Page 80 of Act Like You Don't Care
On the wayhome from signing the contract, I called Miles. “Hi,” I said, unaccountably shy all of a sudden. “Um, not to be rude, but did you talk to your mother about a doctor yet?”
“Hold on,” he said in a business-like tone. “I’ve got it on a piece of paper here somewhere.”
“You’re still working?” I asked, surprised. I knew he didn’t have regular hours like most office workers, but his job was closer to a regular nine-to-five than anyone else in the family business, as far as I could tell.
“I’m in the doghouse,” he said, with that dry Miles tone that made me want to laugh even though it was actually bad news. “I’m cataloging old cases, getting them ready to archive.”
“That doesn’t sound entertaining,” I offered with sympathy.
“It’s brain deadening,” he said in an absent tone, like his attention was elsewhere. “Ah, here it is. Mark Ronin. I’ll text you the address and the phone number. Mom says he’s good and hard to get in with, but she knows his wife, so she’s pretty sure she can get us—you—in with him.”
Why did thatusmake me feel so warm inside? We weren’t a couple. But I supposed it implied that I wasn’t alone here with this, which made sense. “Thanks. I’d appreciate it if she could work her magic.” I thought about it for a second, then asked, “Did you want to come with me to the first appointment?” I thought I should offer him that much, anyway. Company would be nice too.
“Are you sure you want me there?" His voice was calm, but there was a tightness in it I would probably have missed before our time together.
"You're the baby's father. I don't see why not."
"Then yes, I'd like to. Thank you."
"You're welcome." I smiled, even though he couldn't see it. "Be nice to have some company."
"What about your family?"
"Mom's only got so much time off she can take so she's going to fly in when the baby comes. My sister is in college right now and has kids of her own. We’re not that close anyway. Nobody talks to my brother." Why was I saying this? He'd know all this. Probably knew more about what was happening with my family than I did. "I don't think a baby is going to change anything."
"You never know."
"I do," I snapped. "I'd rather not talk about it, okay?" My brother had taken after my father, just another useless charming layabout with a wicked temper who only ever called me looking for money. Which I'd stopped giving him two years ago. I hadn't heard from him since six months after my last no.
"Okay," Miles said simply.
The line went silent for a moment and I wondered if I'd upset him or made him angry at me. The urge to apologize grew, making me fidget.
Miles beat me to the punch. "I'm sorry, I know there was something in the family but facts were rare and you and I never really talked about him. I didn't think it was that bad."
"It was." I stared up at the ceiling and added, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped. It gets frustrating when people don't understand."
"It's okay," Miles said. "I guess I'm an optimist."
I laughed. "How can you be an optimist doing your job?"
"I'm not a police officer. Lots of good things happen in my job."
"Like what?"
"Well, we'd never have met. I know it wasn't a good time for you, but I enjoyed spending time with you. You're fun."
"Fun?" I blinked and stared at the car’s screen for a moment continuing. "How?" I'd been called sexy, hot, a pain in the ass, a diva, and a self-centered prick, but never fun. Not in the way that Miles had said it.
"Yes, fun. Ask my parents. They'll be the first to tell you I'm a workaholic. I like my work. It's hard to drag me away from it. I didn't mind it with you. Like I said, you're fun."
I thought about that. "Thank you," I said slowly. "I enjoyed hanging out with you too." It should have made me happy to hear that, but it didn’t. It made me sad to think of the opportunity I’d somehow missed and had to keep missing. “I’d better go. If you could send me the doctor’s info, I’ll call and see if he can get me in as soon as possible. The studio wants regular updates from him to make sure everything’s going well.”
“Is that normal when a star is pregnant?” Miles asked.
“I don’t know,” I said after a bit of thought. “I’ll ask Summer.” It might actually be. I didn’t care, though. If jumping through that hoop kept me in this role, I’d do it. I’d jump through more. This film had the potential for awards and I for damn sure was going to act my ass off during it.
“Don’t overwork yourself. Mom says she was always tired during the first couple of months, like we were mini vampires sucking all the life out of her. Which,” he added judiciously, “I guess we kind of were.”
