Somebody Like You: A Small Town Single Mom Romance (The Heartbreak Brothers Book 4)

by Carrie Elks

  “Hey, Mia!” Becca called out. Mia had fifteen minutes until her meeting was due to begin, and the four walls of her office had felt like they were closing in on her. She’d decided to walk through the distillery and loosen her muscles. It was better than sitting and getting panicky.

  “I’m glad I caught you.” Becca ran over, her breath coming in pants. “God, I’m so out of shape. If my brothers could see me wheezing like this, they’d laugh their heads off.”

  Mia smiled, glad for the distraction from her presentation. “Are you okay? Do you need an inhaler or something?”

  Becca laughed. “I just need to do something other than work. Like run. Anyway, the state of my lungs isn’t why I wanted to talk to you. Do you have any plans on Sunday?”

  “Nothing apart from church.” And moping around because she couldn’t see Cam this weekend.

  “Great. Then you and your boys can come to my birthday party. It’s on Sunday afternoon at my brother’s house. I’ll message you the details.”

  “Which brother?”

  “Gray. He has the best party house. His ground floor is practically all open plan. I’m so glad you can come. Everybody will be there.” Her face dropped. “Well everybody except Cam. Can you believe he had to go back to Boston on my birthday weekend? It’s the first time in about twenty years he’s not playing on a Sunday, and then this happens.”

  Mia gave her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry. That sucks.”

  “Yeah, well he’d better bring me back a nice present from Boston. That’s all I’m saying.”

  For a second, Mia thought about messaging Cam to remind him about Becca’s birthday gift. But that wasn’t her job, was it? It was confusing, because this morning he sent her a long video message wishing her good luck on her presentation, the way any boyfriend would.

  But he’s not your boyfriend. No, he wasn’t.

  Even if her heart told her it would be so good.

  She wouldn’t send him a message about Becca. Instead she’d concentrate on this presentation and then spend some time with the boys this weekend. They’d enjoy it at Gray’s house – he was one of their favorite singers, after all.

  “Well I’ll be bringing a gift,” Mia promised her. “Is there anything else I should bring?”

  “Just yourself.” Becca hugged her. “I’m so glad you can come. The others will be, too.”

  “Mia?” A voice echoed across the large distilling room. Mia turned to see Nathan standing at the door. His usual attire of pants and a polo shirt had been replaced by a striking grey suit and navy tie. “We’re ready for you now.”

  “Is it the big board meeting?” Becca asked. “Oh, good luck.”

  “Thanks.” Mia smiled at her. “I’ll see you on Sunday.”

  “Let’s turn to advertising,” Mia said, facing the board again. It consisted of eight people – Eliana and Nathan, plus Eliana’s son Daniel, whose face was on the television screen hanging from the ceiling, having dialed in from Scotland. Then there was Eliana’s stepson, Lawrence and her stepdaughter Nina, both of whom had inherited shares in the company when their father died. As well as the chief financial officer, the head of production, the director of logistics, and another dial in, this time G. Scott Carter’s sales director, who was currently in Japan.

  “I have a mock up of some billboard ads we’re planning to run, along with a two minute long form advertisement that will run in movie theaters. We’ll edit it for television and streaming services. The aim is to build the brand around a personality, the way Aviation Gin was built around Ryan Reynolds, and Longbranch Bourbon was built around Matthew McConaughey.”

  “Don’t they own the companies?” Daniel asked, his voice crackling over the speakers.

  “Ryan Reynolds recently sold Aviation Gin, and Matthew McConaughey worked in collaboration with Longbranch. I’d propose we do the same with the person we choose to head up the advertising. You’ll see in your packs that I’ve created a shortlist of potential celebrity endorsements, all of whom have indicated interest through their management companies.”

  “Samuel Forest,” Nathan murmured. “He’s a good choice. Didn’t he win the Masters last year?”

  Mia nodded. “He’s the number one golfer in the US right now. He’s successful, rich, and living the dream. That’s the kind of person our target customers admire. Who they want to be.”

