Page 28 of Accidental Wedding Crasher
“Really?” Evan raised his eyebrows.
“You don’t have to look so shocked.”
“I mean… you’re accomplished, interesting, and beautiful. I would have thought you’d date plenty. And I’d have thought you were the type for serious relationships.”
“I don’t have time for dating, I guess,” Mia said. “My students are always my priority. And all the guys I’ve met have been…” She held out a hand, palm flat, and tilted it side to side “…iffy. Like you.” She couldn’t resist getting a barb in.
Evan winced. “Fair point. I haven’t made the best showing. So, what should I know aboutyou?”
“Let’s see. You know that I’m a teacher and an only child. My parents live in Sacramento, and I see them pretty often. Though, like I told you at the wedding, I get lots of the same questions you do about when I’m planning to settle down.” Mia considered. “I went to UCLA and got a dual bachelor’s and master’s in education and math.”
“Impressive,” Evan said.
“Not really.” Mia sighed. “Not for my parents, anyway. They wanted me to become a lawyer or a doctor or something.”
“Why?” Evan asked.
“They wanted the best for me. And for them, that meant lots of money and prestige and security. My parents both worked at a grocery store, which didn’t pay much and sometimes meant very long hours, and they wanted me to have something different.”
“I think my parents were the opposite,” Evan admitted. “My father manages the family wealth, and my mother runs charities. They wanted me to follow the exact same paththeydid. Even Luka becoming a doctor was strange for them, though they came around on that pretty fast. I think they saw the benefit of havinga doctor in the family. They don’t understand why I’d want to start my own company and deal with all the headaches that go with that, though.”
“It’s hard, not living up to what your parents want,” Mia said. Her stomach twisted as she thought of the way her parents always asked about her career and love life, and how they always tried to mask their disappointment.
“It is.” Evan met her gaze. “Which is why I really appreciate you coming and helping me.”
“It’s been fun,” Mia said. “I didn’t love the radio silence for a month, but I guess work always comes first, huh?”
“It has to.” Evan shook his head. “Imagine if my company crumbled after I’ve poured everything into it. My parents would act sympathetic, but they’d make subtle comments about how I should never have even tried.”
“I can imagine,” Mia said. She’d heard plenty of “subtle” comments today herself. “Is that the reason you work so much?”
“Partly.” Evan sighed. “But there’s more to it. I love my job. I love making something of my own.” He glanced at her.
“I feel the same way about teaching,” Mia said. She smiled. “I guess we might be more similar than I thought.”
“Because we both love our jobs and struggle with family expectations?” Evan nodded. “I suppose so.”
“Maybe we have more in common,” Mia suggested. “What was your childhood like?”
“Well, I went to a private school with Luka,” Evan told her. “We also had tennis lessons, French tutoring, and coding classes. Inthe summer, we went on family vacations to Cape Cod or the South of France or somewhere else, and in winter, we usually went skiing in Aspen or the Alps.”
Mia chuckled. “Okay, we won’t find many similarities there. I was an only child, I went to public school, and my after-school activities were going to the community center pool, hiking, and babysitting. We went on vacations, too, but mostly camping, like I told you.”
“Okay, our childhoods were pretty much opposites.” Evan chuckled. “Tell me more about these camping trips.”
“We’d drive to a nice spot, usually in a national park or along the coast,” Mia explained. “We had an old, battered tent that barely fit the three of us, and we’d stay up late under the stars roasting marshmallows and singing.” She smiled. “Those were good times.”
“It sounds like it.” Evan paused. “I’ve never been camping.”
“Why does that not surprise me?” Mia chuckled. “Okay, tell me about one of your vacations. Tell me about... skiing in the Alps.”
“We usually went to Chamonix,” Evan said. “We had a vacation house there for a few years. We’d wake up early every day and have breakfast together, which was rare for my family. Then we’d bundle up in all our clothes and hit the slopes. We had to take one lift up to the snowline, then a second lift to ski from. Luka is three years older than me, so he was always the better skier, but he’d go slowly with me, at least for the first few runs of the day, and he’d make up little games to make it fun.” Evan smiled. “We’d have to ski in each other’s tracks, do a certain number of turns on one hill, or sing a song while we skied.”
“That’s sweet.” Mia’s heart warmed at the story. “You know, you make a big show about being distant from your family, but I think you actually care.” She ended the sentence with a teasing note, and Evan chuckled.
“Maybe a little.”
“More than a little. That story was downright cute.” Mia nudged him with her arm. “Maybe you can take some time to actuallyenjoythis wedding, like how you enjoyed vacations when you were a kid.”
