The Way the Story Goes Page 14

  And as they walked away, Austin heard Scarlett laugh before saying, “I really like her! We are going to have to invite them over again, right, Georgia?”

  They didn’t wait around to hear the answer.

  Rather than going back to where Sydney was sitting, he took them on a slight detour around the side of the house before pressing Mia up against the side and kissing her until he could barely breathe. When they broke apart, Mia was panting, and it gave him some sort of primal thrill to know he did that to her.

  “You were pretty fierce back there,” he murmured, dipping his head for another kiss, but she turned her head to the side and laughed.

  “Well…you did warn me about her and I have to admit, there is something about you and your family that makes my mouth run wild.”

  Resting his forehead against hers, he grinned. “That’s probably the dirtiest and sexiest thing you’ve ever said.”

  She just laughed harder and gave him a playful shove. “That’s not what I meant and you know it! I saw you talking to her and I saw you tense up after only a minute. I knew I had to go over and do something.”

  “Normally I’d say I can fight my own battles, but you were so fierce and brilliant that I don’t even mind.” This time when he went to kiss her, she let him.

  “Mmm…if that’s my reward for stepping in, I’ll gladly do it again and again and again.”

  “That was just a small preview. I plan on thanking you in a much more thorough way once we’re home and I get you out of this dress.” He took a step back and held his hand out to her. “Ready to go back to the party?”

  Nodding, she placed her hand in his. “Just one more thing you should know.”

  “What’s that?”

  Moving in close, Mia got up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear, “I’m wearing the teeniest, tiniest thong under this dress so…”

  All the breath left his lungs and Austin considered his options. With her hand still in his, he started walking toward the driveway, but she held him back.

  “Uh, uh, uh…not until after cake and presents.”

  He whined.

  Like seriously whined.

  “Poor baby,” she cooed. “I promise to make it up to you when we get home.”

  “I’m holding you to that.”

  She grinned at him over her shoulder. “I hope you do.” And with a wink, she led him back to the party.

  9

  When Monday came, it seemed as if Mia’s respite was over. Jillian called and was excited to get started on edits and rewrites and even wanted to start talking about what Mia was planning on writing next.

  Because she was so late handing in the manuscript and a release date had already been set, it meant a much faster turnaround time—which essentially meant Mia had to buckle down and do the edits and get it back in Jill’s hands sooner rather than later.

  And that meant less time with Austin.

  When she mentioned it to him, however, he seemed a little relieved because he had gotten behind on his work on the house. She wasn’t quite sure she believed him, but…why would he lie? Although, he had been a little withdrawn since the birthday party. They had gotten home and he had been fierce in his lovemaking, but come Sunday morning, she felt like he was pulling back and she didn’t know why.

  Maybe bringing her around to meet his family was a little more intense than he anticipated. Or maybe he was starting to feel like they were spending too much time together. Either way, it wasn’t like she could go over and talk to him about it because they both had things they had to do so…maybe it was all for the best.

  But as she stared at her computer screen and read over the notes for the fourth time, she wasn’t so sure.

  Edits were her least favorite thing to do and knowing they had to be done fast was not helping.

  When her phone rang after lunch, Mia practically lunged for it and then groaned when she saw it was her mother calling.

  “Hi, Mom,” she said, forcing a cheeriness into her voice that she wasn’t feeling.

  “Hello, sweetheart. How are you doing?”

  “Fine, thanks. I just got my edits back from Jill, so…you know how that goes.”

  “I know how much you dread them, but I honestly don’t understand why you even have edits. You’re a brilliant woman, Mia. You majored in English. How is it possible that this editor person has anything to correct?”

  It was a conversation they had more often than Mia wanted, and yet no matter how many times she explained the process, her mother was appalled by it. So rather than engage her, Mia opted to change the subject.

  “How are the renovations coming along? I’d love to see some pictures with the updates.”

  “Everything’s on schedule, just like I told you last week. The new appliances for the kitchen will be arriving next week.”

  “Wait…new appliances? I didn’t order new appliances,” Mia replied, puzzled. “All the appliances in the kitchen are only a few years old. There’s obviously been a mistake. I should probably call John and…”

  “No need, dear. I ordered the new ones. If you’re going to renovate the kitchen, it just makes sense to put in new appliances.”

  Mia pinched the bridge of her nose. “But there’s nothing wrong with the ones I already have.”

  “Trust me. Once you see how wonderful it all looks, you’ll be pleased.”

  “Maybe…”

  “And the granite you wanted looked awful. I told John to replace it with a white marble with just a hint of gray in it. It’s going to look classic and beautiful.”

  “Mom,” she said with a bit more firmness. “I specifically picked the granite because it’s what I liked since I don’t like white marble.”

  “How could you not like white marble? It’s elegant. Plus, it matches what you have in the master bathroom now.”

  “No, it’s not!” Jumping to her feet, she began to pace. “Why is everything getting changed? I spent weeks working with my designer on these plans and now you’re telling me everything is not what I picked!”

