Mr. Big(29)

She stepped into her apartment and watched him as he walked away. She closed the door and sighed as she rested her back against it and looked up at her ceiling, trying to make some sense of what was happening between them, what she wanted to happen, what she didn’t want to happen, and why even being with him had such a powerful effect on her.

The tangle of thoughts in her mind was only going to be put out of her mind one way, she decided, and that was with a very long, very hot bubble bath. Twenty minutes later, she was up to her ears in thick bubbles and the only parts of her that were not immersed in steaming water were her head and hands, which were holding a novel she hoped to lose herself in.

***

Cocktails at Carly’s two days later came as both a relief and an anxiety for Mia. Part of her wanted to commiserate with her friends about her thus far failed attempts at seducing Alexander, and part of her didn’t want to face them with her failed attempts, but their love and loyalty toward her outweighed the disappointment she had in herself and she arrived just as they were all ordering drinks. She sank into her seat and gave the waiter her drink order and he disappeared into the dim light of the restaurant. All eyes were on her again, as they had been for the last visit, and she gave them a halfhearted smile and shrugged.

“That does not look like the smile of a woman who has been tangled in the sheets with a man of possibly enormous endowment,” Liam said gently as he reached a hand to her shoulder. “Care to talk?” he asked hopefully.

Ava gave her a sympathetic pout and Maddie offered an encouraging smile and a warm hand to cover Mia’s.

Mia sighed. “Well, we went out on this incredible date on Saturday… he took me to Central Park and it was a beautiful day and he rowed me out onto the lake. We drank champagne and had a picnic on the grass under this gorgeous blossoming tree, and we kissed…” She trailed off quietly.

Liam blinked as he waited and gave a shake of his head when he realized she was stopping. “…you kissed and what?”

Mia frowned. “We kissed and it was phenomenal, but then that was it. There wasn’t anything else,” she said in a low voice.

Maddie’s frown matched Mia’s. “What do you mean there wasn’t anything else?” she asked as her brows knitted sharply.

Mia shrugged. “I told him I wanted him to come back to the apartment with me and said that he wants to wait for us to be intimate. He said he wants it as much as I do, but he just wants to wait until we know each other better.”

Her three friends stared at her. Ava blinked in astonishment. “He wants to wait? What does that mean? Why does it matter if you know each other better?”

Liam pursed his lips and nodded in comprehension as he turned from Mia’s dejected face to look at Ava. “It turns out that Alexander is a bit of a deep thinker. He isn’t really one to jump into anything without a close look at it. That makes perfect sense that he’d want to wait with Mia. I didn’t know him well enough to understand that about him when we put her up to this challenge, but now that I’ve been working with him a little while, I have seen it firsthand. He won’t be rushed about anything.”

Ava’s eyes were wide in amazement. Maddie sighed and reached for the drink that the waiter handed her before he passed the rest of the drinks around the table and vanished again.

Soft jazz played in the background and filled in the silence at the table for a moment before Liam turned back to Mia.

“Honey, this really is a good thing. I’m sure it’s going to be mind-blowing sex when it happens, and I’m sure it will happen. If he wasn’t interested in you, he wouldn’t kiss you at all. You’re making progress,” he assured her, patting her arm.

She stared at the wine in her glass. “I guess so. It’s just taking so long and….” She stopped herself short. She had almost said that she was having a harder time keeping him off of her mind and out of her emotions, but she managed to keep that from escaping her just in time, although Liam’s sharp eyes took in everything about her hesitation.

Maddie lifted her chin and looked at Mia. “So, you stick it out just a little longer and then you’ll get laid and then you’ll go to Italy. You’re close, it just isn’t a freebie, I guess. Not a big deal. You’re getting some good dates in the meantime, and that’s always nice. How’s the kissing?” she asked with a sly wink and a half smile.

“It’s beyond hot,” Mia said with a small grin and a touch of a shy look up at all three of them. “That man sets me on fire.” She turned her eyes to Liam. “I have a feeling you’re right about how it will be when we’re finally together. I think he’s going to rock my little world, and I can’t wait for it, and I can’t wait to get to Italy!” she said with firmness, reaching for her wine and tipping the glass back at her lips.