Page 4 of Mending Hearts

I searched her face, trying to read her even though it was impossible. We’d slept together, but we were strangers. What could I hope to see in her eyes, in her face, other than a mirror of my panic and uncertainty?

“You’re sure?”

“You don’t know what my life is like. There’s no room in it for a baby. I can’t let all those people down.”

“Having a baby would let people down?”

She slid her glasses onto her face, shielding her eyes. I didn’t like the distance that simple motion put between us.

“Having the baby. Not having the baby. I can’t win.” She averted her face. “I don’t even remember your name.”

“You knew how to find me, but you couldn’t remember my name?”

“I knew you owned this place. You told me that night. At least that detail stuck.” She shrugged and looked toward the exit.

I furrowed my brow. Should I be offended that she couldn’t remember my name or impressed that she remembered I owned a secondhand shop? There were several ways she could have discovered my name. She knew Grady. They’d written songs together, and my sister was semi-famous ever since Grady had declared his undying love for her on stage. Mia was here, but she’d made no attempt to find out more information. I couldn’t get my head wrapped around what was really going on. Pregnant, but what else? “Tyler. Sullivan.”

“Sullivan. Right. Your sister is Maggie. Lord, my head is not in the right place.” She pressed her fingers into her temples. “Tyler. Tyler Sullivan.” My name rolled around on her tongue, as though she was testing it out. “I like it.”

“Thanks?” I chuckled.

“You look like a Tyler. I should have known.” A real smile blossomed on her face.

For a moment, I eyed her, relishing the slightly lopsided beauty of her grin. “Probably should have known, yeah.”

She made atskingsound and wagged her finger. “No slut shaming, Tyler. I could have been fourteen for all you knew.”

The blood drained from my face for a second time. “That’s not—that’s not funny. I don’t normally do that sort of thing.” I huffed in frustration. “I’m not a one-night-stand kind of guy.” In fact, she was only the second one I’d ever had. Relationships were my thing. I liked the permanence, the connection, the intimacy.

Mia puckered her lips and ran her hand through her hair, tossing it over to her other shoulder. “I wish I could say the same. I don’t do many repeats. Anything more is too much work, and I have enough of that already. And the breakup, the public spectacle of it…” She looked around the store as though suddenly remembering where she was. “I should go.”

At the realization she would walk out the door and I’d likely never see her again, I took a deep breath and tossed my lollipop in the garbage. I followed her to the door. “I don’t think you should do this by yourself.” I tried to search her face, to figure out if she was set on having an abortion or if she’d come here hoping for another outcome. We hardly knew each other. What other outcome was possible given the life she led and the one I had?

“I’m not telling my mother.” Mia pushed her sunglasses up her nose and fluffed her hair. “Anyone else is a liability. Thiscan’tget out.”

“What about your dad?”

“My sperm donor?” She laughed and shook her head. “Uh, no. He’s not around.”

Was she serious or making a joke? “Your mom used a donor?”

“Might as well have. He’s a total deadbeat. I never see him unless he wants money. Telling him about this would be like asking him to blackmail me. That’s not happening.”

“I’ll come with you.” I grimaced and put my hand on the door before she could push it open. “Tell me where, and I’ll be there.”

Mia sighed and tipped her glasses down, so she was looking at me over the top. “You don’t owe me anything. It was a mistake. Faulty condoms. Not even our fault. I can handle this.”

With a frown, I grabbed the back of my neck. I didn’t want to piss her off, but I didn’t understand why she’d come. We had no relationship. She wasn’t planning on keeping the baby. Even if the abortion came out years from now, I’d never have suspected I was the father. Something had motivated her to come. Loneliness? While her relationship with her mother might be a mystery to me, her relationship with her father was clear. One last idea came to me.

“What about a sibling?” I’d depend on Emily and Maggie for anything, would trust them with my deepest secrets, with my life.

“Nope. My mom was eighteen when she had me. She’s still searching for Mr. Right. If there’s a loser within five hundred miles, she’s on him like a dog on a bone, and what an expensive habit that is. Even losers don’t come cheap.”

“I’ll come with you. Seriously, Mia. Give me the place and time, and I’ll be there. I really don’t think you should do this alone.”

With an impatient sigh, she swept the bulk of her glossy black hair around, so it perched on her shoulder and cascaded down herarm. My fingers itched to tuck some stray strands behind her ear. She acted so cool and collected, I wasn’t sure she’d appreciate the contact. I couldn’t decide which version was the real one: the Mia I met the night of the concert or the one standing in front of me.

Pushing her sunglasses back onto the top of her head, she met my gaze for the longest time. I could see the indecision she was trying to hide. She might not want me there, but it was obvious she needed someone. Perhaps, like the night we slept together, I’d be good enough.

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