Page 44 of Accidental Wedding Crasher
“It must have happened the night we spent together in Napa Valley.” She bit her lip. “I didn’t intend for this to happen. Wewere so careful. But it did happen, and this is a good thing, Evan.”
“I…” Evan looked away, not knowing what to say. The whole world blurred in front of him. He’d finally come to terms with why some people would get married, but kids… kids ended careers. He’d always said that. A minute passed as he stared out over the fields, feeling as though his world was crumbling.
“Say something,” Mia said, her voice breaking. Evan’s heart went out to her, but he had no idea what to say. He didn’t want to make promises that he couldn’t keep or ask questions that might hurt her more. And he wasn’t even sure he could string a coherent sentence together with the way his head was spinning so much.
The one thing that was clear was that he couldn’t be a father. Reign was his baby, and fatherhood had never been part of his plan. He looked at Mia and she looked back at him, her beautiful brown eyes full of unshed tears. And he shook his head.
“Let’s talk about this,” Mia pleaded. “We can work this out.” But Evan got to his feet. He couldn’t reassure her, not when he felt so jumbled himself. If he spoke now, he’d only hurt her.
“You — and the baby — will never want for anything,” he managed. A tear rolled down Mia’s cheek.
“Is that it?” she asked, her voice low and hurt. She wiped the tear away, but her eyes were still bright.
Evan opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it again. He turned and hurried away. He needed time to gather his thoughts. He needed space. This was all so sudden, so unexpected, and so confusing. How was he supposed to have any role in a child’s life when he worked eighty-hour weeks?
Aimlessly, he stumbled back toward the villa. He couldn’t face Mia — or his family — right now. He couldn’t bear to see how happy they were. And he couldn’t bear to hear another comment about how Mia had made his life so much better. She had. But her presence in his life had chipped away at everything he knew. He struggled to work now. He thought of her all the time. And now she was going to have his baby. She’d turned everything on its head, and Evan couldn’t bear to think about the way forward now.
So, he did what he always did in these situations. He went up to the room they shared, took his laptop, and found a quiet place. There, he began to work. Usually, he was able to lose himself completely in his work, but today, everything reminded him of Mia. And the baby. He forced himself to answer emails, review analyses, and go over the schedule for the next week once he was back, but it was almost impossible to focus. He kept thinking of the baby. And Mia. He found himself typing “pregnancy” into the search engine before quickly closing the tab, exasperated and confused.
After a few minutes, Evan gave up. He wasn’t about to get anything done. He was going to need a better distraction than work — if such a thing even existed. And he couldn’t miss Luka and Sarah’s wedding. It meant a lot to his brother that he was here, and he couldn’t let him down. Mia had helped him see that.
So, Evan got up and headed downstairs, ready to pretend that everything was fine even as his life crumbled and he barreled headlong into an uncertain future.
CHAPTER 19
MIA
Mia watched Evan go, surprised and hurt. While she hadn’t expected him to embrace the idea of being a father with open arms, shehadhoped that they’d at least be able to talk about it. That had been foolish. This was how Evan handled things: whenever life got too intense, he ran off. He’d done the same thing after their night together in Napa Valley. He’d done the same thing to his own family when he spent years prioritizing work over them.
Tears pricked at Mia’s eyes, and she rested her palm on her abdomen.
“It’s just you and me now, kid,” she whispered. Maybe Evan would come around after he had some space, but she couldn’t count on that. Remembering the long month of no communication before the Italy trip, she knew she had to rely onherselfright now.
Mia looked out over the rolling hills, her heart aching as a tear rolled down her cheek. This baby was a good thing, the best thing, but Evan’s reaction wasn’t. She still couldn’t believe thathe’d left so quickly, clearly not caring about her feelings — or about the baby — at all.
Suddenly, she felt ridiculous in her fancy wedding dress and makeup, at a celebration for a family that wasn’t even hers. All week, she’d drawn Evan out of his work and helped him enjoy time with the people who loved him, only for him to leave her stranded when she was most in need of help. She felt deeply out of place.
Forget him,Mia told herself sternly, even though the words pinched at her heart and made another tear roll from her eyes. She wiped it away. Evan had had a chance to handle this like an adult, and he’d chosen not to. There was nothing Mia could do right now to make that right.
What she could do was leave. This moment. A plan formed in her mind as she stood and began walking back toward the villa. She’d quickly pack her things and ask reception to send her a taxi. She’d go to the airport and buy a flight home. It would take a chunk out of her savings, but anything was better than another day here with Evan and an awkward plane ride back with him. By this time tomorrow, she’d be home in San Jose, and then she could figure out how to become a single mother despite her broken heart.
People raised babies as single mothers all the time. Even one of Mia’s close friends, an English teacher at the same school, was a single mother by choice, and she always told Mia that teaching was one of the best jobs for single moms. The first year or two would be hard, but Mia would figure it out. Without Evan. Without anyone.
She slipped through the villa’s back door, her hands clenched into fists and her heart racing. She didn’t want to run intoanyone from Evan’s family and have to explain her tear-stained face. Mercifully, everyone was outside on the lawn, enjoying the wedding festivities, so the lobby was silent and empty. The only person here was the receptionist, a young man in a blue and white uniform with slicked-back hair and a friendly smile. Mia hurried over.
“Buona giornata,” she said politely. Even now, with her whole life a mess, she remembered the few Italian phrases she’d so hopefully learned while preparing to come here.
“Buonagiornata,” the receptionist replied. “How can I help you?”
“I’d like a taxi to the airport, please.” Even saying the words aloud made Mia’s throat burn with unshed tears, but she forced herself to push through. She needed to leave, even though it was hard. Even though it felt like leaving behind any chance of a future with Evan.
There never was a future with him,she reminded herself, but it still stung.
“For tomorrow?” the receptionist asked, tapping something on his computer.
“No, now please. In an hour or so.”
“And where can I call when the car arrives?”
