Page 49 of Mending Hearts

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“You deserve to have happiness. Let yourself be happy for a while.” She squeezed me a little tighter before letting me go.

Chapter Fourteen

Tyler

From everyone’s behavior, leaving the tour made me feel like we were fugitives fleeing the country instead of a pop star, her bodyguard, and whatever I was, running away from her mother while sitting on a private jet. As much as I wanted to spin our situation in a different direction, that was the reality. Mia wasn’t quitting the tour so much as quitting Laura for the next six months or so. Exactly how long Mia would stay after the baby was born hadn’t been concretely decided.

When her plane landed in New York, a single text from Rebecca had said,It’s done. You’ve got your time off.Mia had turned to me in triumph while Pasha steered our rental toward Little Falls.

Too easy.

Laura could show up unexpectedly and uninvited at any time. Not a single text or phone call had arrived to either me or Mia from Laura. Was silence really the best sign?

“She’ll be mad at me.” Mia stood beside the car outside my house and oversaw Pasha trying to unpack the suitcases.

She had three oversized bags, and one of those was filled with accessories and makeup. I didn’t have a problem with her excessive packing, but Pasha had grunted extra loud when he lifted that third bag into the trunk.

“But she’ll come around, and when she does, she’ll want to see me,” Mia warned.

“You’re sure you’re okay with staying here while the train station renos finish up?” I grabbed a couple of the suitcases and walked toward the front door of my modest brick bungalow.

“This place is cute.” Mia followed behind with her purse over her arm.

David instructed her not to lift anything heavy, not that she would have carried her own bags anyway. Her inability to do practical things for herself hadn’t worried me until we pulled into the driveway. Cooks and maids and bodyguards made her life easier at every turn. Did she even know how to make a sandwich?

“I’ll need to do some grocery shopping. There won’t be much food in the house,” he said.

Behind me, Mia’s step faltered. “Oh, right. I guess you have to do those things yourself.” Her heels clicked a little faster on the cement walkway. “Can I—would it be okay if I came with you? I haven’t been to a grocery store in a while.”

I opened the front door and slid the first bag across the entrance before pushing the second one behind it. “You’ll have to decide whether you’re okay with people knowing you’re here, possibly posting you’re here on social media. The grocery store is almost as popular as appearing in the town center.”

“When I start to show, I’ll hole up in your house or the train station or wherever I need to be. People will think I left town. But I don’t want to start like that when I still look like this.” She gestured down her body. “My boobs look amazing, and maybe I’ve put on a few pounds, but I don’t look…you know, yet.”

Her excitement was palpable, and I couldn’t determine if it was because she’d escaped her mother, was enjoying the sense of normalcy, or was looking forward to playing a warped version of house. All of those things made me uneasy. Bringing her here had seemed like a great plan, but as she walked past me into the house and I caught a whiff of lemon and ginger, I wondered if I miscalculated.

Despite all of my long-term relationships, I’d only lived with one woman, and that hadn’t lasted long. From experience, Mia’s loss would sting so much more if I let her stay here when the train station was done. Getting her moved over there would be my best bet at surviving whatever was blossoming between us.

“Men don’t usually have good taste.” Her gaze zipped around the open concept living space decorated with a country chic vibe. The white décor with open beams and patches of brick were timeless. I’d missed this place.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” I hoisted one bag and took it down the hall. “Pasha can have this spare room on the left. At the back here, there’s a master suite,” Tyler called. “Or there’s one in the basement.”

“Which one do you use?” Mia’s bare feet slapped against the wooden floor behind me.

I tossed Pasha’s light bag onto the queen bed and then passed Mia to get her first suitcase from the front hall. “I’ve been sleeping in the basement for the last few years.” Since Katie had moved out, actually, but there wasn’t much point in telling Mia that tidbit.

“Oh, well.” She bit her lip and twisted her hands in front of her.

“Puzzled?” I raised my eyebrows, and I lifted her bag. Would she admit already to some form of insecurity?

“Well, kinda, I guess.” A flush rose to her cheeks.

It was rare for her to be so genuinely unsettled. “What aren’t you sure about?”

She fluffed her hair and drew her mane around to rest on her shoulder. “If I’m up here and you’re down there, it makes it hard to do what I want to do.” She leaned toward me, glancing over my shoulder in Pasha’s direction.

“Oh?” A slow smile spread across my face. “What’s that?” I scanned the house in mock confusion. “There’s just you, me, and Pasha. We could probably do whatever you wanted.”

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