Sawyer

I press the intercom and don’t even attempt to hide my annoyed tone. “Is she here yet?”

“Yes, sir.” Aileen’s answer is immediate. Crisp and professional, as always. If she ever has any ideas or opinions of what I may or may not be doing with Mia, she keeps them to herself.

I like that about her.

After a moment of silence, Aileen’s voice interrupts my thoughts. “Shall I send her in, Mr. Mills?”

“Yes, thank you.” My finger barely leaves the intercom button before I hear the light knock on my office door that I immediately recognize as belonging to Mia. Even if she hadn’t knocked at all, I could sense her there, just like I’d instinctively known when she hadn’t been at her desk on time this morning.

She doesn’t wait for me to answer, and I see her head tentatively poke around the corner. “You, um… wanted to see me?”

I can already feel my irritation slipping away as I look at her beautiful face. I’m not even annoyed with her. Sure, I’m paying her to be here on time, but… if I'm honest, I just selfishly want to see her, to hear her voice and look into her eyes.

“You’re late,” I say, my tone still gruffer than I intend. Mia nods and nibbles at her lower lip, and I wonder if she knows how much I love it when she does that. She’s still hesitating at the door, though. “Come in,” I demand, before softening my tone a little and adding a belated, “Please.”

It’s only when she’s standing there in front of my desk, looking so radiant that it’s like she’s brought a ray of sunshine into the office with her, that I notice something is still a little off. She gives me a nervous smile, but… that’s just it. She’s nervous. She’s fidgeting. Something is wrong.

Surely she doesn’t think I’m upset about her being a few minutes late. She should know by now that my bark is worse than my bite. Still, I feel like an ass for the way I greeted her.

“Mia, I don’t mean to sound so…” I shrug a little as I search for the right word. Grumpy? Cranky? Irritable? I had felt all of those things while I was waiting for her to come to work, but is that really how I want her to think of me?

She smiles again—more convincingly this time—and shakes her head, interrupting my mental search for the right word to tell her how I’m feeling without putting her more on edge than I already have. “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry I was late. I just had some, um… some things to do. And then Dad wanted to talk over breakfast.” She rolls her eyes. “You know how he can be.”

I do know. I think of how protective David is and how he only wants the best for Mia, and it makes me smile. I can only imagine what David had wanted to talk about. Probably details about our trip to Japan. Or about work. Or about working with me.

My smile instantly fades as that thought crosses my mind. What would David think if she ever told him about the real nature of our work relationship?

“Your dad means well,” I say, finally, making a conscious decision not to press for details that I may not want to hear. “I hope you can cut him a little slack.”

She nods but swallows hard and turns her head to look out the window over the city, but not before I catch a glimpse of her eyes starting to well up.

“Wait.” I stand up and move from behind my desk so quickly that I take her by surprise. “What’s wrong?” I ask, closing the distance between us and cupping her face in my hands.

Mia shivers as I swipe my thumb gently across her cheek, catching and wiping away a tear that starts to fall. “Nothing,” she says, but I can see that she’s not telling the truth.

Nothing doesn’t look like this. This is definitely something.

I just wonder if she’ll tell me what it is.

“You don’t have to tell me.” I pull her close and inhale the sweet fruity scent of her shampoo as I kiss the top of her head. “But if there’s anything I can do—anything, Mia—I want to help. I hate seeing you upset.”

For several long seconds, she clings to me, letting me hold her in silence there in my office. Finally, she breaks away just long enough to look up and me with a genuine smile. Her eyes are still bright with emotion, but she doesn’t seem as lost, as sad as she was before.

“Thank you,” she whispers. “That means more to me than you know…” She clears her throat and blinks a few times as if she might still lose the battle with the tears that are just about to spill over. But she doesn’t cry. With a ragged breath, she inhales, then exhales, then stands up tall and smooths the front of her clothes where I’ve held her tightly against me. “I, um, actually wanted to ask if you had plans tonight? For dinner?”

“If I do, I’ll cancel them.” I can’t resist leaning in and tasting her lips for a quick kiss. “Where do you want to go for dinner, Mia? I’m all yours.”

“Well, the thing is…” She takes another deep breath. “My dad was hoping you’d come to dinner tonight with him. With us, I mean. Him… and me, and… his girlfriend.”

Now it’s my turn to stand there, slack-jawed and blinking, completely caught off guard by her request. Shit. I can’t stop staring at this girl like a little lost puppy, and I’m supposed to sit through an entire dinner with her father—my best friend—and his new girlfriend?

Alarm bells are going off in my head. This sounds like a bad idea. The worst idea. Ever. But there’s really only one way I can answer.

