Twenty-four

TWENTY-FOUR

Mia

"Take it easy this weekend, Mia."

That came from Freya.

"Yeah, don't go having the baby early just for a little bit of drama," Jamie added.

I stopped my movements, turned around to face my coworkers, and insisted, "I have no intention of having the baby this weekend. But I am meeting with my ex's sister for dinner tonight, so anything is possible."

"Are you serious?" Paisley asked. "Even after you declined her brother's proposal?"

"Is this supposed to be a friendly dinner?" Freya questioned me.

I held my hand up to calm them down, but it did little to help. Their faces were littered with concern. I hated that they were worried, but I loved that they cared. "Yes, I'm serious about the dinner, but I was mostly joking about anything being possible. Susie and I get along great, and she's been nothing but supportive of me ever since she learned about the pregnancy."

As my coworkers all seemed to relax a bit, Jamie said, "I think it's great that you've been able to maintain a relationship with your ex's family."

They all smiled brightly at me, and it was Freya who said, "Well, then, enjoy your dinner tonight with your baby's aunt, and enjoy the rest of the weekend with your new man."

That brought the same smile to my face. "I fully intend to do precisely that. I hope you all enjoy your weekend, too. I'll see you on Monday morning."

"See you next week, Mia," Paisley called out as we all stepped outside.

I received similar sentiments from the rest of my coworkers, returning them, as we made our way through the parking lot toward our cars.

It had been just over a week since the 4 th of July holiday when everything happened and turned my world upside down in ways I never thought possible. The first day I returned to work afterward, my coworkers and I had shared details about the exciting things we'd all done with our time off. As they all freely shared, so did I. And the conclusion had been drawn that I'd had the most shocking experience of everyone.

So, it was no surprise as we left work today that my friends were teasing me about having a quiet weekend. For the most part, I fully intended to do just that, but tonight I was heading out to have dinner with Susie like we'd planned. I wasn't necessarily nervous about meeting with her, but I was curious to hear what she had to say. I didn't expect that Todd refrained from losing his cool with his family, especially considering how soon after Todd's proposal, I received that text from his sister.

The only thing that worried me was what her reaction to learning about Brock would be. She'd made it clear months ago that she realized it was possible I could move on before Todd woke up to the reality of what he was giving up. But in a situation like this, I thought it was one thing in theory and something else in practice. I hoped her position hadn't changed.

Because I wanted to be able to openly share the news of my new relationship with her. The last week and a half had been nothing short of magical. And considering Brock had always been such an attentive guy, I thought it said a lot about the kind of man he was in a relationship. He was that much better. I couldn't have asked for anything more than what I got from him.

I finally made it to the restaurant where Susie and I planned to meet. No sooner did I park, she pulled into the lot. I got out of my car, waved, and waited for her to park. The next thing I knew, she was running toward me with such excitement in her expression.

"Oh my gosh, look at you," she bubbled, coming to a stop in front of me and placing her hand on my belly. I didn't mind. I loved her enthusiasm.

"It's getting more and more difficult to find anything comfortable to wear," I revealed. "And sleeping isn't the best right now."

She shot me a sympathetic look. "Well, I think you look adorable. And once this baby is here, I'm sure the discomfort will be a distant memory."

I didn't think she was wrong, so I agreed, "Yeah. I think I'm getting closer and closer to that point where I feel ready to trade sleepless nights because I'm uncomfortable for sleepless nights because my baby needs to eat."

Susie linked her arm through mine, jerked her head toward the restaurant, and urged, "Let's go inside and grab a table before it gets too busy here."

Coming out to eat right after work had been a wise decision, because Susie and I were quickly seated at a table. We perused our menus for a few minutes, and the next thing I knew, we'd placed our orders and were staring at one another.

There was hesitation to speak on both sides, which had the potential to make it awkward, but I think it helped me. I was relieved to know we were taking time to consider how to approach this, because it had the probability to be a very upsetting situation.

Finally, Susie declared, "So, my biggest worry in this situation became reality."

I inhaled deeply, sighing as I released my breath. "I'm sorry, Susie. I never set out to have any of this happen the way it did. But I can't change the way I feel."

