Seth knew he lost control for a few seconds before he managed to get it together. As a guy, having the sensory overload of a naked female in your lap pushing every button that you have was something damn hard to regroup from. Her hands on his cock finally jolted him enough to pull back and at what he saw when he did, ice ran straight through his veins. Mia stood in the entryway of the living room looking at him in horror. His mind was frantically buzzing, trying to piece together how she could be here to witness what was no doubt a damning scene. He pushed Ashley’s hands roughly away from him, sitting her none too gently on the couch beside him. Possibly that hadn’t been a great move since Mia couldn’t miss Ashley’s exposed breasts now. She was still staring at him, but her feet were carrying her backward as if she couldn’t look away from the train wreck long enough to turn around and flee. He got to his feet, ignoring Ashley’s questions as he made his way toward Mia.
He was afraid she would run before he reached her, but she had stopped, waiting for him. The confident woman that he was used to looked more like a confused child, causing something inside of him to clench in remorse. “Mia, honey, what are you doing here?” Yeah, shit, that didn’t sound guilty at all.
“I . . . we finished early. I wanted to surprise you tonight. I . . . did, didn’t I?”
He took her arm, gently saying, “This isn’t what it looks like. She . . . um . . . caught me off guard. It wasn’t going any further.” Ashley’s roar of outrage rang off the walls of his apartment and seemed to snap Mia out of her trance.
She jerked her arm out of his and gave him a look of such contempt that he flinched. “Do me a favor and don’t lie to me. I’m sure you fully planned to sleep with her tonight and with me tomorrow night.” She laughed a laugh devoid of humor. “You know, I had actually started to believe the last few weeks that you were someone of substance. I pushed myself and the entire team to finish early because I thought there was something . . . more between us. Thanks for the wake-up call.”
Seth felt her words flaying him. Despite the anger now radiating off her in waves, he could see tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. “Mia . . .”
She held up her hand, stopping him. Her anger seemed to have fled as fast as it had erupted. She held his gaze for another moment before saying, “Just don’t, Seth, please. You don’t owe me anything . . . anything at all. I saw something that obviously wasn’t there, at least on your part.” With those parting words, she walked through the foyer and into the elevator. As the doors closed, he stood there stunned by what had just happened. He had the very real urge to pinch himself to see if this was some kind of a dream. He still couldn’t fathom her showing up out of nowhere at the exact moment that Ashley was sitting on him practically naked.
“Fuck,” he muttered. He turned to find Ashley slipping her dress back over her head. He knew things were just as bad as he thought when she walked toward him with a look of pity in her eyes.
“Seth, if you had told me beforehand that you were involved with someone, this would have never happened. I may be many things, but I’m not the other woman. I don’t have to be.” Her look of pity turned to a look of disgust in the blink of an eye. “You really hurt that woman. You should have manned up and broken up with her instead of letting her see something like that.” For the second time in so many minutes, another pissed-off female stalked to his elevator and left.
Unfucking believable. Ashley, who had removed her clothing and shoved her tongue in his mouth and her hand down his pants, was his judge and jury. Mia, whom he had slept with once, had looked heartbroken. Even as he tried to convince himself that he wasn’t in the wrong, a part of him was torn up over what had happened. It was obvious that she had seen more happening between them than casual sex. If he were honest, hadn’t he started to feel that way as well? Dammit, Ashley was right; he could have prevented this whole mess if he had just leveled with her. He had kept their dinner date to prove that he wasn’t tied down to anyone.
His denial of his growing feelings for Mia was to blame for everything that had happened tonight. He didn’t want to accept that he could be feeling something more than lust for someone he had only met a month ago. Things like that just didn’t happen to him. He had let his guard down for a brief time when he met Beth and look how that had turned out. Mia scared him shitless and he hated that out-of-control feeling. He wasn’t sure it even mattered anymore. The look on her face when she left didn’t bode well. He needed a few days to figure out what his next move would be. One of his brother Ash’s favorite sayings came to mind: Piss or get off the pot. He couldn’t think of anything that fit the situation more. He was either all in or he would have to walk away from her.
Chapter Twelve
The insistent knocking at her door showed no sign of stopping. Even with the comforter pulled up over her head, the sound still reverberated around the bedroom. “Shit!” Jumping out of bed, she stomped through her condominium and jerked the front door open without bothering to look through the peephole. She took a step back in surprise when she saw her immaculately dressed mother standing on the other side. She could count the number of times her mother had visited her at home on one hand, and she had never just shown up without making a formal appointment.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” She had to give her credit. She barely noticed the slight grimace that she made as she took in her daughter’s disheveled appearance.
“Mia, darling, I was worried about you. I have been calling you since last week and you haven’t returned any of my calls. I even called your office and they said that you were taking some vacation time this week. I’m used to you never answering your phone, but you do usually call me back within a day. I could only assume that you must be gravely ill.”
Being scolded by her mother was like being in grade school and being called to the principal’s office. “Sorry, Mom. I haven’t been checking my messages for the past few days. I needed some downtime. Was there something you needed?”