  “I like Sarah Rosewood,” Daniel said. “Having a woman head the campaign feels fresh and new.”

  “A woman’s been running this damn distillery for the past ten years,” Eliana reminded him. “Nothing fresh about that.”

  Mia bit down a smile at their family banter. “Sarah is a bold choice,” she told them. “There’s a whole demographic we haven’t managed to tap yet, and she could help us. Make whiskey as cool as gin. Something people want to be seen drinking. She’d add an edge to the campaign that Samuel wouldn’t.”

  “I like the third one,” Eliana said, her voice firm. “He’s local, he’s successful, and he’s damn hot.”

  “Mom!” Nathan winced. “Seriously?”

  “What can I say, Gray Hartson turns every woman into a cougar.”

  “He’s also Becca’s brother. Ugh, Mom.” Nathan shook his head.

  Gray had been Mia’s first choice. She’d had to keep it under wraps. She hadn’t even told Cam, let alone anybody else that they’d approached Gray’s management team to gauge his interest.

  Luckily, he was very interested. He wanted to know more about the blend, the rest of the marketing campaign, all of it.

  “There’s something very useful about him being local,” Mia agreed. “We can make it about him growing up around here, falling in love with the brand. It even fits with his graveled voice.”

  “Arrange for him to come in next week,” Eliana suggested. “Let’s see how interested he is. I’ll meet with him one on one.”

  “I bet you will,” Nina muttered. Her three brothers laughed uproariously.

  “He has some brothers, doesn’t he?” Eliana asked, ignoring the uproar. “Since the G.Scott Carter distillery is a family run business, and his sister has worked here for a number of years, maybe we can build on that with Mr. Hartson. I’d love to see a commercial of him sharing a bottle of whiskey with his brothers and sister. Even have Becca explaining the blend to him, that might appeal to another demographic the same way Sarah Rosewood would. What do you think?” She looked straight at Mia.

  “I think that would be a fantastic idea, if we could persuade them.”

  “I could talk to Becca?” Nathan suggested.

  Eliana nodded. “Let me speak with Mr. Hartson first. Then maybe Mia can join us and we can talk about the family angle, see if he’d consider it. If that works, then we’ll speak with Becca.”

  She looked back at Mia, her eyes warm. “Carry on,” she suggested with a rare smile. “You’re doing an excellent job. I’m excited to see where we can go with this.”

  The presentation went well. I still have a job! I’ll be able to pay you back your $10,000 without having to sell my body. M xx

  Cam’s lips twitched as he read her message. He and Derek were sitting on leather easy chairs in the front office of Marty’s suite of rooms, waiting to be called inside. It felt like he was back at school, waiting at the principal’s office to be told off for stuffing the boys’ toilets with paper.

  Yeah, he and Logan had done that just to get out of taking a math test. God, they were horrible kids.

  Speaking of the 10k, have you gotten an invoice from the dealership yet? M xx

  Glancing up, he could see Derek deep in concentration as he scrolled on his phone, perusing Twitter like his life depended on it.

  Not yet. I had to send it back to be retotaled. Shouldn’t be too long. C xx

  He hated lying to her. At some point he was going to have to speak with Michael and come up with a plan. Mia wouldn’t be held off for much longer.

  The intercom buzzed, and the secretary lifted her head up. “Mart
y says you can go in now.”

  Derek stood, stretching his arms, and nodded at Cam to go first. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m good.” If you didn’t count the knot in his stomach that was making him want to throw up breakfast. “Let’s do this.”

  Marty Landsman’s office was huge, the floor covered in expensive dark blue carpet, and the right wall lined with bespoke teak shelves, holding books and trophies, along with some signed footballs, and the Dresden porcelain that Marty collected.

  The seventy-five year old owner of the Bobcats was a self-made man, born poverty-stricken in Springfield, Massachussets. His story was well known in football circles. At the age of fifteen he moved to Boston, working twelve hour days as a laborer in a waterfront warehouse, and by night he’d bus tables and studied for a long-distance college degree. By his late twenties, he’d made a fortune by gambling on the stockmarket and bought out the owners of the warehouse he worked in. By fifty, they were measuring his wealth in billions of dollars.

