Page 5 of Mending Hearts

“New York City. Tomorrow morning before I fly out to meet the tour bus. I have the first appointment at seven-thirty. I don’t know the address.” She held out her hand. “Give me your phone.”

Out of my back pocket, I produced my phone and watched her punch in her contact details.

“You don’t have the clinic information on your phone?”

Mia glanced up from typing in her information to give me a wry smile. “Too many people have access to my calendar. I can’t do shit in private. I booked the appointment from my friend, Sarah’s, assistant’s phone.”

If I didn’t know better, I’d think Mia was imprisoned in her own life. She didn’t seem to have control over very much. “Are you happy, Mia?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” She passed me my phone without meeting my eyes. “All this money. All this fame. Pretty clothes. Pretty boys. Pretty songs.” A smirk rose to her lips. “I’ve got it all.”

With my phone clasped in my hand, I examined her. She was a mystery. Out the window, a familiar vehicle pulled into the lot. Danai from Zen Yoga climbed out of her car and approached the door. We’d been dating for the last three weeks, and I was supposed to meet her young kids tonight.Shit. I’d forgotten all about her in the chaos of the last hour with Mia.

Mia slipped her sunglasses back onto her face and followed my gaze out the window. “You know her?”

“Yeah.” I gave a curt nod. Tension radiated off me at a rate I knew would be noticeable. “You’ll text me the information for tomorrow. I’m serious. I want to be there.”

“Sure.” Mia’s gaze was glued to Danai as she approached the shop. “She doesn’t look much like me. I guess you don’t have a type.”

I had a type. But not a physical one. The differences between Mia, pale and slight, and Danai, brown and athletic, meant little. Uncomplicated, down-to-earth women who enjoyed long-term, committed relationships were my type. Danai had proven to be drama-free so far, and she’d said on our first date she was looking for something meaningful, not casual. So far, we were a good fit.

While Mia watched Danai, I studied Mia’s profile. Whatever else she might be, I was sure uncomplicated wasn’t it.

“Will she recognize me?” Mia ripped her gaze from Danai to stare at me.

“I don’t know.” We’d never discussed musical tastes. I’d seen and heard the crowd

the night of the benefit concert. People loved Mia. She’d been a tiny dynamo on stage. Did Danai worship her too? Possible, though unlikely.

“I should go,” she said, her voice rising in panic. “No one knows I’m here.”

“She’d never say anything if I asked her not to.”

“That’s not how fame works.” Mia laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “She’ll tell a friend, or her mom, or some other random person. They’ll tell someone else—friend, foe, whatever—and so on. Everyonesworn to secrecy, no one being secret. That’s how fame works. That’s how I get fucked over. So, no. I’m going. I’ll text you.”

She ducked out the door, her head down. Just before she slid into the car, our gazes locked as Danai rose on her toes and pressed a kiss to my lips. The frown on Mia’s face made me feel like I was doing something wrong. Guilt pinched, but I brushed it aside and smiled at Danai as she slipped past me into the store. I had no reason to feel guilty.

Mia’s car sped off out of the plaza, and I let the door click shut. Before turning to face Danai, I gathered my thoughts. I couldn’t meet her kids tonight if I was going to keep that appointment with Mia tomorrow.

“I’m going to have to cancel tonight,” I said when I turned around.

“Oh.” Danai’s expression was full of concern. “An emergency?”

“Yeah, family. I’m really sorry.”

“No, no. You gotta take care of your family first. Your mom, or Maggie, or Emily?”

I wandered behind the store’s counter, hoping something other than a lie would pop into my mind. I couldn’t tell her about Mia for more reasons than Mia’s privacy. Already, I was second-guessing going along with her plan without asking more questions.

Pregnant. With my child.

Of course, I’d been in enough long-term relationships to think about having kids. With at least one of those women, I would have been happy if she’d come to me pregnant from a birth control malfunction. But Mia being pregnant? So young, so different from the women I normally dated? This pregnancy didn’t feel like a happy accident, but instead a dreadful consequence of thinking with my dick instead of my brain.

“Emily,” I said when I realized she was still waiting for a response. “It’s just a lot, you know, with Omar and now my dad.” Inside, I cringed.She’d kill me for using her to lie to Danai, especially when I refused to tell her why I lied. I couldn’t have them meeting in passing and risk this conversation being replayed.

“I can’t even imagine.” She rubbed my shoulder. “We can do it another night. Don’t even give it a second thought. I hadn’t told my kids anyway.”

I nodded, but couldn’t meet her concerned gaze.

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