  “Mia, don’t raise your voice to me. I’m doing you a favor. As a matter of fact, if you had simply come to me instead of a designer, you could have saved yourself a small fortune.”

  “You’re not listening to me, Mom. It’s my home and I chose finishes that I wanted. Now I’m going to have to come home and have everything redone!”

  “Stop being dramatic. At least wait and see how it all looks. I can guarantee you’re going to love it.”

  It was pointless to argue because unless she was willing to get on a plane and fly home today, all the work was going to be too far gone for her to change.

  You can still call the contractor…

  “Look, I need to go,” she said wearily. “I’m just starting these edits and I only have a short amount of time to get them done, so…”

  “Well, I hope you have some free time Wednesday night.”

  “Um…why?”

  Her mother laughed softly. “Honestly, Mia, don’t you remember me telling you about your father and I speaking at Clemson University?”

  “I do remember, but what does that have to do with me?”

  “We decided to fly in a day early and come see you,” she explained.

  “Clemson is about six hours from here. It’s hardly convenient…”

  “Nonsense. We’re flying in closer to you and we’ll come and spend the night and then leave Thursday morning and drive. We don’t have to be there until Thursday night and you know how much your father enjoys a scenic drive.”

  “As I mentioned, it’s really not a good time for me. I’m very busy and…”

  “You have to eat dinner, Mia. And from what you’ve told me, you have more than enough room for us to stay for one night. I promise we won’t take up too much of your precious time. You’d think after all I’m doing to help you with your renovations that you would offer a little hospitality—as well as gratitude—to me and your father.”

  “You’re
right,” she said, feeling mentally drained. “It will be nice to see you both. Why don’t you email me your travel itinerary and I’ll plan on seeing you Wednesday?”

  “That’s my girl. Now don’t work too hard and I’ll see you soon.”

  Mia hung up the phone and walked over and collapsed on the sofa with a loud sigh. “I’m in hell.” It took several minutes to get the will to stand up, go back to her computer, and sit down. Unfortunately, her focus was gone and now all she could think about was whether or not to introduce Austin to her parents.

  It didn’t feel like she should.

  The thought of her parents acting like Georgia Bishop came to mind, and she realized just how similar they were.

  And how well they’d probably get along.

  Either way, it wasn’t something she wanted to subject Austin to. And that meant she was going to have to tell him what was happening and hope she didn’t hurt his feelings. Mia was sure that he’d tell her how he could handle himself, but after watching the way things went down at the birthday party, she just didn’t feel it was necessary for him to have to deal with that kind of snobbery again.

  And there was certainly no way she could tell her parents off the way she had with Georgia.

  Oh, if only…

  Yeah, it was kind of bizarre how bold she felt with everyone else except her family.

  “A therapist would have a field day with this kind of behavior,” she said wearily. Looking up, she spotted Austin out on the deck looking out at the water. He was sweaty and had a bottle of water in one hand and his phone in the other, and all thoughts of her parents, therapists, and edits completely flew out of her head. All she could think about was being with him.

  It wasn’t going to solve anything—and it might be her own subconscious helping her to procrastinate—but it was like he called to her whenever she saw him.

  “Probably something else a therapist would love to discuss…”

  But it didn’t stop her from closing her laptop and walking right out of the house and over to his. At the foot of his deck stairs, she looked up and smiled at him. When he spotted her, he smiled, and she waited for him to finish his call. When he slid his phone into his pocket two minutes later, she took it as her cue to join him.

  “Hey, you.” At the top of the stairs, she leaned in and kissed him and was relieved when he kissed her back.

  “Hey,” he said, his hand caressing her cheek. “This is a surprise. Last I saw you this morning, you were preparing to get on the phone with your editor. I figured you’d be busy all day.”

  Shrugging, she sighed and wrapped her arms around him. “I should be, but…I’m not there yet. I kind of need to let everything Jill and I discussed sort of…gel. I know I have less time than I normally do to get things done, but I can’t change my process that much.”

  “Gotcha.” His arms went around her and they stayed in companionable silence for several minutes just listening to the sound of the waves.

  “What about you? How’s your day going?”

  “It’s been…interesting.”

  “Sounds like there’s a story there.”

  He let out a long breath before he replied. “That was Jake Summerford on the phone. He wants me to meet him for lunch tomorrow to talk.”

  That was definitely interesting, she thought. “About what?”

  “About Coleman Construction and the possibility of me coming on as their head architect.”

  “Austin, that’s amazing! Are you excited?”

  Shrugging, he took a pull of his water. “Not sure yet.”

  “Oh…well…how are things going here on the house?” she asked instead, not wanting to push him on the whole Jake thing.

  “Come on inside and I’ll show you.” Taking her by the hand, Austin led her into the house and she stopped in her tracks as soon as they stepped over the threshold.

  “Oh my goodness! You’ve done so much since I was in here last! Wow!” All the trim was hung and the floors were finished.

