Page 91 of You're The One
Her arm hooks behind me, fingers finding the nape of my neck.
“I don’t know why she did this,” slips out before I can stop it.
“Bodhi said they didn’t know there was bad blood between you,” she explains. “She told themyouthought her schedulewouldn’t allow her to come, and that she wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, she pulled that off.”
I lean back and let out a long breath. Mia brings my hand into her lap and traces slow circles over my knuckles.
“She’s reached out to my agent over the years, but never directly to me. I used to think it was her way of respecting my boundaries. That was naive, wasn’t it?” Now that I’ve started, it’s all spilling out.
“No. That’s just trying to see the best in people.” She smiles, but it’s small, barely a twitch of her lips. “You’re good at that.”
“Do you think people can change?” I ask. “She hasn’t. I smelled booze on her breath.”
“I think peopledochange.” She shrugs. “Sometimes it takes conscious effort. Other times, I think it just happens. Whether you want it to or not.”
“Speaking from experience?”
She lets out a raspy laugh and gives my hand a quick pinch before smoothing it over with her thumb. “It’s okay to hope.”
She pauses, then adds, softer, “Maybe even good.”
She looks out of the windshield at the white wall. I wonder what shades she sees.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She turns back to me. “Hope gives us a reason to try again tomorrow. Disappointment gives us character.”
“Are we still talking about my mom?” I ask, hoping we’re not.
I get another laugh out of her.
“It’s a universal philosophy.”
“Your latest?”
“Yep,” she declares, settling on it.
Moments pass, and my thoughts drift again. But this time, they don’t land on anger or pain. Just the opposite. Mia.
Where we started.
Where we are now.
How she’s so close… but still just out of reach.
We almost feel too big—our history, my feelings, all of it—too big to fit inside the narrow interior of my Lamborghini.
Is there hope for us, too?
Fuck. There has to be. I don’t think I can accept any other possibility.
She squeezes my hand before releasing it. “Wanna have dessert? I kicked everyone else out.”
A smile tugs at my mouth. “Yeah. And… thank you.”
“Of course. Ready?”
