting me out for awhile, but I understood she needed time and one day she would be ready to pick up right from where we left off.”
“But she’s not the same woman, is she, Carina?”
Carina didn’t have to think of a response. It just came to her and it was refreshing to hear herself say the words she had been thinking since the Phillies game. “She’s stronger. More confident. And over-the-moon happy…thanks to your brother.”
Erin smiled. “Paul definitely has something to do with her being on cloud nine, but something else helped her to move on from such a dark place. She has found peace.” Coming from anyone else, Erin’s take on Mia’s emotional well-being would have sounded like something one would gather from a fortune cookie. But Erin Whitley had been to hell and back. Although Chase’s team of lawyers had moved heaven and earth to keep the details surrounding Erin’s rape and her stalker’s demise at a minimum, the story had made national news. Carina couldn’t imagine what Erin had gone through over the last year and a half. But standing in front of her now with a smile so encompassing, Carina would never have guessed that Erin had such a horrific tale to tell.
“And I couldn’t be happier for her and your brother.” Carina returned the hug. “I can’t wait to tell Luke that Mia has set her sights on his winery for her wedding.”
Erin’s eyes grew wide. “But the baby! I’m sure the Lucrezia Winery is booked solid for months!”
Carina smiled. “Don’t worry about that. Luke would move an event, even cancel a celebrity wedding before telling Mia that there is no room at the inn.”
Erin rested her hand over her heart and exhaled. “You know, it’s hard to believe you and Mia just met in college. You two seem so close, like sisters.”
Carina remembered how scared she had been to leave her family home, a mother and father who loved her, four overprotective brothers who would slaughter anyone who looked in her direction, and the girl next door whom she would always consider a member of the McGinnis clan. Morgan Kelley had been her best friend as long as she could remember, and when the time had come to say goodbye and go their separate ways to colleges they knew would fulfill their dreams, it was as if a piece of Carina’s soul had been taken from her.
Carina never thought she would find another friend like Morgan, someone you could vent to without the fear of being judged, someone you could lie on the couch with and eat a bag of chips and dip and not feel an ounce of guilt. But then she’d met Mia and her small circle of friends had expanded overnight.
“That girl is easy to love,” Carina said, trying to lighten up the conversation.
Erin chuckled. “I couldn’t agree more.”