She shook her head. "I don't expect you to. With the exception of Todd, who's a bit of a loose cannon right now, nobody in the family blames you for where things are."

I wasn't quite sure what she meant when she said Todd was a loose cannon, and I couldn't bring myself to ask her to elaborate just yet. Instead, I focused on the one good thing she had said. "I'm relieved to know that the rest of the family feels that way."

Susie shrugged. "How could we feel any differently? We tried. We all tried back in the beginning to get him to see just how big of a mistake he was making, and he refused to listen to us. We warned him he'd come to regret his decision. And sadly, we were right. Aside from the situation with the pregnancy, he lost a great woman."

"You're going to make me cry, Susie," I warned her.

She reached her hand across the table and covered mine with it, giving me a squeeze. "This isn't supposed to upset you. I just think you need to know where the rest of us stand. We don't blame you. By the time Todd got his head out of his ass, it was too late. And we all suspected that would happen."

I lifted my napkin to dab at the corners of my eyes. "Thank you for being so supportive of me, especially after the most recent events. I think it would be easy for you to feel upset with me for not giving Todd another chance."

"I won't lie and say I don't wish you and Todd got back together," Susie informed me. "There's nothing I'd love more than for you to be my sister-in-law. But I understand that Todd screwed up. He gave you the opportunity to realize you deserve better, and now he has to live with that decision."

I chewed on the corner of my lip. I didn't want to hide the existence of Brock from her, but I didn't want to throw him in her face, either. "You mentioned that Todd is a loose cannon right now. What does that mean?"

It was Susie's turn to sigh. However, before she could respond, our waitress returned with our drinks and dinner salads. Once she walked off, Susie and I returned our attention to one another. That's when she shared, "He's angry. And I think in this situation, it's understandable he'd be angry. The problem is that it's not the right kind of anger."

She picked up her fork and speared her salad with it as I asked, "The right kind of anger?"

Susie chewed, nodding her head, and I took my first bite of my salad as I waited for her to clarify what she meant.

"His anger is based solely on the bitterness he feels that you didn't wait around for him to come to his senses," she explained. "I think he has a right to be mad, but he should be mad at himself. He's not. He can't seem to grasp that he's the one responsible for being in the situation he's in, and instead, he'd rather blame you and your neighbor."

So, Todd did tell his family about Brock. "I wondered if he would mention that to you."

"He did."

The silence stretched between us for quite some time. I struggled with how to explain everything to her. Finally, I revealed, "I wasn't looking, Susie. I was focusing on doing what I needed to do to prepare for becoming a single mom. In the midst of that, Brock was there. And I'm being completely honest when I say that there was nothing happening between us for months. He simply helped me out when I needed something done around the house, or we'd just go for walks together in the neighborhood. We were just friends. But it changed for me along the way, and things have only been official between us for just over a week now."

Susie nodded her understanding. "I'm not surprised."

"What?"

"You're gorgeous, Mia," she said. "And I'm not just talking about the way you look. You're beautiful, yes. But you're fun, laidback, happy, sweet, smart, and compassionate. I'm not surprised that someone else saw that, treated you right, and made you see that you deserved better than how my brother had treated you. Like I said, I'm sad that you won't be marrying into our family, but I'm genuinely happy for you."

Tears filled my eyes again. "Thank you, Susie."

She waved her hand in the air as though I was speaking nonsense. Clearly, Susie was struggling to contain her emotions as well. "Ah, there's no need to thank me. I'm simply grateful you still want to remain connected to the family despite where things are between you and Todd."

I reached for Susie's free hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere."

She held my stare a beat before she asked, "So, how's my niece or nephew been doing?"

I grinned at her, feeling relief sweeping through me. Regardless of what happened with Todd, Susie and I were going to be okay. And for now, that was more than enough for me.

So, I launched in and told her all about my recent doctor visits and all the things I'd been doing to prepare for the baby. We had such a lovely dinner together, and I was grateful to have her in my life.

Brock

"Goodnight, Uncle Brock."

I wrapped my arms around my niece and gave her a hearty squeeze. "Goodnight, buttercup. I had so much fun visiting with you tonight."

"Me, too. But next time, you have to bring Mia."

