CHAPTER FOUR
After I got Mia settled in my room, I met Gabe in his office. He was sitting behind his desk, working on the computer when I strode in and took the seat across from him. I knew he had questions for me, so I just sat and waited for them.
A minute later, he released a deep sigh. “I know you would never do anything to put the girls in harm’s way, but what do you really know about this chick? I understand you want to help her out, but why not take her to the homeless shelter in the city and let the social workers look after her? Why did you bring her here?”
Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on my knees and ran my hands through my hair. My stomach was twisting in knots. I didn’t know how to explain it to him, but I was drawn to her. I had to help her— me. “I honestly didn’t even consider taking her to the shelter, man. I saw this beautiful girl sitting alone at the park, and I knew something wasn’t right. I could feel it in my gut. I don’t know, I just feel like she’s my responsibility now. I found her, and it’s up to me to look out for her.”
A smirk began to rise on Gabe’s lips. I threw my head back, ran my hands down my face, and sighed. I stopped him before his one -track mind took him any further down the path it was headed. “Don’t.”
He feigned ignorance, scrunching his eyebrows and pretending to be confused by my single word statement. “What? I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to. I know where your thoughts where headed you, perverted fucker—” I pointed directly at him, “and you’re wrong.” I tried to keep my tone serious, but the bastard was already laughing at me, and I couldn’t help but join him.
“Whatever, man. I’m just glad you’re starting to show some interest in the female population again. I was beginning to think you’d started batting for the other team.” He laughed even louder.
I grabbed a piece of scrunched up paper off his desk and pegged it at his head. “Fuck off. I’d be more concerned about Axel’s sexuality than mine.” It felt good to laugh. It seemed Mia’s presence made me feel lighter then I had in a long time.
When our laughter died down, Gabe cleared his throat. “But seriously, what do you know about her, besides her being homeless and pregnant?”
“Well, at the moment, that’s about all. It’s miracle she agreed to come here. She’s shy, and she clearly has trust issues. I get the feeling she grew up on the wrong side of town. And she mentioned having just gotten out of a controlling relationship.” I sat back chewing on the edge of my thumbnail while trying to think of any detail I may have missed.
“Got a last name for her? If she’s staying in my house with my ladies, I want to know everything about her," he said with a harsh edge to his voice.
I swallowed hard. “No, man, sorry. I didn’t even ask her. But you know I would never have brought her here if I thought she posed any kind of threat to the girls.”
He nodded in agreement with me. “Yeah, I know. Just see what you can get out of her tomorrow, yeah?” I nodded back as he pushed his chair back and got to his feet. “I’m beat. I’m going to bed.” He winked as he headed for the door. As he reached for the handle, he paused and turned back to me. “Good to have you back, man.” Then he turned the handle and left the room.
Gabe was gone before I could ask him what the hell that was supposed to mean. I hadn’t gone anywhere. I’d been living in his damn house for the last year and a half.
The next morning, I got up at six as I usually did and went for my run. With nothing but the pounding of my heart as it forced blood to pump through my body and the beats blasting from my iPod, I could think clearly.
I’d tossed and turned on the pull-out couch in the study all night. It wasn’t that it was uncomfortable, but I just couldn’t figure out what my next move with Mia should be. But now, with sweat pouring off my body, I had the clarity I needed to focus on the situation.
Mia was alone, I was sure of that. Otherwise, she would have gone to family instead of a park bench. I had the feeling that even if she did have family, they wouldn’t be willing to help her.
I needed to set her up with somewhere safe to stay, but first, she had to see a doctor about her pregnancy. I doubted she’d done that yet.
I’d taken the opportunity to have a soak in the massive bathtub in the bathroom connected to Kai’s room last night. It was incredible. It was like swimming but better because it was warm and so relaxing. I had lain in that tub for an hour at least, only getting out when the water began to chill and my fingers and toes looked like shrivelled prunes.
Climbing under the covers of Kai’s bed I snuggled into the comforter and took a deep relaxing breath only to notice it smelt like him. I allowed myself to let the feeling of safety and warmth envelop me, and enjoyed his clean masculine scent. I fell asleep quickly and slept better that I could ever remember.
I woke early as I always did. I was used to getting up before Trent so I could have his breakfast on the table ready for him when he got up. I sat up and looked around the room. Soft light streamed in through the part in the curtains that covered the floor to ceiling windows that took up the wall in front of the bed.
I thought about where I was, about how out of place I felt in this beautiful room. In this amazing house. I didn’t fit here. In that split second, I decided I had to leave. I couldn’t stay here. I slid out of the bed, threw on a clean set of clothes, and slipped my feet into my runners.
