MIA WOKE UP this morning to the smell of roses. She opened her eyes and stared at the beautiful bouquet of red roses mixed with white chrysanthemums. No card. She didn’t need one to know who sent them. An upgraded replacement for the bouquets trampled last night along with the perfect ending to their amazing date.
Pink roses replaced with red. Did it mean something?
She tried not to read too much into it, but the hope rising in her chest made her nervous. After so many bad dates and failed attempts at relationships, she hoped Caden felt what she felt rising in her heart, pushing her toward him, wanting more than she’d ever thought she’d have in her life. Something that both scared and excited her.
Where are you, Caden?
She hoped to see him first thing this morning, but as the day wore on, her disappointment grew. She needed to know that he was okay. She had a hazy memory of him sitting by her bed in the wee hours of the night, his deep, rich voice whispering to her in the dark. She didn’t remember what he’d said, but she’d wanted him to keep talking to her and banish the nightmares that plagued her restless sleep.
The door to Mia’s hospital room opened. She tensed, worried about an attacker, despite the rational part of her mind telling her to calm down. No one was coming for her.
Underlying that irrational fear sparkled a tingle of anticipation in her gut that fizzled and died when instead of Caden walking through the door another nurse came in to check on her.
“How was the shower? Feeling dizzy?”
“No. I’m fine. Ready to get out of here.” She held her arm up for the nurse to redress the stitched cut. They both ignored the slight tremble in her hand. Nothing more than another symptom of the aftermath of surviving the ordeal last night. The nightmares, fear, and anxiety would dissipate once she had time to process all that happened. She’d be okay.
She’d be better once she saw Caden.
“Let’s check the stitches on your head and put some of this antibiotic ointment on them.” The nurse drew her wet hair away from the small cut on the side of her head where Marco bashed her with the gun. The goose-egg swelling had decreased to a one-inch lump that still pained her.
“Still have a headache?” the nurse asked, concerned when Mia flinched at her touch.
“A little.”
“The doctor said it’s to be expected. You can take this tube of ointment the doctor prescribed home with you along with the meds in the bag on the table. Will your family be here soon with your clothes?”
“I’m here,” Aunt Nancy said, walking in the door. She’d rushed home after lunch to get Mia a few necessities. “Oh, honey, you look much better this evening.”
The shower helped. Though her hair hung in wet waves and she still wore the hospital gown, the shower had relaxed her and washed away the sticky, dirty feeling she’d been left with last night.
Aunt Nancy laid her hand on Mia’s thigh. Mia flinched with the contact but settled with one warm look from her aunt. The nurse spread ointment over the scrapes on her knees. Caden hadn’t meant to drag her after she fell during their mad dash to escape. If not for the high heels, she might have kept up with him.
“Those aren’t so bad.”
Mia shook her head and held her breath against the pain as the nurse did her job as gently and efficiently as possible.
Aunt Nancy tried to downplay the huge angry red scrapes the doctor spent a lot of time cleaning, trying to get out the street grit, but every ache and pain reminded Mia of what she’d been through and what she looked like because of it. She lightly laid her hand over the long cut across her chest. It could have been her throat. The thought stopped her heart.
“Mia, honey, are you okay? You’re awful quiet.”
Mia glanced outside the door as the nurse left them alone. No tall, dark-haired, gorgeous man out there waiting to see her.
She dropped her hand to her lap. “I’m fine. Ready to go home.” To her empty cottage. Alone in the quiet. All by herself. She wanted Caden there with her. “How did so much change in such a short time?”
Aunt Nancy cupped her face and made her look up at her. “What you went through last night . . . ” Aunt Nancy’s eyes narrowed with concern. “I can’t imagine it. I almost lost you.”
She almost died.
Caden saved her.
It didn’t seem real, but it was, and so was he.
Mia held her aunt’s wrists and leaned into her touch. “Caden would have died to save me.” She couldn’t say that about any other man she’d dated, but she knew that about him.
The realization of what that could mean struck her right in the chest like a hammer blow.
Then she thought twice because if she meant that much to him, why wasn’t he here?
Aunt Nancy smiled triumphantly. “I knew you’d fall for him.”
If she thought only about their dinner date, the sweet gestures he’d made to apologize, the conversation and fun they’d shared, then yes, she’d fallen for him and would have loved to go out with him again. But add in everything else, the depth of emotion she felt for him for all he’d done to protect her and keep her safe, all he would have done had things turned even more dire, and she couldn’t put into words how she felt.
Maybe what she felt last night, that spark of interest, only seemed amplified now because of the gratitude she felt for Caden saving her life and how lucky she felt to be alive.
She didn’t think so, but was that just wishful thinking because she wanted something this intense and potentially wonderful in her life?
“I feel so much all at once right now. I can’t sort it out and think straight.” Tears shimmered in her eyes. She wanted to believe it was all real, but she hated the doubt that crept into her mind that the real reason she wanted to see Caden again was so that she’d feel safe and his presence would squash the fear that refused to leave her mind or body. Even now, she wanted to run, escape, but there was nothing to fear because Caden killed Marco. He eliminated the threat.
She hated to admit that part of the fear she felt was that Caden wouldn’t come back for her.
Her mother didn’t.
But Caden wasn’t like that. He cared. She’d felt it. She knew it was real. She really wanted it to be real.
Aunt Nancy drew her in for a hug. Mia wrapped her arms around the woman who had become her mother. Her fingers brushed through Mia’s hair. “You were so brave last night, Mia. Use some of that to believe in Caden. Relationships can be scary, laying your heart on the line. I know. But when you do and the other person does as well, it is such a great thing. A gift that means more than anything.”
