“Sure.” He sounds resigned, and I’m glad. I don’t want this conversation to go on any longer than necessary. “Take care, son. Speak to you soon.”
I hang up the phone, then realize I forgot to tell him about Dozer’s accident. Whatever. I’m not in the mood to call him back right now. I’ll tell him later.
I take our coffees outside. Mia is sitting at the table. Her sunglasses are off, and she’s leaned back in her chair, head tilted, staring up at the sky.
I watch her for longer than I should.
Her head comes up suddenly, and she catches me staring.
Acting like there is nothing weird about me staring at her, I smile and walk over, putting her coffee on the table in front of her.
“Thanks.” She smiles up at me, and it feels like I just got punched in the chest.
That is seriously starting to drive me crazy. Not the smiles … no, those are awesome. It’s my reaction to them that’s pissing me off. My reaction to her.
I take the chair across from her. Settling back, I take a sip of my coffee and set it down.
“Any idea where you want to start?” I nod at the papers in front of her.
Mia takes a sip of coffee, her eyes watching mine over the brim of the cup. “I thought maybe I would start with the Anna that lives in Farmington. That’s the largest town, right? Because I thought if I were her and I was getting away that’s where I would go. Or maybe go to another state altogether, so I’d be harder to find.”
Her lips downturn. I feel a pang of … I don’t know. All I do know is I really don’t like to see her sad.
“Think positive, Mia. Start with what we have and go from there.”
Her eyes lift. “You’re right. I’ll drive out there tomorrow—”
“We,” I emphasize.
I could really do without going to Farmington. I’ve avoided that place like the plague since what happened with Dad. But I can’t let her go there alone. And the likelihood I’ll see anyone I don’t want to see, during the day, is slim to none.
The likes of me only come out to play at night.
Mia places her cup down. “You don’t have to come with me. You’ve helped me enough already – and you have the hotel to run.”
Leaning back, I cross my leg over my other and rest my ankle on my thigh. “If you haven’t noticed, we’re not exactly busy. You’re my only guest, so call this the all-inclusive package.” I grin so that it doesn’t come off as creepy.
She laughs.
Good sign.
Her eyebrow lifts, and she starts pulling on that damn lip again. “So … what does this all-inclusive package entail?”
Hmm. She’s flirting with me. Interesting.
Very. Fucking. Interesting.
“Nothing specific. It’s more of a try and see kind of thing.”
“Right.” She hasn’t taken her eyes off me.
I’m really liking the direction this is going. I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself. I have Mia’s interest, and I’m not letting go until I know what it means.
My breathing has picked up, so I take a quick sip of my coffee to cover it, but don’t take my eyes off her.
“But part of that package does mean I’m coming with you tomorrow. I really don’t think it’s safe for you drive out there alone.”
A little frown dimples between her brows, and a fire lights in her eyes. It’s sexy, but I know I’ve pissed her off. I had this going in a good direction, but I just had to open my big mouth and ruin it.
She folds her arms across her chest. It pushes those perfect tits of hers up; tits that I’m trying really hard not to look at.
“Jordan, I drove across seven states alone to get here. I can manage a drive out of town.” She sounds pissed off, and her lip has jutted out. I can’t help but chuckle.
She’s so goddamn adorable. I’m tempted to throw all caution to the wind, and take her face in my hands and kiss those beautiful lips of hers.
“I get it,” I say, covering up a smile. “You can take care of yourself. But just humor me. Remember, I grew up the son of a cop, I know about the bad side of women driving alone long distance. Jeez, just knowing you did that to get here makes me feel like I’m going to break out in hives. And that wouldn’t be pretty. You don’t want to be responsible for making me look ugly, do you? Like the kind of ugly that scares small children.” I pull a face, and she smiles.
I’m playing, because I don’t want to knock the self-confidence and independence she so clearly needs to exert—the confidence that bastard took away from her the instant he laid a finger on her.
But I also can’t let her go there alone.