“What? You’re not a liar.”
“Of course I am,” she argued miserably. “While she was going on and on about how happy she was to have me for a daughter all I did was sit there, basking in it. She thinks we’re really engaged and I let her think it. That makes me a liar and I can’t stand the thought of her knowing.”
“Mia…” He headed across the room to her, drawn to the slump of her shoulders and the distress in her voice.
She scooted off the bed and wrapped her arms around her middle in a classic self-protection stance. “I just don’t want her to think badly of me, okay?” Looking up at him, she tried to explain. “I never had a mother, you know? I mean, she died when I was a baby and I always wondered what it would have been like if she had lived.” She was talking faster now, as if words were gathering in the back of her throat waiting for their chance to be spoken. “How different would our lives have been? Having a mom teach you to cook. Going shopping for prom dresses. All the little things that I missed. I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like to experience it all.”
She took a deep breath and blew it out again. “I know how dumb that all sounds, but I swear, Dave, when Alice was talking to me and being so nice, I just…couldn’t give that up by announcing that what you and I have is just role-playing. I couldn’t do it.”
He laid both hands on her shoulders and stared down into her eyes. “I get it,” he said. “And trust me when I say I know how hard it is to get a word in edgewise when Alice Firestone is on a roll. She’s like this gentle, sweet-natured steamroller. There’s just no stopping her, so in your defense, she probably wouldn’t have given you a chance to confess even if you’d wanted to.”
Mia smiled up at him. “Steamroller, huh? She’s a sweetie and you’re lucky to have her.”
“I know it,” he said, “but she’s flattened me a few times, too.”
“Did you deserve it?”
“Probably,” he admitted.
“Like I deserve it now,” she muttered. Shaking her head, Mia shoved both hands through her hair, then let her hands drop to her sides. “But I’m asking you not to say anything to her, Dave. She’s so nice and she loves you so much and she’s so excited…. I’m a terrible person.”
He chuckled and was rewarded with a frosty glare. “No, you’re not. You’re the exact opposite because you’re worried about my mom’s feelings in this.”
“Yeah. I don’t want her to think I’m a liar.” Her head hit his chest. “Just don’t tell her, all right? The month is almost up. You’ve got the meeting with TexCat arranged for next week. So just wait. When the deal is done, we’ll break up as planned, and then she’ll never have to know the real reason behind any of this. And she won’t hate me.” She tipped her head back to look up at him. “I really don’t want her to hate me, Dave.”
In that moment, he would have given her anything, promised her whatever she wanted. Her blue eyes were drenched with emotion and the subtle sheen of tears she refused to let fall. She hadn’t asked him for a thing since this whole bargain had started, so this request seemed reasonable. Besides, he was in no hurry to tell his mother her dreams of grandchildren weren’t going to happen.
“Okay,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “We won’t say anything until we have to.”
She snaked her arms around his waist and held on. “Thanks.”
“Sure.” He kissed the top of her head. “Still hungry?”
“Am I breathing?”
Dave laughed, released her and gave her bottom a swift swat.
“Hey!” She grinned at him. “What was that for?”
“I just couldn’t resist that cute little butt of yours, I guess.”
“Maybe you could not resist me again after we eat?”
He grabbed a shirt, yanked it on and snatched her hand, tugging her out and down the hall to the stairs. “This is going to be the fastest meal in history.”
Her laughter bubbled out around them and just for a second, Dave didn’t worry about how happy Mia made him.
* * *
Mia reheated the stew Delores had made earlier and Dave managed to throw together some garlic bread. It was…cozy, being alone with her in the huge kitchen. Just the two of them, with the night outside the wide bay windows and lamplight casting a soft glow over the room. That ache in his chest was back, but Dave ignored it.