Her mother raised a perfectly plucked brow saying, “Well, you could invite me in and then we can go from there.”
Mia stepped aside and waved her inside. Crap, why didn’t I return her call? Her mother then did something else strange. She settled on the sofa as if she intended to stay for a while. Hadn’t she been through enough lately? Was she going to be forced to play caring family now? This whole visit was starting to seem suspicious. Shit, surely there wasn’t more bad news coming? “Is there . . . um . . . something you want to talk about?” she asked cautiously.
“Well, of course,” her mother replied, looking surprised. “I wanted to see what was happening with Seth Jackson. When we spoke after your dinner with him, you said that you would be seeing him again after your business there ended in a few weeks. When I hadn’t been able to reach you for several days, I assumed you were together, but Margie says that isn’t the case.”
Mia’s mouth dropped. “You called Seth’s assistant to ask if I was dating him? Mom!”
Her mother looked surprised at her shock. “What? Margie and I are on friendly terms. I called to thank Seth again for his contribution to our charity auction and since I hadn’t spoken to you recently, I asked her if you were still working there and she informed me that your job ran long, but was finished now.”
“God, please tell me you didn’t ask her if Seth and I were together,” Mia groaned.
“Darling, I don’t remember our exact conversation. I believe she just confirmed that he was in the office and in a terribly poor mood.”
Damn, she knew it. When her mother hadn’t been able to get answers anywhere else, she had called Margie to press her for information. There was no way she was calling Seth weeks later to thank him again. She would have had her secretary do that if she even thought of it. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been forced to discuss her dating life with her mother and she didn’t relish doing it now. God, she still felt too raw to talk ab
out him. She had done nothing but lie around for days throwing herself an outstanding pity party. She had been fortunate that there was a lull in installations at work and Hank had been fine with her taking a vacation week while things were relatively quiet. After seeing her moping around the office, he was probably thrilled to be rid of her for a while, and she had needed time to process what had happened that night at Seth’s penthouse.
She had gone through shades of anger, disbelief, sadness, and finally settling somewhere in between. She had allowed herself to feel more for him than she was aware of until it was over. In his defense, he technically had done nothing wrong. Sure, you would hope that the guy you slept with and had planned to sleep with again wasn’t also doing it with someone else, but there had never been any promises of anything. They weren’t even officially dating. What did she really expect? Just because it was something she wouldn’t do didn’t mean that Seth played by the same rules. Did that mean she was okay with the whole thing? Hell, no! Even more crushing was the feeling that he wasn’t satisfied with her enough to wait. Nothing about their night together seemed special now. How could it have meant anything at all to him if he was planning to sleep with someone else right up until their next night together? Well, you slept with him on the first date. What did you expect, a marriage proposal?
Sometimes the voice in her head sucked. She just needed to focus on giving her mother enough information to get her out the door so she could finish her pity party in peace. Sighing, she said, “There really isn’t anything to tell. We won’t be seeing each other again.” To her complete and utter horror, she felt herself starting to tear up. Oh, good Lord, no!
Unfortunately, her mother didn’t miss the moisture gathering in the corners of her eyes. “Mia, what happened? Did Seth do something to you?” Before she knew what was happening, she had poured out the whole story to her mother, albeit a PG-13 version. She could hardly fathom what had made her decide to lean on her mother for the first time in her adult life and no doubt, she would regret it. But, damn, she just needed to talk to someone. Her friend Nikki didn’t need to hear it while she was dealing with a newborn baby so that didn’t leave many options. Her mother had remained quiet during the story and had pressed a tissue in her hand at the end. Finally she said, “Darling, go pack a bag; you’re coming home with me for a few days.”
Mia looked at her in shock before saying, “No, that’s okay, really. I’ll be fine.”
“Nonsense. Your father is out of town on business so it’s just me there this week. We will have some girl time without him around to be a wet blanket.” Her mother raised a brow at her look of surprise. “What? I love the man, but we both know he can be a bit of a bore at times. Bring your swimsuit, too. We can spend some time at the pool or the beach.”
Mia was so surprised over her mother’s apparent normalness that she allowed herself to be herded into the bedroom to pack an overnight case. She had no intentions of staying for more than a day. Her mother wouldn’t hear of her driving separately so she got in the passenger side of the Mercedes sedan. They both seemed content to keep the silence and soon they were pulling into the exclusive Sunray Bay in the Garden City Beach area. She knew well that the houses in this area went for millions of dollars. To give her parents credit, their home, although large, was still extremely comfortable with warm colors and soft, inviting furniture. “Is my bedroom still available?” she asked.
Her mother looked confused, asking, “Well, of course it is, why wouldn’t it be?”