I took one last look around the nicest place I’d ever stayed in before I opened the door and tiptoed down the hall towards the front of the house. I didn’t want to wake anyone. I’d seen the time on the alarm clock beside the bed, and I knew nobody would be awake yet.
I was wrong.
The soft sound of little feet pitter-pattering down the hall hit my ears before I even reached the front door.
When I got home, I closed the front door as quietly as I could behind me, hoping not to wake anyone. Before I even turned around, I could feel eyes on me. I froze for a beat then spun quickly on my heels, my runners squeaking on the polished timber floors as I did so. The twins took off squealing and running towards the kitchen, but I caught them before they made it.
I was surprised to find Mia standing in the kitchen when I entered with a baby under each of my arms. “Morning, you’re up early.” I noted as I plonked the girls on the bench. As I looked her over, I noticed her hand was clenched around the top of her garbage bag.
“I’m an early riser. I had to have Trent’s breakfast on the table by seven so he had time to eat it before he left for work at seven-thirty,” she explained as she shifted nervously on her feet.
I made the girls a bottle each then put them both back on the floor and watched them run off to their playroom. They had just recently started waiting for me by the front door in the mornings instead of going in and waking up their parents. I didn’t blame them, I knew for a fact Gabe slept naked. Those poor babies had to have copped an eye full more than once.
I was thrown by Mia’s explanation of her early bird status so I momentarily forgot about the bag with all her stuff in it. “You had to have his breakfast ready for him by seven. Even though you’re pregnant? I thought pregnant chicks were really tired in their first trimester?” I asked. What a dick, making his pregnant girlfriend get up so early.
Her eyes widened. “Their first what?”
Turning my full attention to her, I relaxed back against the bench top, resting my hands on either side of my body on the counter and watched her as I elaborated. “Trimester. You know, the first couple of months of pregnancy.”
She paled even more and swallowed hard. “I don’t know anything about pregnancy, or babies, or any of this stuff.”
She dragged her bottom lip between her teeth trying to hold back her emotions. I took a step in her direction but realised I was still covered in sweat and probably smelt like arse. “Give me five minutes to have a shower, and then we can talk. Okay?”
She nodded but didn’t say anything. I snatched the garbage bag from her hand as I passed her. “I’ll just put your stuff back in the room for now, yeah.” She didn’t try to stop me. She seemed to be in her own little world. Probably freaking out about how little she knew about what was happening to her body. Whatever she was thinking about, it was enough to make her forget about trying to do a runner, for now.
When I came back out to find her, she wasn’t in the kitchen, but then I heard laughter coming from the lounge room slash the twins’ playroom. Poking my head around the corner, I saw Mia sitting on the floor with the girls in her lap reading them a story. They loved books, and Mia was doing a great job reading to them. I listened as she changed the tone of her voice to imitate the Big Bad Wolf, and the girls began giggling again.
I cut in when she got to the good part. “Or I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll BLOW YOUR HOUSE DOWN.” I jumped over the back of the couch and snatched Gracie and Tessie from Mia’s lap and pretended to eat their chubby little bellies.
Laughter filled the room and my heart. There was no better sound to ease my tortured soul than my goddaughters’ giggles.
“What the hell are you doing to my babies, Kai?” Gabe walked in and snatched them from me.
“Hey! I was playing with those, arsehole,” I shot back, only to have a hand swiftly connect with the back of my head. Over my shoulder, I noticed Ivy glaring at me.
“Language, Kai! I don’t want the girls dropping F-bombs before they’re two years old.”
I rubbed the back of my head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to curse. But he stole them.” I pointed accusingly at Gabe as he watched me receive a dressing-down from his wife with a smug smirk on his stupid face.
“I didn’t steal them. They’re mine. You can’t steal what’s already yours. So suck it up,” the big bastard declared.
I would have gone for him, but not while he was holding my princesses. I settled for glaring at him, for now. Then laughter peeled through the room. I looked down by my feet to see Mia laughing so hard tears had formed in the corners of her eyes.
“What’s so funny?” Gabe asked.
Mia scrunched her brows. “Are you guys for real?”
Gabe gave me the look, the one that says ‘is she on crack?’ I shook my head, my gut said she was clean, and I always trusted my gut.
Then she spoke again, “Oh my god, you are for real. I’ve been sucked into some alternative reality where grown men fight over playing with toddlers.” Her laughter started up again.
I looked between her, Gabe, and Ivy. I had no idea what was going on right now. Then her laughter turned to sobs and not the happy kind. I crouched down in front of her and brushed her long hair out of her face. “What’s wrong, Pretty Girl?”
She took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself. “I… you’re just so… what am I going to do? Is this normal? Are you normal?” she asked through her tears.
My knees were starting to lock up from crouching, so I sat on the floor with her. “I don’t know if I’m normal,” I told her honestly. “It depends on your definition.”
