“Mom?”

Her mother whirled around, surprise obvious on her face. “Oh, darling, I didn’t hear you.”

“Is everything okay?” Mia asked.

Her mother took a moment, choosing her words carefully. “Yes. It’s nothing really. Your father can just be so . . . thoughtless sometimes. Sometimes a man needs a good challenge so that he can rise to the occasion. I have no doubt that he will figure out a way to get back into my good graces. Now, how about we grab some lunch and spend the day on the beach?”

Mia could only shake her head at her mother’s lightning change of mood. Her poor father didn’t stand a chance against her. Whatever he had done, she hoped he was smart enough to make amends because it didn’t sound like something that flowers would take care of.

Seth threw his phone across his office in disgust. Margie had given him Mia’s mother’s number and he had just attempted to reach out to her for help. He gave Margie an incredulous look, saying, “She fucking told me off and hung up on me!”

Margie winced in sympathy. “I guess Mia told her what happened then.”

“You think?” he grumbled. “The way Mia spoke of her led me to believe that they didn’t have a close relationship.”

“Maybe she emailed her,” Margie added helpfully. When he gave her a nasty look, she held up her hands in surrender before saying, “Alright, that was a bad joke. I do have something that will make you happy, though.” She dangled a piece of paper from her fingertips. “I have Mia’s home address.”

He stood up and grabbed it from her hand. When he started for the door, she yelled, “You have a conference call with Ash and Dylan in an hour.”

“I’ll call Ash on my way and cancel it.” Without waiting for a reply, he took off out the door and to his car. Hopefully, this was what her mother had meant about doing better than a phone call.

Days had gone by and he was back in his car stalking Mia’s home. He wasn’t sure when his need to apologize had turned into desperation to make things up to her, regardless of the cost. Once he had finally admitted to himself that he wanted her, the floodgates had truly opened. His pride was definitely taking a beating from his brothers. His pursuit of Mia had Ash laughing his ass off every time they talked. He had suggested that when Seth finally located Mia, he spank her ass and show her who was in charge. He was pretty sure Ash wasn’t joking. He knew enough about his brother’s lifestyle to know that spankings were the norm for him. He didn’t think Mia would be receptive to it, either. He had called her mother countless times and the damned woman hadn’t answered or returned any of his calls. He had even found her address and attempted a drive-by, but was turned away at the security gate of the exclusive community. He continued to leave messages on Mia’s phone to no avail. It was Sunday evening. Surely, she would come home tonight. Didn’t she have to return to work tomorrow? He finally gave up at midnight and drove home to catch a few hours of sleep. Tomorrow he would go to Danvers and see if she showed up for work.

Chapter Thirteen

“Welcome back, kid.” Mia looked up as she stepped from her car smiling as Hank walked toward her.

“Hey, boss-man, you miss me?”

“Hell, yeah,” he laughed. “I got stuck with all of the shit I usually put off on you.” Then studying her face a little longer than usual, he asked, “How you doing? Everything . . . better with you?”

Hank didn’t know all of the particulars, but he did know that something had happened with Seth. His concern for her was obvious and she was touched by it. “I’m fine, ready to get back to work.” She wanted to laugh at how relieved he looked when she didn’t elaborate. She knew how uncomfortable he was discussing “lady problems.” He didn’t want to hear that she was still a heartsick fool over Seth Jackson, a man she barely knew, or that she hadn’t washed her dress yet from their night together because it still had the faint scent of his cologne clinging to the fabric.

“Good deal then. We have some installations to schedule so I’ll tag you when I have everything ready to go over.” They parted ways in the hallway and she spent the morning catching up on emails and returning calls. When her phone rang around lunchtime, she assumed it was Hank. He usually liked to grab a sandwich while they worked on scheduling. “You ready to roll?” she joked.

“I was born ready to roll,” replied an unfamiliar female voice.

“Oh, excuse me, I thought you were a man . . . er . . . I mean Hank.”

A feminine chuckled filled the line. “Yeah, I get that a lot. This is Suzy Merimon. I work . . .”

“Oh,” Mia gasped, “I know who you are. I freaking love you! Oh my God, please forget I said that. Um . . . what can I help you with, Mrs. Merimon?”

“I like you. I knew I would. We have the same taste in shoes, after all, and shoes never lie. Could you possibly meet me in the outdoor seating area? I have a . . . situation that I need your help with.”

As she rushed from her desk to the elevator, Mia belatedly realized that she hadn’t answered Suzy; she had simply rushed off, eager to finally talk to her idol, regardless of the reason. Cool your jets! Never once did she question why Suzy would want to meet her outside. Once she’d made it to the arrangement of chairs and benches under the outdoor pergola, she looked around for Suzy’s red hair. When a hand settled on the small of her back, she jerked around, nearly fainting when she saw Seth. “What the . . . ”

“Mia, I apologize for bothering you at work, but I needed to ask you something. Have you moved?”

“No.” Shaking her head in confusion, she asked, “What are you doing here? I was supposed to be meeting someone.”

He gave her a sheepish look before admitting, “Yeah, Suzy. She recognized me when I was asking the front desk for your floor. She politely pulled me out here and asked me if I was ‘out of my damned mind. ’ I’m not sure what that means, but she assured me that you wouldn’t want to have this conversation in your office for everyone to eavesdrop on.” Dragging a hand through his hair, he added, “Shit, that woman is scary, isn’t she?”

Mia felt her heart race as she looked at him. God, he was a beautiful man. Hold onto your hormones, remember what happened. “I’ve got to get back to work.” As she turned to go, he grabbed her arm.

“Mia, wait.” She whirled back around, trying to channel all of the anger she had felt that night, but instead it was mostly just hurt now. “Please let me explain and apologize to you for what happened.”

“That’s not necessary,” she said quietly.

“Yes, it is. Please . . . just give me five minutes.” When she didn’t object, he took a deep breath and continued. “The woman you saw that night was Ashley. We dated when we were in school and have had casual . . . meetings randomly since then. I know you must think this is bullshit, but I never intended for things to go that far with her. We didn’t have sex, nor would we have. She left right after you did. I was intrigued by you. I still am. I had every intention of seeing where whatever this is between us would lead. You’re a beautiful, funny, intelligent, sexy woman and even though we haven’t known each other long, I’m completely captivated by everything about you. I’m sorry it took me a while pull my head out of my ass, as Margie says, and tell you how I feel. I’m so damn sorry for hurting you, baby.”

Mia shut her eyes and moisture gathered there. What she wouldn’t have given to hear that from him before that night. “I believe you,” she whispered, “but it’s too late. We had sex and I was hopeful that there was more between us. I just . . . can’t do it again.” Forcing a smile she was far from feeling, she continued, “Other than that one, er . . . issue . . . I really enjoyed our time together. We are just too different for anything more.”