“Ah.” Nathan nodded sagely. “So, basically, you’re screwed?”
“To sum it up, yeah.”
“You don’t have to end things, you know,” Nathan mused.
Dave fired a hard look at his friend. “I’ve considered that…”
“And?”
“Don’t know.” He stood up, set his coffee on the edge of the desk and started pacing. The wood floors held plenty of scuff marks from generations of boots stomping across them, and the wide front window overlooked Main Street. Dave shoved his hands into his back pockets, stopped at the window and stared, not seeing the town beyond the glass.
His mind raced with more questions than answers. For the first time in years, Dave was unsure what move to make. All he knew was that he didn’t want to lose Mia. Not yet, anyway.
Of course, he didn’t plan to keep her in his life. They’d made a deal after all. Signed a contract. Their engagement would end and they’d each go back to their own lives.
But he wasn’t ready for that.
“Stop thinking about what you should do and tell me what you want to do,” Nathan suggested.
Dave glanced at him over his shoulder. “What I want is to go home and see Mia.”
“So do that and forget about the rest for now.”
“Just like that?”
“What’s the hurry? You said yourself the deal you made with Mia goes to the end of the month.”
“Or until I get the contract, whichever comes first.”
“There’s no saying you can’t renegotiate, though, right?”
“True.” Great sex must have clogged his brain. Otherwise he would have thought of this solution himself. There was no reason he and Mia couldn’t strike a new deal. They were good together. Maybe this was worth looking into.
“Give yourself some time to figure out what you want to do. The TCC’s big Halloween party is in a few days. At least wait until after that.”
He thought about it and realized that Nathan was right about something at least. Renegotiation could work. He wasn’t ready to give Mia up.
“Dave, you don’t have to have every answer to every question at all times.”
He laughed and shoved one hand through his hair. “You know, until now, I always have.”
“Things change,” Nathan said with a shrug. “Trust me, no one knows that better than I do.”
“Things are changing too damn much lately,” Dave muttered.
Nathan chuckled. “Yeah, I heard about your mom and Mike Carter.”
“Don’t remind me,” Dave said. It had been almost a week since the night he’d blundered into the middle of his mother’s—whatever. He was almost used to the fact that his mom was in love. He wasn’t used to Mike Carter living in the guesthouse with her.
Alice was happy like Dave hadn’t seen since he was a kid, before his father left them. He was glad for his mom, but he couldn’t understand how she could have faith again. Trust again, after how Dave’s father had let her down. Abandoned them.
How did she let go of the past and risk taking another chance on love? Shaking his head, Dave told himself that Thomas Buckley had it all wrong.
Women were much stronger than men.
* * *
“Congratulations,” Mia said and hoped she sounded more sincere than she felt.
“Thanks.” Dave poured them each a glass of wine and handed one to her. They took their usual spots on the sofa in the library as he told her about the deal with TexCat.
She listened and tried to look happy for him, but inside she was a mess. Her heart felt twisted into a knot and breathing was so difficult, she didn’t even sip at her wine, half-afraid she’d choke to death. That was it. It was done. She and Dave were over. The signed contract with TexCat signaled the end of their bargain.
Now she could move back to Alex’s place and get on with her life. The only problem? She wasn’t sure she had a life without Dave.
“I’d like you to stay,” he said suddenly, grabbing her attention.
Mia’s heart clenched. Her gaze locked on his. “What?”
He took her wine and set both glasses on the polished wood table in front of them before turning back to her. Dropping both hands on her shoulders, he pulled her in close, looked into her eyes and said, “I’d like you to stay—”
Hope roared to life inside her.
“—until the end of the month,” he finished.
And hope drained away again, leaving her feeling surprisingly empty. He didn’t want her forever. She’d been fooling herself thinking that maybe because she loved, that he did, too. Well, here was the eye-opener, the back-to-reality talk she’d been dreading for weeks.