“You know,” she says, her voice almost a whisper. “If I weren’t…” Her words trail away, but I’m rock hard again just knowing she’d think of me this way.
“Yeah, I know.”
After a few seconds, she breaks my gaze and clears her throat. “Can I ask…why?”
“Why…”
“Why more than two years?”
“Oh.” I glance down at the ground, then back to her eyes. “You.”
Her eyes widen. “Me?”
“Yeah, I saw you and…yeah.” I look away. “I tried to date other women, but…it didn’t work.”
Mia’s eyes are the shade of melted caramel as they fill with tears. “I don’t know what to say. No one’s ever…I wish…”
She blinks and the tears slide down her cheeks, knifing my heart.
“It’s okay. Don’t cry, Mia.”
I fight my urge to take her back into my arms and comfort her. It’s all I want—to feel her body against mine like I just did for a few brief, incredible seconds.
“They aren’t sad tears.” She smiles at me.
Sad or not, seeing her cry is shredding me. I want her to put her backpack down and stay. For dinner, for the night…forever.
“See you in the morning.” She grabs her coat and goes to the door.
I follow her and hold the door open. “I’ll have coffee waiting.”
I can’t help it; I peek out the doorframe and watch her ‘til she steps on the elevator. Then I close the door and walk back into the living room, sitting down on the couch.
“So you wanna bang my nurse,” Uncle Dix says.
I glare at him. “Funny how you’re hard of hearing when I tell you to wait for one goddamn second, but you can hear whispered conversations across the apartment when you’re eavesdropping.”
“You want some of that chocolate milk.” He laughs and slaps the arm of his chair.
“Fuck you. Don’t talk about her that way.”
“She’s a pistol.” Uncle Dix sounds impressed.
“You better treat her right.”
He puts up both hands. “She don’t need you lookin’ out for her, Anton. That girl’s gonna make sure I treat her right.”
I give him a skeptical look.
“She wouldn’t give me any bacon cause I called her a bitch!” he says with a cackle.
“Mia? You called Mia…you son of a bitch.”
“She ate my bacon!”
“You shouldn’t be eating bacon anyway.”
“So instead of getting me a real nurse, you’re just paying the chick you want to bone.” He shakes his head. “Hell of a note.”
“I can’t find a single nurse willing to put up with your bullshit. The agency even called and said they weren’t sending any more nurses over. And Mia is more than capable. Plus she needs the money.”
“To get all dolled up for you to bang her?”
“Will you stop saying that?”
Dix shrugs. “It’s true.”
“I’m not trying to bang her. She’s married.”
“Oh.” His eyes light up. “My choirboy nephew’s tryin’ to bang a married woman?”
I point at him. “You’re an asshole. Keep it up and I’ll stop DVRing Jeopardy.”
“Now you sound like your girlfriend. Denying an elderly man his few pleasures in life.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Well, she missed her calling as a prison guard,” he grumbles.
My phone buzzes with a text, and I look down at the screen. “Huh. Looks like Alexei’s gonna be here for Christmas.”
“Tell him to bring me a bottle of good bourbon. None of that cheap shit.”
I toss my phone onto the couch. “How about a walk before dinner?”
Dix scowls. “I’m in a wheelchair, numb nuts.”
“I’ll push you. Unless you piss me off, then I’ll just leave you on a corner.”
“Bah,” he waves a hand dismissively. “It’s winter, I’ll freeze my balls off.”
“I’ll put a blanket over you. Come on, the fresh air will do you good.”
“Fresh?” He balks. “It smells like car exhaust and old sausage out there!”
“You haven’t been outside in a while.” I get up and roll his wheelchair over.
“Bunch of bullshit,” he mutters. “Don’t be surprised if I die of hypothermia.”
“Quit your bitching and I’ll order you some of that pistachio ice cream you like.”
He’s silent after that. Uncle Dix is a surly old bastard, but he loves ice cream.Chapter FifteenMiaGrandpa’s eyes light up when he opens the big tin of chocolate covered peanuts I bought from his favorite candy shop.
“Thank you, young lady,” he says, setting the box next to the one he just opened that contains a new scarf and pair of gloves.
“You’re welcome. I thought you might like to share those with Millie.”
“Oh, I will.” His smile fades. “But I didn’t get you anything for Christmas.”
“I have everything I want already. Just getting to spend time with you is the best gift anyway.”
He smiles and shakes his head. “I’m just an old man. You should be out having fun with your friends.”
“I want to be here.” I reach across the table we’re sitting at in the Goodman House lounge and cover his hand with mine. “You’re very important to me.”
“I am?”
I want so badly to tell him why.