Happy her aunt had found true happiness and love, Mia asked, “Where is Aunt Taffy?”
“She went to check on Beck. She’s worried about him after what he did last night and all he’s been through these last few years.”
Mia knew some of Beck’s background in the military and working undercover. Caden worried about Beck, too.
Who worried about Caden?
She did. She’d never forget the fierce look in his eyes when Marco threatened and hurt her. But the tenderness in them when he kissed her marked her heart and gave her a sweet, unforgettable memory.
“I hope Beck is okay. He really saved us last night.” She released her aunt and stared out the window. “How is Caden? Did his aunt check on him?” He’d shot Marco last night. That had to weigh on him.
“Caden stayed with you a long time last night. He and his aunt shared a quiet conversation before he left. Taffy’s worried about him but confident all will be better today.”
Caden stayed with her but left before she woke up. Exhausted, he must have gone home to get some sleep. He deserved it after such a long night.
“Get dressed, honey. I’ll take you home and get you settled. You must want to be back in your bed. You look exhausted.”
“Thanks, I feel even worse.” Mia stood, gave her aunt a quick squeeze to ease the worry in her heart and eyes, picked up the tote her aunt brought with her clean clothes from her house, and went into the bathroom to change.
Before she closed the door, Aunt Nancy called, “I brought your phone charger. I’ll plug in your phone.”
“Thanks,” she said and closed the door. The DEA had returned her purse, along with her dead phone. If Caden had tried to contact her, she didn’t know, but she didn’t expect him to have called since he’d never done so in the past, not even when he’d forgotten their dates. He’d left his aunt to set things up. Aunt Taffy would probably give Mia Caden’s regards when Mia saw her.
That’s probably what they talked about early this morning before he left.
Mia untied the hospital gown and let it drop to the floor. Naked, she pulled out the clothes her aunt packed for her. A pretty rose-colored panty and bra set. One of Mia’s favorites. She loved pretty things. Mia put them on, her movements stiff and awkward with one hand in the wrist brace but getting better the more she worked her sore muscles. She slipped the navy blue cotton skirt up her legs and hips. The comfortable flared skirt stopped at her knees. The soft fabric didn’t bother the scrapes but left them to heal without rubbing against them like jeans or leggings might.
The dark pink top with a lace ruffle at the neckline and bottom edge softly draped over her breasts and torso and complemented the simple skirt. Feeling more like herself, Mia slipped on the nude sandals her aunt brought despite the cold temps fall came with. Mia stared down at her bare toes. Maybe she’d give herself a pedicure and paint her toenails when she got home to pass the time and take her mind off . . . everything.
She really needed a distraction from her dark thoughts.
After brushing her teeth, Mia shook out her nearly dry hair and swept it back off her shoulders to hang down her back. She checked her reflection in the mirror, frowning at the dark circles under her eyes that looked even darker against her too-pale skin. She wished she’d asked her aunt to bring her some makeup with the clothes. She didn’t really need it just to go home, but a touch of blush, some lipstick, and mascara might make her look and feel better.
“I need some real sleep.” Worrying about such silly things only reminded her that she needed to get her head screwed on straight. Best to do that alone and in privacy at home, where she could take some time to sort out her muddled mind.
She snapped up the tote in her good hand and reached for the bathroom door handle with the one in the brace. Her hand wasn’t broken, but moving her fingers hurt. She walked back into the room, wondering where her aunt had gone. Probably to check in with her doctor and make sure he’d signed off on Mia’s release.
The more she moved around, the longer she fought to keep her feelings and thoughts at bay, the more exhaustion sank into her body and mind. She dropped the tote on the bed and picked up her charging phone. She wondered if anyone from work had seen the news reports about last night and called to check on her. She turned her phone on and waited for her aunt to return and her phone to come back to life.
The phone dinged with one text message alert after the next and three missed calls from a number she didn’t recognize. She listened to the voice mail message first.
“Hey, sleepyhead, wake up and talk to me,” Caden’s deep voice pleaded. “I need to hear your voice. I’ll call you later.”
She opened up the text messages and smiled at the string of them.
CADEN: Are you awake yet?
CADEN: How are you? Feeling better?
CADEN: I’m at work. I’ll be there later.
CADEN: Why aren’t you answering me?
CADEN: Did you get the flowers I sent? I owe you some chocolates. Possibly the whole store.☺
CADEN: If it’s going to take more than chocolate to get you to talk to me again name your price. Anything.
CADEN: I can’t wait to get out of work and see you again.
Mia pressed her fingertips to her mouth. Her eyes filled with unshed tears. She couldn’t believe he’d sent her so many messages throughout the day. Her heart soared in her chest, lightening her dark mood and filling her up with some of the happiness she’d felt last night at dinner with him.
CADEN: You must be upset about last night. I’m sorry you got caught up in my work. I’m sorry you got hurt. Text me back. Say something.
CADEN: I can’t stop thinking about you.
CADEN: I’m on my way. If you’re angry and want to tell me off, you’ll have to do it in person.
CADEN: Despite all that happened, I really loved being with you last night.
CADEN: I owe you a new dress.
CADEN: If I buy you one, will you wear it on our next date?
CADEN: Will we have another date?
Mia laughed at the thoughts pouring out of Caden via text. The same kind of wild thoughts that had been running through her mind.
They needed to talk. She needed to see him. They’d sort this out, because yes, she did want another date. Ten more. A hundred. Maybe a lifetime.