Loosening my hold on Izzy, she pulled back and sent me the most intimidating stare she could muster up.

I laughed. "I'll invite Mia with me next time."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise."

Izzy considered my response, decided it wasn't enough, and lifted her hand up between us. "Pinky promise," she demanded.

I linked my pinky with hers and pinky promised her. As soon as she had that from me, my niece's face lit up. She gave me another hug and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, you run upstairs with your dad and get to bed."

Izzy took off running in her dad's direction and climbed the stairs. Chris stood there a moment longer and said, "I'll be right back."

"Take your time."

While my brother followed his daughter, so he could get her put down for the night, I waited downstairs on the couch. My thoughts ran wild with the time I had alone, and they were all focused on Mia.

It was Friday evening, about a week and a half since Mia and I officially got together. She'd made plans tonight to have dinner with her friend and baby's aunt, Susie, so I took the opportunity to meet up with Chris and Izzy for dinner.

We'd had a great night together, Izzy offering all the entertainment as usual, but once my brother returned, I intended to bring him up to speed on the biggest change in my life now.

By the time Chris descended the stairs, I'd replayed nearly every aspect of my life since Mia and I got together, so it was safe to say I was feeling great.

When he entered the room, he said, "Alright, I know you've got something to tell me. What is it?"

Laughing, I answered, "I need to thank you."

Confusion washed over his face as he sat down on the couch. "Thank me? For what?"

"It was your advice that led to me winding up in a relationship with Mia," I shared.

"What? When did this happen?"

"The 4 th of July." I went on to share the details of how things had gone down that night. I revealed how I'd planned to share the truth about my feelings for her that evening after the block party, how everything had been going according to plan, and how I wound up standing in her open doorway as her ex proposed to her. Of course, I went on to tell him about how Mia refused the proposal and the both of us admitted we'd been battling our feelings for each other for several months. And finally, I told him how Mia's ex left, and she wound up walking right into my arms and kissing me."

Once I finished, Chris smiled and teased, "Made some fireworks of your own that night, didn't you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Wow. That was bad."

He laughed. "Yeah, it was cheesy. But I guess that's what happens when you meet a girl, isn't it?"

Confusion washed over me. "What?"

"I met someone."

My brows shot up in surprise. "You did? When? Who is she?"

Chris laughed, held his hands up in surrender, and said, "Relax. I'll get there in a minute. First, I want to know more about this situation with you and Mia."

"What do you want to know?"

"Is it solid? I mean, you said that she turned down her ex's proposal and chose you instead, so I've got to imagine that means good things. But I guess I just want to know how you feel about where the two of you stand," he clarified.

"It's funny you mention that, because I was worried about the very same thing. But we discussed things, and we're solid. I'm happier than I've ever been, Chris."

Any of the concern that had been lingering for my brother was gone. "That's awesome, man. I'm really happy for you. Izzy's going to lose her mind."

My niece would be ecstatic to know Mia was now my girlfriend. With Chris's mention of his daughter, I had a question of my own.

"Is there another woman who's going to be meeting her soon?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I'm not rushing anything. Apparently, doing things that way doesn't work. It didn't with Izzy's mom. So, I'm doing it differently this time. I'm going to take it slow and see where I wind up, but I'm not keen on introducing anyone to Izzy until I'm sure about who it is I'm introducing her to."

No matter what, Chris had Izzy's best interests at heart. That little girl was the most important person in the whole situation, so I thought my brother was making a wise move by moving at a snail's pace.

"So, tell me about this girl. Who is she, and where did you meet her?"

My brother's expression instantly changed. If I hadn't gone through everything I had with Mia for months now, I might not have recognized the change in him. But once I saw it, I knew.

"Well, it was three weeks ago when I met her," he started. My brother took the next half hour telling me all about this woman he'd met. Not only had his expression matched mine from months ago, but a lot of his words were the same, too.

I had high hopes for him. I wanted nothing more than for things to work out for him with her, and that in the long run, it would only mean good things for both him and Izzy. Now experiencing it on my own for the last week and a half, I didn't doubt for one single second that my brother and my niece both needed the love of a good woman in their lives.