Page 80 of Protect My Heart
‘It’s a beautiful old farmhouse,’ Martha says to my mom. ‘You’ll have to come see it.’
‘Perhaps after breakfast,’ my mom says.
They make plans to go there, insisting Jason and I go too. To our new home. The house we’ll be sharing for the summer.
Why did Jason agree to this? Did he think he had to, to make our story more believable? I don’t know why else he’d agreed to it.
This whole thing was a bad idea. The engagement was just supposed to be a little white lie to help my parents accept thepregnancy. But now Jason’s family knows and soon the whole town will. Whenever we go out, we’ll have to act like a couple. What was going to just be a day or two of pretending to be engaged is now going to last the whole summer.
I really messed this up.
Chapter 17
Jason
‘What a beautiful home,’ Harriott says as we go into the Carson house. I shouldn’t call it that anymore since now it’s mine, at least for the summer.
Mia’s probably angry at me for saying we’d live together, but I was thinking about it, and if we’re really pretending to be engaged, it doesn’t make sense that we’d live apart. Her job is the only thing keeping her in Madison, but that excuse went away when her mom said Mia could work remotely. So when Harriott gave us her blessing to live together, I ran with it. I decided it’d be good for us to live together. If we’re going to be parents, we need to get to know each other better and living together will force us to do that.
And I want to live with Mia. I want to help her through the pregnancy, go to doctor’s appointments with her, get her whatever food she’s craving, and just be there for her. This may be the only chance I have to do this. Given my dating history, I may end up single for the rest of my life. This might be the onlychild I have, so I want to be part of this. I don’t want to be left out. I want to be with Mia during the pregnancy, even if she’s mad at me for it.
We haven’t talked since leaving the restaurant. She drove here in her car and I took my truck. We got here at the same time, but Mia raced inside the house with her mom. I think she’s avoiding me, but she can’t do it forever. We need to talk about this.
‘Oh, honey, isn’t it lovely?’ Harriott asks Mia as she looks around.
‘Yes, it’s really nice. I love how it’s decorated.’
‘Kate did that,’ Mom says. ‘After Nash finished renovating the house, we added some furniture but nothing decorative. Then Brody started dating Kate and she couldn’t wait to add her touch to the place. I think she did a wonderful job.’
‘And they didn’t want to live here?’ Harriott asks. ‘Your son and his girlfriend?’
‘Brody and Kate already have a house, close to downtown.’ Mom heads to the stairs. ‘Let’s go upstairs. I’ll show you the bedrooms.’
Harriott walks to the stairs, then looks behind her. ‘Where in the world did Walter go?’
‘He’s outside with Carl,’ Mom says. ‘I believe Carl is showing him the land he plans to convert to more pumpkin fields.’ She sighs. ‘I swear that man just keeps making this place more work.’
Harriott laughs. ‘Men. Sometimes I wonder if they’re worth all the headaches they cause us.’
‘You two go ahead,’ Mia tells them as they go upstairs. ‘I’llbe up later.’ She waits until they’re gone, then turns to me. ‘I guess this is our house now.’
I go up to her, keeping my voice down. ‘Mia, I know you’re angry, but if you just let me explain.’
‘I’m not angry. It was a good idea. People are more likely to believe this is real if we’re living together. I just wasn’t prepared for this. I’m going to have to get rid of my apartment, move all my stuff.’
‘I’ll help you with that. Whatever you need. I’m your fiancé. It’s my job to help you out.’
‘Only if this was real. Jason, I don’t want you feeling obligated to do things for me now that we’re in this situation. Nothing has to change. Well, other than our living arrangements.’
‘Mia, everything’s going to change. This is our life now. We have to act the part. Everywhere we go.’ I take her hand. ‘We have to act like a real couple.’
She looks down at our joined hands. ‘Do you think you can do this for the whole summer?’
‘Yeah. Can you?’
‘I can. I just—’
‘Just what?’
