He smiled. He wanted that too. She’d be a vision he’d never forget. That he knew without a doubt. “How fast can you plan one?”
“We’ll be married sometime this summer. I promise.”
“Okay,” he said, pausing as he wondered how far along she would be then. “So, do you have an idea when this baby of ours will arrive?”
“Sometime in December, I think.”
“A winter baby? Nice,” he said, bringing her into his arms, needing to feel her body pressed up against his. After she planted the sweetest kiss on his lips, he disengaged from his fiancée and hopped up. Extending his hand to her, he waited for her to take it. “Now, let’s go downstairs and tell your father and get some food. I need to eat.”
With a chuckle, she let him help her up. “No. I don’t want to tell him right yet. Let’s head out to dinner first. I’ll tell him then.”
“He knows I was going to ask you …”
“Tonight?”
“Well, no.”
“We wait. My secret for now …”
Mia
Mia grasped Ethan’s hand as they entered the restaurant. She was surprised her hand didn’t slip from his she was so nervous. She hadn’t been back home since she’d become famous … since she’d met Ethan … and wondered if she’d be recognized. She was used to it, but this was home and she was with her father and her fiancé. A smile broke out on her face at that. Engaged to Ethan with her ring back on her finger. Her life was finally coming together.
They sat in a booth near the bar to give them a little bit of privacy. Ethan sat on the outside, his big body protecting her from onlookers, and her father sat across from them.
God, she couldn’t believe how things had gone this afternoon. Years she and her father hadn’t talked about what had happened and yet today, she and her father had reconciled. Even so, they still had a lot of work to do, but the two of them had each taken that needed step. Despite their strained relationship, Mia had always missed her father, had always loved him.
She watched him looking over the menu. He looked much older than she remembered. There was more white in his dark brown hair, more wrinkles around his eyes.
She shook her head at that. She’d missed years with him. They couldn’t change that, but they could definitely change it so it never happened again.
She wanted her father in her life, to be a part of her children’s lives.
The waitress came to take their orders and Mia saw the recognition immediately in the girl’s eyes but she played it cool. Mia would be sure to reward her for that later.
While Ethan and her father talked, Mia sat back and relaxed, sipping her water and observing both men. It surprised her how similar they were. Their height, their facial features. Their smiles …
Holy fuckin’ shit!
She choked on her water and proceeded to have an embarrassing coughing fit. How she’d never seen it before was beyond her. She was marrying her goddamn father!
Well, not really, but damn!
Her little display refocused her father’s attention on her. She could feel his eyes on her like beacons and was a little afraid to look up and see what was there. So, instead of looking directly at him, she toyed with her silverware and asked aloud the question that had been bothering her since getting the call from his assistant. “Papa … what happened? Why did you go to the hospital?”
“I’m fine. Just wasn’t managing my diabetes very well. Not a big deal.”
Not a big deal? Diabetes? How did she not know this?
“But you collapsed …”
“I did, but everything’s okay.”
Her father was never sick and to know he had some condition … she wasn’t buying “fine.”
“Are you sure?” she pressed.
“Yes, otherwise they wouldn’t let me out of the hospital, now would they?”
“I guess not,” she answered, but it still didn’t sit well with her. He was being a tad evasive. She didn’t like that and was going to ask more but he beat her to it
“I’m fine, ma fille.”
She nodded her head and stayed silent, lost in her thoughts. Her father was a fit man. He wasn’t overweight at all. She’d have to do more research into this and after she did, he’d better answer all her questions!
“Mia … don’t retreat. Talk to us,” he said, his commanding voice drawing her eyes to him. Both he and Ethan had their attention focused on her.