A small, almost smile lifted the corner of her lips. “Whatever the definition, you’re not my normal.”
Gabe and Ivy had left us alone, taking the twins with them. I was grateful I could finally talk with Mia without any interruptions. “So what is your normal, Mia?”
Mia had stopped crying, thank fucking God, and she scrubbed her face with her hands to clear her eyes and the salty streaks from her cheeks. “Well, obviously I didn’t come from anywhere near as nice as this. And the men certainly didn’t want anything to do with their children. Not the ones I knew anyway.”
“They sound like arseholes if you ask me.”
The smile that was trying to make an appearance before finally broke through. It was really somethin’. It was beautiful. I wanted to cross the small space between us, cup her cheek, and tell her just how beautiful she was. I had a feeling she had no idea.
“They are arseholes. All of them.” She sniffled then pulled in a deep breath through her nose and released it slowly through her plump lips.
Being this close to an attractive woman was messing with my cock and my brain. I was noticing things about her I shouldn’t have been. Things like her full, red lips, the fact that her chocolate brown hair was shiny, and her nails were short but perfectly shaped. Or that she smelt amazing, and her teeth were so white they were almost blinding when she unleashed that incredible smile.
These were all things I liked in women I was interested in. Not in vulnerable, young, single, pregnant women who were easily eight or more years my junior and certainly not ones I was trying to help.
Squeezing my eyes closed, I bought myself back to the moment and what I needed to do. “Mia, have you seen a doctor yet?”
“No. I don’t have enough money yet. I used to work in the local supermarket, so I was planning on getting a job first. And I’ll use my first pay to get checked out.”
She sounded sincere, and it sounded like she had given it some thought. But it wasn’t good enough. “Not a bad plan, but I have a better one.” I took her small hand in mine. “Let me take you to see Ivy’s doctor. I already asked her about it, and she’s going to call her doctor this morning to make you an appointment.”
“NO, Kai! I can’t do that. I can’t afford the kind of doctor Ivy can.” She was in full panic mode, and her palm began to sweat against mine.
I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’ve got it covered. You said you’d let me help you. This is me helping you.”
Mia was shaking her head. “No, you said you would help me find a place to stay. Not pay for me to see expensive doctors.”
I shrugged. “It’s not a problem. First, we’ll get a résumé sorted, then we can work on finding you somewhere to stay. Gabe and Ivy are okay with you staying here until I find you something more permanent. And in the meantime, I’ll take you to see the doctor.”
Pulling her hand from mine, she pressed her fingertips to her temples and began to rub in small circles. “You don’t get it. I can’t let you do that. Letting you help me find somewhere safe to stay, I can deal with. But when it comes to the baby, I have to do it myself.”
“You’re right. I don’t get it. Why is it okay for me to help with the roof over your head but not get you an appointment with an OBGYN?”
I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why she was being stubborn about this. I thought she would be happy— hell maybe even grateful. Fucking women, I’d never understand them. Admittedly, I’d never really been all that interested in understanding them, but this was really doing my head in.
She was still rubbing her temples. “I don’t know. I just, I need to do something. I know you’re not Trent, but I feel like I’ve escaped one control freak only to end up accepting help from another.”
My brows shot up. “I’m not trying to control you, Mia. I’m sorry. I really am. I never… I… Jesus, I didn’t mean to back you into a corner.” That was the last thing I wanted to do.
“I’m just so powerless. When I walked out the door and left Trent, I felt amazing and strong. But now I’m seeing how stupid I was. How could I possibly do this on my own? I didn’t even make it a full week before I accepted help from a perfect stranger. How pathetic is that?” A torrent of tears spilled over her high cheekbones and dripped off her chin.
I hated it when people cried. I felt awkward and uncomfortable with so much raw emotion. But I’d taken it upon myself to help her, and sitting here like a jackarse wasn’t helping anyone.
I shuffled around until my back rested against the couch next to her, and then I pulled her into my lap. She came easily, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and burying her face in my neck. “Shh, don’t cry. You’re so much stronger than you think, Pretty Girl. You left a controlling relationship with nothing but a garbage bag full of possessions and the clothes on your back. That takes strength, baby.”
She shook her head but didn’t lift it from the crook of my neck.
“Trust me, a lesser woman would have just accepted her fate. But you knew you and your baby deserved better. You did what you had to do to make that happen. That took strength, it took guts. Fuck, it took balls, Pretty Girl.”
Mia finally lifted her head and looked me in the eyes. “Balls?”
I laughed. “Yeah, real big ones.”
Her answering smile took my breath away. “I believe you.”
“You should. It’s true.” A section of hair had fallen over her face, and I reached up to sweep it away. “I’m glad I found you, Mia.”