  At heart, though, he was still that kid from Springfield, who preferred wearing sweatpants to tailored suits, and talking football rather than profit margins.

  He was sitting behind his oversized desk, his bald head reflecting the light that shone in through the large windows behind him. To his left were his signature Air Force One sneakers, which he must have kicked off at some point. He suffered from gout – a horrible affliction that made him limp on occasion – so he always preferred to be stockinged and shoe free.

  “Get your ass over here,” Marty said gruffly, holding his arms open. His hug was surprisingly strong, though his arms barely wrapped around Cam’s wide torso. “How’re you doing, boy? Your head okay?”

  “The headaches have lessened.” Cam hugged him back.

  Marty nodded, his face turning serious. “That’s good.” There was a knock on the door, and he shouted, “Come in.” The door opened, revealing Coach Mayberry, wearing sweats and a t-shirt, plus his customary Bobcats cap.

  “Sit down, all of you. Pull up some chairs,” Marty rasped, pointing at the desk in front of him. “We got some things to talk about.”

  Coach Mayberry nodded at Cam. “You okay, son?”

  “Pretty much the same. No change.”

  He didn’t like the sympathetic smile his coach sent him. Or the silence in the room as he waited for somebody to break it.

  “Okay then.” Marty slapped his palm on the table. “Let’s stop beating around the bush. Your head hasn’t gotten any better and it’s not going to anytime soon, is that right?”

  There was a tightness in Cam’s chest that he hadn’t expected. “Yeah, that’s right.” They were all staring at him expectantly, like he had all the answers. Maybe he did, but he didn’t know what they were.

  His head was a mess. If he carried on playing it would get worse. To anybody else it would be a no-brainer – pardon the pun. But for him, it was turning his back on the only life he knew.

  But what choice did he have?

  He took a deep breath, his gaze meeting Marty’s. “I guess I won’t be playing again.” Damn if that didn’t hurt. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get here.”

  “It took you a while.” Marty gave him a short smile. “But yeah, you’re making the right decision. Your health has to come first.”

  “We need to talk about managing his exit,” Derek said, turning to look at Marty. “It’s in all of our interests to make it as smooth as possible. Cam’s been a player for the Bobcats for the past decade, we want him to go out on a high.”

  “We want the same.” Marty nodded. “But we also have a team to run. We need to rebuild the defensive line without him. And stop the speculation. It’s been running rampant.”

  “Cam’s interested in coaching,” Derek said. “He’s been working with his local high school team. The Bobcats feel like the right place for him to start this new career.”

  Marty shot a glance at Coach Mayberry, who gave a slight shake of his head.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he told Cam brusquely. “Not yet. If we rebuild the team, we need to do it fresh. If you’re around, you’re gonna intimidate your replacement, as well as any new players we bring in. Maybe even make them do things exactly the way you did. Neither coach or I think that’s a good thing.”

  “Now hang on,” Derek said, his face reddening as he leaned forward. “Cam’s given everything for this team. He’s taken you to two superbowls, for chrissakes. Now you’re gonna throw him aside and forget about him? No, I won’t let that happen.”

  Marty held up his hand. Cam looked from the older man, to his agent, then over to Coach Mayberry who was leaning back in his chair, observing. He hated these meetings. Anything to do with the player’s career or salary – they were all things Coach didn’t want to be involved in.

  He just wanted to play.

  Or coach.

  Marty held up his hand. “Hey,” he said, shooting Derek a dark look. “I didn’t say I was abandoning him. I just want him to get some experience in with another team first. When he’s ready, there’ll always be a place for him here at Freedom Field.”

  Cam felt his muscles relax.

  “I guess we need to talk,” Derek said to Cam in a low voice.

  “Before you do, let me tell you one more thing. There’s talk of creating an expansion team in L.A. More than talk, if I’m being honest. Money is being raised, stadiums are being appraised, and the team is starting to recruit staff.” Marty shrugged. “I’m an investor and I know for a fact they haven’t recruited a defensive coach yet. If I put your name forward, the job is practically yours.”