  “Yeah, once I get in the zone, I can get a lot done.” Grinning, he led her across the room and into the master bedroom. “Wait until you see the tile work in the master bathroom. It turned out even better than I expected.”

  The tile contractor had been at the house all day Saturday while they were at Asher’s birthday party, and when she stepped into the bathroom, her eyes went wide. “Oh wow,” she said with awe. “This is amazing!” Stepping farther into the space, she marveled at what Austin designed. “I have to tell you, I expected something completely different.”

  Leaning against the doorway, he asked, “Like what?”

  “Honestly? Something more masculine. I envisioned dark colors and a very modern, industrial vibe. But this?” She sighed happily. “This is a bathroom designed to make a woman happy.” Turning, she looked at him. “Is Ryder married?”

  For a brief moment his expression turned fierce but it faded right away. “Looking for a husband?”

  That simply made her laugh out loud and it echoed in the massive space. “That’s not what I meant. I was just curious if his wife had any input on the design.”

  He pushed away from the door and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he settled in behind her. “No wife. No input. Ryder and I looked at a ton of options and he wanted to have a very…beachy vibe to the house. He insisted that everything be light because the rest of his homes are…well…exactly like you said—dark, masculine, and industrial. Personally, I think this is always the way to go if you’re living at the beach. But yeah, this room is probably my favorite.”

  Mia had to agree.

  The walls were painted a seafoam green and the floor was covered in large white ceramic tiles. The room was huge and divided in half by a massive glass wall. The wet room had a free-standing tub big enough for two, and across from it was a state-of-the-art shower with multiple rain heads and jets. Above the tub was a mirror that had the most gorgeous crystal wall sconces on either side of it, and all were above a long—undoubtedly heated—towel rack.

  On the side where they were standing was a dual vanity, a water closet, and an upholstered chair and side table. This bathroom was all about luxury.

  “Are the floors heated?” she asked.

  “Of course,” he said with a small laugh. “Once things get cleaned up a bit, we’ll have to check it all out for ourselves. What do you think?”

  Turning in his arms, she smiled and felt tears sting her eyes.

  “Hey,” he said softly, reaching up and cupping her cheek. “What’s with the tears?”

  Before she knew it, everything came tumbling out—from her call with her mother to how she felt like he was pulling away from her after the party.

  “I know it’s crazy,” she explained, “but I was afraid you were freaking out because I had met your family and maybe people were putting pressure on you about us. Or that you were mad because of how I spoke to your aunt rather than letting you handle her.” Shaking her head, she went on, “I know we haven’t really talked about…you know…us. Eventually you’re going to go back to Baltimore and I have to go back to Boston, and that’s no one’s business but ours.”

  He nodded and she almost wished he stopped her right there and asked her not to go back, to stay with him and see where this all went.

  But he didn’t.

  And she didn’t do anything to bring it up herself.

  Coward.

  “And now my parents are coming here for the night on Wednesday and…” She looked up at him and sighed. “Please don’t hate me for this, but…”

  “You don’t want me to meet them,” he finished for her, his expression somber.

  Unable to help herself, she buried her face against his chest. “All I could think about was how much they’re like your aunt and I don’t want them talking to you like that and I certainly can’t rebuke them like I did with Georgia.” She groaned. “I’m awful, Austin. I’m so sorry.”

  He held her tight and didn’t s
ay a word.

  And Mia wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or bad one.

  Hours later, she still didn’t know.

  Austin stared up at the brick building in front of him and sighed.

  Coleman Construction.

  For a moment, he was a little boy again, coming here with Pops and looking at plans for a new building that would be going up in town. He hadn’t been here in years and yet…it suddenly felt like yesterday.

  When Jake called and asked to get together, Austin figured they would meet up at The Sand Bar or the Mystic Magnolia. Coming here to his great-grandfather’s office put him in a very nostalgic mood and at a slight disadvantage. He had a feeling being in a place where he felt such an emotional connection was bound to mess with his ability to make the right decision. The last thing he wanted was to lead with his heart rather than his head.

  Like I’m doing with Mia…

  Yeah, their conversation from yesterday had been playing in his head on an almost-continuous loop.

  She didn’t want him to meet her parents.

  He didn’t say anything earlier, but it stung.

  More than he thought it would.

  It hadn’t really hit him how they hadn’t talked about the future until Mia mentioned it. Of course, there was going to come a time when she went back to Boston and he…well…he still had no idea what he was doing. Staying in Magnolia wouldn’t be terrible but…neither would going back to Baltimore. Eventually he was going to have to make a decision about it, but he’d been distracted.

  By Mia.

  Mia.

  Now that it was somewhat out there, Austin knew he had to think about it—even more so if he was going to get a job offer from Jake.

  Taking her to meet his entire family over the weekend had been a no-brainer. He wanted her to meet them and he loved how perfectly she fit in with everyone. And now that he knew she wasn’t as anxious for him to meet her family, he was beginning to feel like maybe he was the only one getting attached here.