Page 74 of Mending Hearts

“I said we could talk when things settled down. That’s not right now, and it’s definitely not here.”

“It’s just—” She twisted her hands together, and there was a desperate tinge to her voice. I hated noticing the differences in her, seeing things in her behavior that other people might not. My heart contracted at the hurt oozing out of her. “I thought I knew what was going on with you two, but now I’m not sure. And—and I’m worried I might never get to talk to you.”

My curiosity flickered. I’d assumed she knew the cover story was bullshit. Why would a world-famous pop star agree to be my surrogate? Ourarrangement was ludicrous. “When she’s gone, okay? We can talk when she’s gone.”

“So, sheisgoing? I thought—well, looking at you two during the appointments, I thought maybe her intentions might have changed.”

Everything had changed, at least for me. I wanted Mia to stay, wanted a life with her so badly, it was a constant ache underpinning everything. “Nothing has changed.” Leaning into the door with my shoulder, I gave her one last glance. “When she’s gone, I promise.”

While I stripped to shower, my mind kept returning to the desperation in Katie’s voice. Why now?

As soon as I was in the shower, my phone buzzed on the bench outside the door. My head was still too caught up in Katie’s plea to answer. The water streaming down was a good reason to avoid whoever was calling.

When my phone buzzed again, I frowned. My family and Mia were the only ones persistent enough to hang up and immediately call again.

Opening the door, I checked the display.

Mia.

Any time she called repeatedly like this, my heart raced with anxiety. Now that we were so close to the baby’s birth, my heart leapt into my throat. Under protest, she packed a hospital bag the other day. Labor terrified her. With my online MD, I’d read many first pregnancies go past the due date, sometimes by weeks. She’d thrown all my research at me like confetti when I suggested a few things in a bag might not be a bad idea.

Without turning off the water, I stepped out of the shower and grabbed my phone before it could go to voicemail again.

“Mia?”

“Oh, thank God, Tyler.” Her voice was a hushed whisper.

“Are you okay?” I frowned and tried to towel off with one hand while grasping the phone with the other.

“I’m hiding in the bathroom.”

“Hiding from what or who?” My heart kicked in my chest. “Should you be calling the police? Where’s Pasha?” I tugged my shirt over my head.

“My mom just pulled up outside the train station. She’s here, Tyler.” Her voice cracked. “I look like this, and she’s here. I can’t see her. I can’t talk to her. I can’t show her this. She’ll never forgive me.”

I held my breath, trying to decide whether Laura’s sudden appearance was better or worse than Mia going into premature labor. “Where’s Pasha?”

“Out there talking to her. Grady’s here too. They’ve told her I’m not here.”

A sniffle. She had to be crying. It took so little to set her off. My heart lodged in my throat.

“She said she’d wait for me to get home.”

I released my breath in a whoosh and ran a hand through my wet hair. “You’re in the bathroom? The en suite?”

“No. I panicked.”

I closed my eyes. That meant she was in the two-piece bathroom inside the studio. As soon as Laura needed to pee, Mia would be caught. Grady and Pasha would have to pee in the bushes to keep her hiding spot a secret. My next suggestion was the last thing I wanted. “You could just tell her?”

“Just tell her?” Mia squeaked out. “Just tell her? Really? After all these months, that’s your advice? She can’t know. She can’t.”

Deep down, I didn’t want Laura involved. There was a chance Mia might pick me and the baby, but if Laura was in Mia’s ear whispering another narrative, I didn’t think I stood a chance. She craved her mother’s love, and Laura lorded that craving over her like a drug dealer.

Getting her out of the bathroom without being seen was going to be tricky. “I’ll be home in ten. Sit tight.”

A frustrated, stifled laugh rang through the phone. “Sure, ’cause I have so many other options. I’ll sit tight, don’t you worry.”

I love you.

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