I collapse into the soft chair and Mia with me, and for a full minute, we just lay there, naked, our bodies tangled together. This woman is everything to me. My best friend, my confidante, the future mother of my children. She shivers and I roll her over, handing her a tissue while I grab my shirt, wrapping it around her.
We end up sitting there, me holding my shirt together around her, the fire flickering around us, the warmth between us. She presses her hand to my cheek. “Let’s talk about why you wanted to elope.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Grayson
The past…
I stand outside of my father’s Manhattan apartment and I can’t make myself go inside. How the hell am I supposed to tell him that Mia and I broke up? How the hell am I supposed to say the words that gut me? How the hell can I accept that I lost her?
The door opens and he stands there, staring at me, my father, the man who has inspired me to be just like him. His eyes narrow on me. “What happened?”
“I’m going to need a drink to answer that.”
He studies me for a few probing beats and then motions me forward. “Get your ass in here, boy.” He turns away and I stand there at the door, unable to enter. I waited for weeks to tell my father about this. Weeks where I hoped Mia would come back to me. I waited because I knew that the minute I tell my father, this is real. She’s really gone. And she is. I have to do this.
I enter the apartment and shut the door.
I find my father in the living room on the couch, the fireplace crackling with two glasses of whiskey already poured. I try not to think about how much Mia loves this room and that fireplace. I join him and sit down, losing my tie, and reaching for the drink. I down it and my father refills the glass. “Where’s Mia?” he asks, homing in on the problem, because he knows me. “She hasn’t been around in a while.”
“An employee took her top off, pressed herself against me, and while I was trying to get her off me, Mia walked in.”
“Oh fuck,” he murmurs, downing his own drink. “How long ago?”
“Three weeks.” I look at him. “I didn’t tell you because I was certain I’d convince her it wasn’t what she thought it was.”
“Was it?”
“No. Hell no. There’s no one for me but Mia.”
“But you haven’t won her back.”
“No. And I won’t. I’m done trying.”
“Why would you stop trying?”
“She went to work for Ri. And Ri wants her. He wants her in a bad way.”
“Does he have her?”
“She went to work for him, Dad.” I refill my glass.
“Does he have her, son?”
“Mia would never have gone to work for him if he didn’t. She knows he’s my enemy.”
“Sounds like you want an excuse to quit fighting for her.”
“That’s not true,” I say. “I just know when to give up. You taught me that. Don’t fight a losing battle.”
“Working for Ri and fucking him are two different things.”
“No,” I say. “If she’s working for him, she’s fucking him.”
“Like you were fucking that woman in your office?” he challenges.
“It’s not the same thing.”
He arches a brow. “Why isn’t it?”
“I didn’t choose to have that woman pressed up against me. Mia chose that job.”
“She probably thinks you chose it for her by fucking that other woman.” He doesn’t give me time to reply. “On a positive note, you know she’s not after your money. She walked away from you and it.”
“How is that positive? She walked away.”
“From you and the money. And if she comes back, it’s for you. Just you.” He doesn’t give me time to reply yet again. “Did you know that I broke up with your mother once?”
“You did? When?”
“Before we got married. She thought I was being an arrogant ass and that I picked a stunning secretary for her ass, not her skills.”
“Did you?” I ask.
“Hell no. I almost didn’t hire her because of her ass. I didn’t want your mother to think I was chasing said ass, and still, she did. I was angry at her for thinking so little of me and I didn’t go after her at first. That all but did me in. Took me six months to win her back. You know what I did?”
“What?”
“We eloped. I put a ring on her finger the minute I had the chance.”
“But I’ve seen the wedding photos,” I say. “It was a huge wedding.”
“Six months after we eloped. I made damn sure your mother knew there wasn’t another ass on the planet that could get my attention.” He lifts his glass. “And the rest is history. Kept her for the rest of her life, and I hired ugly secretaries from that point on.”