“Well, when I was nineteen I’d already gotten my first role in a drama series. I got a studio apartment with a girlfriend and moved out, and I made it on my own just fine. I’m not saying things work out that way for everyone—there are plenty of wannabes in Hollywood who work as baristas and servers for years before they get a break. And some never do. But in the end, you have to be comfortable with your decision.”
Grace’s shoulders slumped. “But Levi . . . He’s so stubborn about this. You have no idea.”
“Have you told him everything you just told me?”
Her eyes flittered off Mia’s. “Not in so many words—okay, maybe not at all.”
Mia gave her an encouraging smile. “Maybe you should. Maybe you’re not giving him enough credit. He loves you and wants the best for you.”
Grace quirked a brow. “Too bad we don’t agree on what that is.”
Mia held the girl’s gaze for a long moment. “Give him a chance. He might just surprise you.”
thirty-three
Mia took Levi’s hand and stepped from the boat onto the wooden dock. They’d had a lovely morning on the lake. The sun was beating down from overhead, having burned off the morning fog. The air was thick with the smell of pine and cut grass.
Levi had taken her around the lake, showing her all the spots she’d missed on their last outing: Summit Ridge, the state park, Stone Gap Bridge.
Two weeks had passed since she’d sprained her ankle. The bruising hadn’t quite faded, but it was no longer swollen. And after seeing everything she’d missed, she was eager to get back to hiking—with Levi along this time.
She followed him up the dock. He was due at the front desk, but she hadn’t yet told him she planned to stay. There was a part of her that feared he might not be as happy as she hoped. But she was running out of time.
She tugged him to a stop before they reached the grassy bank.
He looked over his shoulder at her; then, seeming to sense her gravity, he turned to her and took her other hand, a frown tugging at his brows. “What’s wrong? What is it?”
Water kissed the shoreline, making a soft rippling sound. Behind her, the boat rubbed against its bumper.
She looked up at him. “I was wondering . . . I know I said I was just staying a couple weeks, but I was thinking of staying a while longer, here at the inn. That is, if you still have room for me and you wouldn’t mind.”
His eyes lit a fraction of a second before the corners of his lips turned up. “We do have room. And I’d like that a lot.”
Relief washed through her. “Desperate to fill up those rooms, huh?”
Those crinkles came out to play. “You have no idea. How long can you stay?”
“Well . . . I don’t have to be on set until July twenty-second. And I’m just not ready to go back yet. The folks here are great. They treat me like I’m one of them.” There was a lot more to it than that, but she didn’t want to scare him too badly. “It’s kind of nice.”
His lips twitched. “It’s the townsfolk you don’t want to leave, huh?”
She gave him a saucy look. “And the inn.”
“Anything else?”
“Well . . .” She frowned thoughtfully. “Let’s see, there’s Molly and Grace and Della. They’re pretty great too.”
He smirked. “That it?”
She blinked her wide eyes. “Am I forgetting something?”
He stepped closer, his eyes trained on hers, growing more intent.
A shiver of anticipation passed through her as she fell into his enigmatic gaze.
“Maybe I can help you remember . . .” he said, his voice as thick as honey.
And then his lips were on hers. She instantly forgot everything but the warmth of his pliant lips, the softness of his reverent touch, the strength of his muscled chest pressed against her heart.
“Can’t get enough of you,” he whispered against her mouth a long, delicious moment later.
“Don’t stop trying.”
His lips curved against hers. His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her closer. She hadn’t known he was exactly what she needed until he was here, in her arms, in her life. She didn’t know how she’d live without him when she left. But she didn’t want to think about it just now. Maybe they’d find a way . . .
Somewhere in the distance a throat cleared loudly. “Um . . . hello?”
Grace.
“Go away,” Levi grumbled against Mia’s mouth.
“It’s not enough I have to see this in my Facebook feed,” Grace muttered. “Listen, I don’t mean to interrupt, but Molly has to leave, and she sent me after you. So there. I’ve done my duty. I’m leaving now.”
Mia pulled away, unable to tear her gaze from the half-lidded look on Levi’s face. She brushed her thumb across his cheek. “You have work.”
“What’s that?”
She fought a smile. “Molly’s waiting for you.”
“Molly who?”
She chuckled as he gave her one last kiss, one last sexy smile, and headed up the sloped yard.