  “In L.A.?” Derek said. “I’d heard rumblings.”

  “There are more than rumblings. It’s happening. They’re hoping to be ready for next season.” Marty looked straight at Cam. “It’s a huge opportunity for somebody starting out their coaching career. The last time the league had an expansion team was in 2002. You won’t get a chance like this again.”

  “An expansion team, though.” Derek shook his head. “No chance of winning anything. Do you know the salary?” Derek asked.

  Marty shook his head. “Nope. But they’ll talk to you about it in time. Just say the word and I’ll put you forward.” He winked at Cam. “Use it as a chance to hone your skills. Learn to manage players from the sideline. Experience the difference between a rookie and an experienced player from the other side. Do that for three years, and I’ll give you a job here.” His smile was soft. “We really want you to come home, son.”

  “Can I think about it?” Sure, L.A. sounded amazing. But this whole offer was completely out of the blue. He’d be much further away from his family, his friends, his team.

  And a whole world away from Mia Devlin.

  He wanted to laugh at himself. She’d be fine without him. All his teasing about her rehab was just that. What they had was nothing more than some fun. If he left, she’d be fine. Probably date somebody else.

  That thought felt like a punch to his stomach.

  “You can do better than think. I want you to fly out there in a couple of weeks. Meet the new owners, the head coach, get a feel for the place. They’re building something good, I know you’d fit in there.” Marty fixed his eyes on Cam. “It’s time to move forward, son.”

  It was. But Cam had a feeling they weren’t talking about the same thing.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Mia rapped her knuckles on the oversized oak front door, and glanced back at the boys. Josh could barely contain his excitement. He was doing the same kind of dance he used to do when he was little and potty training, except she knew he didn’t need to use the bathroom because she’d made him go before they left.

  Michael was leaning on the wooden railing that circled the house, a bored expression on his face.

  “Do you think there’ll be party games, Mom?” Josh asked. He was holding the gift she’d wrapped for Becca. A beautiful scarf she’d found at Laura’s Dress Shop in town. It was made
from the softest grey cashmere, with yellow birds printed all over. It suited Becca’s bright personality perfectly.

  “Of course there won’t be party games, doofus,” Michael shook his head. “It’s an adult birthday. Grown ups don’t play games.”

  “Michael.” Mia lifted a brow at him. “Don’t call your brother names.”

  “Sorry.” He gave her a tight smile. She could tell from his expression he was nervous. She felt the same way. Gray Hartson was a big deal.

  The door opened, and Mia immediately recognized Maddie, Gray’s partner. She was holding one of her twin boys in her arms, the other clinging to her leg. “You made it! Hi!” She grinned down at the boys. “I’m so glad you two are here. Gray has the Xbox out and they’re playing winner stays on, I’m hoping you guys can defeat him.”

  An unexpected smile played at Michael’s lips. “What are they playing?”

  “Some football game.” She glanced at Mia. “It’s all PG, I promise. Apart from the guys’ swearing. But you two can tell them off if they do that, right?”

  Josh nodded, his face serious. “Mom makes us put money in a jar if we swear. I can be in charge of it.”

  Maddie laughed. “That’s a great idea. You’ll probably make a million dollars. Come on inside, I’ll show you where the den is.” She grinned at Mia. “The girls are all in the kitchen. Grab a prosecco and join them.”

  Carrying Becca’s gift, Mia walked into the kitchen, smiling as the aroma of pizza and cake wafted over her. Maybe adult birthdays weren’t so different to kids ones after all. Michael seemed to have cheered up as soon as the Xbox was mentioned, and Josh, as always, was excited to be out of the house.

  “Mia!” Becca called out, running across the kitchen in her bare feet. She was holding a glass in her hand, and on her head was a huge plastic tiara with ‘Birthday Girl’ spelled out in silver. “I’m so happy you’re here. Everybody, you know Mia, right?”

  A chorus of hellos echoed through the huge room.

  Mia passed her the gift. “Happy birthday.”