“Of course,” I say, nodding and smiling and doing my very best to act as though I’m not worried at all. “I’d be more than happy to join the three of you for dinner. Absolutely.”

“Really?” She seems almost as surprised as I feel. “You mean it? You’ll come?”

“Absolutely,” I repeat myself, hoping it sounds more convincing this time. “If you and your dad want me there, I’ll be there.”

She flings her arms around my neck and showers my face with kisses. She’s as light as a feather, and I get the first seemingly authentic laugh of the day as I spin her around a little before setting her back on her feet.

“You don’t even know how happy that makes me,” she says, but I can see it with my own two eyes. It makes me feel selfish and petty for doubting whether or not I have the self-control needed to make it through dinner without reaching out and touching her.

But those thoughts are still not far from my mind as I laughingly tell her to get back to work and watch as she hurries out of my office. I have no doubt that I would have agreed to anything she might have asked me to do.

And that knowledge, that feeling, is scarier than anything I’ve known or felt before in my life.

“You’re sure you don’t mind coming tonight?” She’s standing in my office again, looking just as radiant and sweet at the end of the day as she had first thing this morning when we’d had this same conversation. “I did mention that my dad’s new girlfriend is gonna be there, didn’t I?”

“I do remember you saying something about another woman, yes.” I toss her a quick wink. “And yes, I’m still definitely planning on being there tonight. I’d normally offer to pick you up, but… maybe it would be better this time if you plan on riding with your dad.”

She nods. “I was thinking the same thing. I just don’t want to give him any ideas, you know?”

I do know. I know exactly what kinds of ideas he might come up with once he sees the way his daughter and I normally interact.

That’s the part I’m afraid of.

And even though this is yet another opportunity to say that maybe we should cool things off a little between us, that maybe we should take a little time, a little space apart, I just smile and nod and beckon her over with my finger.

“You know we don’t have time for… anything…” She says, but she’s walking around the side of my desk anyway, a knowing smile playing across her lips.

When she’s close enough, I take her hand in mine and bring it up to my face, loving the way her whole body shivers when my lips make contact with her skin. I could kiss her all day—and all night—but then her body tenses and her smile flickers. It happens so quickly that I would’ve missed it if I hadn’t been taking in every detail of her body at this moment.

“What’s wrong, Mia?” I ask, for what feels like the hundredth time today. “I wish you would let me in, let me help, whatever it is.”

“It’s nothing,” she says, again shutting me out as she smiles sweetly and pretends like she’s telling the truth. “Just nervous about tonight, I guess.”

I know she’s never met her dad’s new girlfriend, and that she doesn’t necessarily love the idea of him dating in the first place, but… I feel like she’s still not telling me everything.

Maybe it is mostly nerves, though. I really don’t have any choice but to give her the benefit of the doubt. I’ve been around her long enough to know that if I keep asking, it’ll only push her away.

So I smile again.

Nod again.

“Tonight will be perfect,” I say. “You know I’ll be there to support you, and your dad seems happy, so… try not to be too nervous. It’s just dinner. You might actually like his girlfriend if you give her a chance.”

She shoots me a skeptical look but just gives a noncommittal shrug. “Maybe…” With a sigh, she pulls her hand away and takes a step toward the door. I’ve lost her for this conversation. “I need to go. I’ve gotta find something to wear and do something with my hair, and Dad will kill me if I’m not ready in time.”

“Okay,” I say, letting my hand drop back to my side. I can still feel the warmth of her fingers even though she’s moved across the office to the door. “I guess I’ll have to keep my hands to myself for tonight, won’t I?”

She nods and gives a little laugh. “Unless you plan on answering a lot of uncomfortable questions.”

I laugh, too, even though I know it’s not really a joke. I haven’t even managed to talk to Mia about what our status is. I certainly don’t want to answer any questions from David about what his daughter and I have been up to.

“Yeah, probably best if we don’t do that…” I give a little wave before I can invent a reason to make her stay any longer. “Okay, go. I don’t want it to be on my conscience if you’re late.”

“See you in a couple of hours.” She blows me a kiss and then she’s out the door without another word.

I lean back in my chair and close my eyes. Just a couple of days ago, I would’ve sworn that everything was perfect—with life, with business, between the two of us, everything.

But now?

Especially after her crying outburst this morning and that quick, pained look just a few moments ago?

Now, I’m not sure. I’m not sure about where my life is going or how I can make sure Mia wants to be a part of it—or how she fits into it.

All I know is that I want her to remain a part of everything that I do. I want her around.

Tonight isn’t the night to tell her, though. And I don’t know when the right time will come.

I don’t know if the right time will ever come.