* * *
Levi didn’t even try to fight the goofy grin as he slipped inside the inn’s back door. He’d had a great time with Mia this morning. She was fun to talk to. Smart, sweet, a little saucy. She kept him on his toes in the best kind of way.
And her kisses. He wasn’t kidding when he’d said he couldn’t get enough.
He was passing the library on his way to the lobby when Molly’s voice, carrying from the front desk, pulled him from his thoughts.
“And last year a famous author stayed here, but I didn’t know who he was. Nathaniel Quinn, you’ve heard of him? He was incognito at the time and writes under a pseudonym, but his real name is Adam Bradford, and now he’s actually my boyfriend, believe it or not. Anyway, you don’t want to hear about all that.”
Good grief. She was in full runaway train mode with some poor guest. He was just in time.
As he approached the front desk he saw why Molly was so flustered. Wesley Hughes stood there in a pair of stylish jeans and a black button-down that hugged his muscular frame. Mia’s ex-fiancé was shorter than Levi expected—a few inches shorter than him. His golden-blond hair had been cut short at the sides, the top left longer and flopping over his forehead.
Levi clenched his jaw at the man’s casual and confident demeanor. After what he’d done to Mia, Levi wanted to slug the guy on sight.
“Oh, hey, Levi,” Molly said. “This is Wes—”
“I know who he is.” He turned a dark look on Wesley. “You’re a little late for the honeymoon.”
“Levi,” Molly said, aghast.
“And we’re all full up just now,” Levi continued. “So if you’re looking for a place to stay you’ll have to look elsewhere.”
“Levi.”
Wesley’s eyes snapped and his jaw knotted. “I’m not looking for a room. I just need to speak with Mia Emerson. I believe she’s a guest here.”
“We don’t give out that kind of information.”
“Um, yeah.” Molly stepped around the desk. “Perhaps you could just give her a ring.”
“He already did that—and took it right back.” Levi received a withering look from Molly.
“Look.” Wesley appealed to Molly this time. “The thing is, I can’t exactly call her . . .”
“Block your number, did she?”
Wesley’s gaze clashed with Levi’s. “You have a problem with me, buddy?”
Levi took a step closer. “Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do.”
Then Molly was there between them. “Ooo-kay . . . Let’s do this, guys. I’ll give Mia a ring—a call—and see if she’s up for company, how’s that?” She was already on her phone.
Levi glowered at Wesley.
Wesley glared right back, sizing him up.
“Hey, Mia, it’s Molly.” She gave a nervous chuckle. “Um, you have a visitor here to see you. It’s Wesley Hughes.”
Levi held back a growl. He hoped she sent him o
n his way. Dirt bag.
“Well, that’s up to you,” Molly said. “Yep . . . Uh-huh. I know . . . You sure? . . . All right, will do.” Molly hung up, then gave Wesley a thin smile. “She’s out back. You can go down that hall and through the door.”
Wesley held Levi’s gaze as he headed down the hall.
Levi wanted to wipe that smug look off his face. He started to follow.
Molly stepped in front of him. “Oh no, you don’t. Let them talk. What has gotten into you?”
“He’s a tool. I don’t want to leave Mia alone with him.” He watched the guy exit the back door.
“It’s broad daylight. What can he do?” Molly squeezed his arm, drawing his attention. “Hey. Mia’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.”
thirty-four
Mia’s heart was assaulting her rib cage, and her palms were suddenly sweaty. She sat upright on the Adirondack chair as the back door opened. She didn’t turn even as she heard the swish of feet through the grass.
She hadn’t had time to process that her ex-fiancé was here, in North Carolina. At their honeymoon destination.
Wesley stopped at the corner of her chair, a safe distance away.
“You’re a little too late to carry me across the threshold.” It was only then that Mia looked at him.
He was still as handsome as ever, but her heart didn’t flutter as it once had at the sight of him. He’d had a haircut since she’d last seen him—the last time she’d Googled him—and he wasn’t exactly dressed for summer at the lake.
Wes gave a rueful smile. “Save it. Your boyfriend beat you to the punch.”
That realization gave her a ping of satisfaction. “Well, what did you expect? A welcome party?”
The words sounded a little bitter, but if Mia were honest, there was no real animosity rooting them. She’d come a long way in the last few weeks, she realized. And that was a good feeling.
“Can I sit down?”
