“So okay.” He threaded their fingers together and gave a gentle squeeze. “It’s pretty amazing, in fact. Every time my dad came after me when I was a kid I thought about what being a father entailed. Not everyone is cut out for it, but I knew I’d work twice as hard at it to make up for the hell my dad put me through.”
“You’re going to make an amazing father. We’ll figure out everything. I just need some time to talk to my family. It’s pretty obvious from the way Ivy is acting out that dealing with her is not going to be easy.”
“You don’t have to do it alone. Let me be there for you when you go talk to them.” He knew better than to suggest he go with her to confront Ivy. Mia knew how to handle her sister better than anyone.
But to announce a false pregnancy on social media and name him as the baby’s father was beyond disturbing. Nate swallowed an I-told-you-so. As much as he wanted to reiterate his opinion on how the entire family’s pandering had created the monster that was Ivy Bliss, Mia needed his support, not his criticism.
“Don’t be mad,” she began, trying for a smile and not succeeding. “I really think I need to go explain things to my dad on my own. Having you there will just complicate the whole situation.”
Nate shrugged off his disappointment. He’d like to be at her side, presenting a united front to her father. For support and because he worried that she’d cave to her family once again. “I’ll let you handle your family, but I’m telling you right now that I’m calling my publicist and having her deny that your sister and I have had or are having any sort of relationship.”
The last thing he intended to do was get into a social media pissing match with Ivy. At least she’d had the sense not to post a picture or the caption herself. She would have plausible deniability.
Suddenly, he was sick to death of talking about Mia’s sister. “For the next twelve hours we are not going to talk about a certain pop star. Can you do that?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I’ve ever gone that long without talking about her.” A cheeky grin spread across Mia’s face. “Actually, now that I think about it, there were a couple nights I’ll never forget with a handsome guy.”
Damn if his pulse didn’t kick up a notch. She had the most amazing effect on him. It was what he kept coming back over and over despite how much her obligation to her sister irritated him. But they would worry about her sister later. Right now, it was all about Mia. He eased her back against the headboard and slid his fingers into her hair. She sighed in delight and tilted her face to receive his descending mouth.
Eleven
The next morning, Mia packed a bag and let Nate drive her to the airport to catch a ten o’clock flight to LA, where Ivy and their father were meeting with Trent about the album and their interest in having Hunter Graves produce it instead of Nate.
To her surprise, she hadn’t received a single call or text from her family. No doubt they were all in crisis mode over the Instagram post. Mia wondered how her sister was coping with the fallout. Nate had done as he’d promised and released a statement through his publicist. And then he’d watched her fidget as the night stretched on with none of her family reaching out to her.
Was she crazy to resent being shut out after everything she’d sacrificed for her sister and her career? And then she realized how foolish that sounded. None of her family were avoiding her; more likely they just hadn’t bothered to bring her into the loop. Resentment flared.
As he pulled to a stop at the terminal, Nate put his hand on hers and gave a reassuring squeeze. “Are you sure you don’t want to just forget about coming clean with your family, and stay with me?”
With each minute that passed she felt less confident about going alone to LA, but she’d put off telling her family about Nate and her pregnancy long enough.
“I appreciate your offer, but I think it will go better if I talk to them in person.” She exited the car and waited while Nate pulled her suitcase out of the trunk. “I’ll call you later.”
But as Mia headed to the counter to check in and drop off her luggage, she was overwhelmed by a mixed bag of emotions. Annoyance. Dread. Her relationship with Nate had been a secret she’d kept to herself for almost four months. Loving him had given her greater joy than anything she’d ever known, and yet she’d hidden her happiness for fear of it being taken away if the truth came out.
It was something she hadn’t explained to Nate. He’d assumed that she was afraid of moving forward because her identity was trapped in her sister’s shadow. After she’d told him about Ivy’s near death experience thanks to the painkillers, he’d been more understanding about the burden of responsibility she felt toward her twin. But he resented that she couldn’t leave her sister to make mistakes and face consequences.
Well, Ivy was on her own right now and look what had happened. Hunter Graves was probably going to produce her next album, and while the man was nearly as talented as Nate, Hunter’s vision for her music was in line with Ivy’s own. They weren’t going to record a breakout album. If Ivy had only listened to her...
Mia cut off the thought. Nate was right. She was too caught up in her sister’s career and life. Even now, with things so strained between them, even though Ivy had fired her, Mia remained emotionally invested in what her sister was doing.
When it was Mia’s turn to step up to the counter, instead of presenting her ticket to LA, she checked to see if there was a flight to Chicago. Suddenly, more than anything, Mia craved some advice from her older sister, Eva. She didn’t pause to wonder whether Eva would
be happy to see her. Many times in the last five years Eva had also questioned her dedication to Ivy, and as much as they loved each other, Mia’s stubborn refusal to leave her twin had led to some tense discussions between Eva and her. Despite this, Mia knew Eva would welcome her with open arms.
After successfully switching her ticket and getting through security, Mia raced to catch her flight and emailed her sister about the surprise visit, mentioning the post on Instagram and offering a brief explanation about the trouble she and Ivy were having. Normally Mia didn’t involve Eva in her Ivy issues because she knew how Eva would respond, but Mia wanted her sister’s expert opinion.
She had to shut her phone down before Eva replied. Most likely she was in the middle of a session with one of her patients. As a deaf psychiatrist, Eva had a unique niche: almost two thirds of her patients were hearing impaired.
Once she landed in Chicago, Mia exited the airplane and headed for O’Hare’s baggage claim. The plan after she collected her luggage was to take the blue line downtown and then the purple line north to her sister’s condo in Evanston. The trip would take around an hour and a half. But as Mia entered the baggage claim area she saw a familiar face and sped toward her older sister.
She was so overwhelmed by surprise and relief, she forgot to sign as she blurted, “What are you doing here?” It was the last sentence she uttered before sobs overtook her. Eva’s unexpected appearance and the relief of not having to wait two more hours to hug her pulled the cork from the bottle containing Mia’s turbulent emotions.
Eva didn’t ask questions; she merely wrapped her arms around Mia and let her release all the pent-up sadness that had been building for the last few months. When Mia got herself back under control she realized Eva had coaxed her out of the flow of people and toward the wall. With the initial rush of her tears slowing to a trickle, Mia gave her sister a watery smile.
“What are you doing here?” Mia repeated the question out loud as she wiped her eyes. Eva could read lips and also speak. The sisters usually communicated in a combination of both. “I was going to take the train to your office.”
“I canceled my last two appointments,” Eva signed. “You didn’t seriously think I was going to let you take the train.”