Hers were warm, soft, and full under his. He brought his hand up to lightly cup her cheek, teased her mouth open, getting his first taste of Mia. He was finally, finally kissing her.
For a second he was afraid she would push him away, ask what the hell he was doing. But she didn’t. Gentle and slightly shy, her hands stayed in her lap, but she tilted her head, allowed him to deepen the kiss.
Students milled past, and a burst of laughter jolted them both from the moment. He’d never thought about a kiss so much in his life, and it had ended way too soon. Not wanting to break the connection, he kept his hand on her cheek, his eyes locked with hers.
“What are you thinking?” she whispered, her breath brushing across his lips.
Her cheeks were flushed, and he swept his thumb over her temple. “That I want to kiss you again.”
She smiled, a sweet, barely-there curve of her lips.
“And that I want to ask you out.”
“Are you going to?”
He tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ear then dropped his hand. “No. I mean, I would,” he said quickly. “I want to, but…I don’t really go out.”
She looked back at him like that wasn’t such a bad thing at all. Like not going out in college wasn’t surprising or even a negative. “What do you do?”
He huffed out a short laugh. “I heat up chicken nuggets shaped liked dinosaurs, steam broccoli, and read Goodnight Moon.”
“I like Goodnight Moon,” she said, completely serious. “And I love chicken nuggets.” Her eyes shone like endless pools, and the flash of heat he felt in them when they locked onto his, the hint of dimples when she smiled…
He was a goner, never had a chance, and no other girl ever had a chance with him.
Chapter 4
Present day…
MIA SMILED ACROSS THE iron patio table at Hannah Walker, all grown up. She turned the iced coffee in her hands, absently traced the line of condensation running down the clear plastic.
“So that’s the new plan,” Hannah said. “I’m going to keep seeing Stephen and see where it goes. Without fear.”
“Sounds like a good one, and I’m proud of you.” She was so very proud of that and everything that Hannah was. And knowing the man in question was the brother of one of her own friends, Lizzie McKinney, Mia felt more at ease.
Hannah deciding to continue with her first relationship with a man, even after their rocky start, was not only a good decision in her opinion but a brave one. “Trust yourself. You have good instincts.”
She knew with Hannah’s past, trusting was the hardest part for her. But Hannah was a woman now, a beautiful, gifted woman with a heart of gold as bright as her eyes. Mia was glad to see the light back in them.
By luck or fate or chance, Hannah had come across Mia’s name when she’d decided to take that step to seek counseling. This time as an adult, without her brothers’ interference, more specifically without the worry that would come.
Mia knew how they were. One especially.
Even though it wasn’t usually considered acceptable to counsel a personal acquaintance, she hadn’t been able to say no. Not when Hannah had balked at the idea of seeing someone else, backtracking so far as to say she probably didn’t need to see anyone after all.
Hannah didn’t want to rehash the past, and Mia didn’t blame her. That wasn’t necessary or helpful. Hannah just needed someone to talk to, maybe someone who knew her past and could gently push her to take the next step with life. And men. There was no way Mia wouldn’t give her what she needed.
And until Hannah’s call, Mia hadn’t talked to her in ten years, had assumed she was nothing more than a forgotten piece of Hannah’s past. Like she was a piece of Nick’s.
Forgotten? She hadn’t forgotten. Not a single second. But God, she’d tried to forget him. Now that she’d reconnected with Hannah, she needed to try harder.
Hannah checked the time on her phone. “I have to get back. I know you do, too.”
“I do.” Mia would have been happy to sit and talk to Hannah all day, but she had other patients waiting, including a middle-aged woman having a difficult time with the circumstance of her new empty nest. She’d decided to suggest the woman’s husband come to the next session, hoping the two of them could reconnect and find happiness and fulfillment in their new stage of life.
As they walked out of the coffee shop together, something caught Mia’s eye: a lone woman pushing a stroller swiftly past the shops across the way. She barely got a glimpse of the baby inside, just one pink shoe and little fingers gripping a pale stuffed animal. She couldn’t look away. With her feet planted firmly on the pavement, she imagined herself running, grabbing the stroller, kneeling down—