Page 27 of Marking Mia

The question catches me off guard. I scrunch my eyebrows in the cold, trying to think of a good answer.

Jace continues. “I just mean... Finn has mentioned how he treats you. Why are you still with someone who makes you so unhappy?”

“I mean, I don’t know if I could do much better anyway,” I say, laughing nervously.

Because here I am, lusting after these two when there's no way that they could ever see me as more than a friend. Poor little cafe waitress with the mean boyfriend. I’m frumpy and pathetic, and they have a mysterious edge that likely has women hanging on their every word. Hell, I’m one of them.

Jace’s eyes darken, and his mouth twists. “You deserve someone who treats you better, Mia.”

And it sounds like he means it.

The intensity of his gaze and the sincerity of his words knock the wind out of me. I have no idea how to respond. Jace hardly knows me, but he seems to think so highly of me. It’s disorienting.

Finn seems to notice my discomfort because he clears his throat, breaking in. “So, I noticed the music festival pin on your apron the other day. Do you have a favorite band?”

I know what he’s doing. He’s steering the conversation to a safer place. And I’m grateful for it.

“Yeah,” I say. “The pin was actually from a friend who went to the festival. But I really love this local band, Jack of Diamonds.”

Finn nods. “I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never seen the show.”

“Oh, they’re incredible!" I say.

“I’ll have to check them out soon, then. I trust your opinion.”

The words make me happy for some reason. I can’t remember the last time someone valued my input. Justin surely hasn’t in a while.

“Well,” I say, brushing my fingers along the leaves of a bush as we pass it. “I might have a chance too, soon. The weirdest thing happened the other day.”

“What weird thing?” Jace asks.

I hesitate for a moment. I don’t know why I’m telling them this.

“The other day, I found ten thousand dollars deposited in my account just out of the blue. I thought it was a banking mistake, but when I asked them, they said it wasn’t a mistake. It was a legitimate transfer.”

I look up just in time to see Jace and Finn exchange a look. If I didn’t know better, I would think that they knew something. But that’s ridiculous.

“Super weird,” Jace mumbles.

An awkward silence hangs in the air for a moment. My suspicion grows, but I can’t find a reason these two would do something like that. We barely know each other, after all.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I flinch. It’s probably Justin. He probably wants me to pick something up for him. Or maybe he’s already blown through the forty bucks I gave him.

“Thank you for walking me home,” I say with a frown. I don’t want this time with them to end, but real-life calls.

“Hey, I want to give you our numbers. I’d love to do this again,” Finn says, drawing out his phone.

Once again, I pause to consider. My phone buzzes again, and anger starts growing in my chest.

“Sure, it’s nice to have a couple of new friends,” I say, and we exchange numbers.

“Friends...” Jace says to himself, his eyes seeming to glow in the dark. I take a step back, my heart beating fast.

“Bye!” I say hastily, quickly going into my apartment building, wondering what the hell was happening or if maybe I was hallucinating the glow of his eyes.

ten

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