She supposed it was a rather silly question. It wasn’t like they needed the space. She just didn’t see her parents as sentimental enough to keep a room for her. “Um, no reason,” she mumbled as she made her way upstairs. When she walked into her old bedroom, she wrinkled her nose. Yeah, she had been going through a pink phase back then. Maybe this was one time that her mother should have torn the room apart and started over from scratch. Although, she had to admit she did love her white canopy bed even if it was covered by a bright pink, fuzzy comforter. Damn, had she really liked that at one time? A little pink was fine . . . looking like a bubble-gum-pink–paint can exploded in the room, not so good. She flopped down on the bed and wondered again what she was doing here. This was about the last place she would normally go to get away. A knock sounded at the door and her mother peeked her head inside, saying, “Pop into your swimsuit, darling. I’m going to make a pitcher of margaritas. We can drink too much and insult the men in our life.” Without waiting for her to answer, the door slammed.
What was going on here? This was feeling more and more like a singles vacation with her mother as the weird cruise director. She was actually starting to sound . . . fun, which was completely unreal. This wasn’t and had never been their relationship. Oh, crap. Something had to be going on. Her mother was going to liquor her up and break the news. She threw on her bikini and walked outside to the pool area. Just as promised, her mother was standing behind the outdoor bar with a blender and two chilled glasses. As if her heart could take any more shocks today, her mother walked out from behind the bar in a bikini and gave her a hug. Had someone here possibly started drinking earlier in the day? Mia cautiously took the drink that her mother indicated and walked over to a lounge. Her mother settled her glass along with a pitcher of the remaining margaritas between them. She gave Mia a bright smile saying, “Honey, go ahead and finish your first glass, you’ll feel much better.” Needing little prompting, she turned the cold beverage back and emptied it. Her glass was promptly filled as a warm buzz started working its way through her system.
Taking a sip of her second drink, she turned her head to study her mother. Wow, where was the normally reserved woman that she knew? Had they ever spent mother/daughter time at the pool together? Her father used the pool to swim laps, but she couldn’t remember her mother spending much time at it. Something was different. “So, um, Mom, this is . . .”
“Unexpected?”
Smiling in relief, Mia replied, “Yep, exactly. It’s nice, just not something we normally do.”
On a sigh, her mother said, “I know, darling. Believe it or not, I used to be fun when I was younger. Your father preferred me more . . . dignified . . . and eventually when you play the part long enough, it becomes who you are.”
Giving Mia what looked like a rather sad smile, she added, “I’m just trying to find the person that I used to be. Your father is away so much on business and it gets . . . lonely here sometimes.” She took Mia’s hand saying, “One of the things I regret the most is never having this type of relationship with you. I bowed to pressure and let the nanny handle most of your care even though I wanted to do it all for you. I’m so sorry I didn’t stand up for us.”
Mia looked on in horror as her mother burst into tears. She sat up in her chair saying, “Mom . . . please don’t. We can start from today. It’s not too late.”
Her mother jerked her head to look at her, hope beginning to burn through the tears that still rolled down her cheeks. Mia couldn’t remember ever seeing her cry before. Maybe she should harbor anger toward her, but having the chance for a real relationship with her mother for the first time ever was something too enticing to refuse. “Honey . . . do you mean it? I know I have a lot to make up for, but will you really give me a chance to get to know you and have a place in your life?”
Mia could feel tears gathering in her own eyes as she said, “I’d love that, Mom, I really would.” Maybe when one door closed, another did open. She was gaining a real mother even as her heart still mourned the loss of Seth.
***
“Margie! Where are last month’s budget figures?” Seth bellowed. Was everyone at the resort completely incompetent? Was expecting everyone to do their damn jobs too much to ask? Margie stalked into his office and slammed the door behind her. She picked up a folder from the corner of his desk and smacked it down in front of him.
“It’s on your desk where it’s been for days, ma
ster!”
“Margie, I’m not in any mood for any shit today,” he growled.
Putting her hands on her hips, she glared back at him. “I’m not in any mood for your shit, either, Seth. You have been nothing but an asshole to me and everyone within a ten-mile radius since you lost Mia. If you keep this up, everyone here is going to walk out. I have already had to talk three people out of quitting just today!”
“Don’t coddle the staff. If they can’t handle being called to task for not doing their jobs, then let them quit.”
He saw her face flush red before she threw her hands up in the air and sank down into a chair in front of his desk. He could feel the now-familiar irritation burning just beneath the surface as he waited for her to say whatever she needed to say and get the hell out of his office. He was surprised when she finally raised her head and gave him a look of genuine sadness. “What?” he asked, surprised.
“I love you, Seth, you’re like a son to me. In the years I’ve worked for you, I’ve seen you at your best and your worst. In all of that time though I’ve never known you to be the cruel bastard that you have turned into. You are being mean, insensitive, and overbearing. I know this all comes from Mia so tell me, what happened?” When he opened his mouth, she added, “And don’t say ‘nothing’; I know better.”
He stared at her, feeling his heart race in his chest as thoughts of that night crashed back in. He had worked nonstop since then to keep his mind off the look on Mia’s face as she walked away from him. He kept thinking things would get better, but it only got worse. Margie was right: He had turned into a monster, and he couldn’t seem to stop it. He looked at the woman who was more of a mother to him than his own and felt his anger start to fade away for the first time since Mia left. Running a hand through his hair, he admitted to Margie and to himself, “I fucked up royally and I don’t know if it can be fixed.”