“Suit yourself. What brings you all the way out here?”
He perched on the edge of the chair next to hers. “I was on set in Ashville for a few days. I saw you were here at this inn—or at least, had been—and thought I’d try and catch you.”
That wasn’t really what she’d meant. Their breakup had been pretty sudden. And other than a brief conversation, during which she’d thrown her engagement ring at his chest, they hadn’t communicated.
She wondered briefly if he wanted her back. But no, he’d never wanted her to begin with. He already had everything he’d ever wanted: leading roles, steady income, and fame.
“You came on our honeymoon alone?” His voice was filled with bemusement.
“I needed to get away, for obvious reasons. And you know I’ve always wanted to come here.”
“Right, your family. It’s a nice place. Maybe a little quiet.”
“I happen to like it that way.” And so had her grandparents.
“You look well, Mia.”
“Thank you. Aren’t you going to ask me about Jax?”
Somebody was feeling defensive.
“I don’t need to ask. You’d never go after a married man—I’ve said as much to the press.”
Not that she needed his validation, but it was rewarding to hear him say it. “Why are you here then, Wes? I think we said everything that needs saying.”
Wes chuckled as he ran a hand through his hair. “Actually, you said everything you wanted to say. I kind of just stood there and took it.”
“Oh, is that how you remember it?”
Wes raised his hands. “I didn’t come here to fight, Mia. You threw out a lot of accusations, and you didn’t give me a chance to explain. I’d like that chance now if you’re willing to listen.”
He always had known how to defuse a situation. Except that night he’d broken up with her. She’d been pretty much undefusable.
Well, what could it hurt to hear him out? He’d come all this way, after all. She hitched a shoulder. “All right. Have at it.”
He set his elbows on his knees, staring out over the lake. “I keep remembering those things you said to me. That I was just using you to advance my career. And the longer I sat on those accusations the more I felt I had to talk to you. That’s not true at all, Mia. I mean, I’m truly grateful for what you did for me, but that’s not why I was with you. The feelings I had for you were real. I was in love with you. That’s the only reason I was with you, and when you called that into question the night we broke up—”
“The night you broke up. Call it what it was—there’s no press here.”
He conceded with a nod. “All right, the night I broke up. It wasn’t an easy decision, Mia. I still had feelings for you, but I felt . . . that things weren’t going anywhere.”
She gaped at him. “What do you mean ‘not going anywhere’? We were engaged and planning a wedding, Wes.”
“Those are external things. I mean internally. We enjoyed each other’s company, we had a lot in common, and we were in love, but . . .”
She waited for him to finish. He was obviously struggling to get it out. “But?”
He looked at her, holding her gaze for a long moment. “I always felt like you were . . . holding back or something.”
Her chest tightened. “Holding back what?”
“I don’t know. Like you’d let me get so close, but no closer. I don’t mean to put the blame on you—”
“Well, that’s how it feels.”
“This isn’t about blame, Mia. I’m just trying to tell you I wanted to feel more intimacy with you, with the woman who was going to be my wife. I thought surely once we were engaged things would change. And it scared me to death, thinking I might care about someone who didn’t care as much about me. I kept trying to draw you out, but it was like there was a wall I couldn’t get through.”
“That’s not true,” she said. But his words hit a soft, achy target deep inside.
“I’m just telling you how I felt, and I felt that you held me at arm’s length. Some of that may have been me. Who knows? Maybe I didn’t make you feel secure enough or something.”
She wanted to jump on that last part and refute everything else. But she knew in her core there was some truth to what he said. “Why didn’t you just tell me that?”
He gave her a wan smile. “I should have. Instead, I tried to get you to open up to me. I’d ask you questions about your childhood, about your father. You never wanted to talk about any of it. You brushed me off, changed the subject. Made a joke. You never let things get too serious. Never let me get as close as I wanted to be—or at least that’s how it felt.”
He gave a harsh laugh. “I sound like a girl right now. I know. But I wanted more of you, and I despaired of ever getting it. I eventually decided I just wasn’t the one for you. If I were, you wouldn’t be holding out, you know? So I made the decision to break it off. It wasn’t easy for me though, Mia. I want you to know that.”
Her eyes burned, and she tried to place the feeling washing over her. Regret, maybe. But not regret that they hadn’t become husband and wife.
The warm way he looked at her was familiar and satisfying. But Mia didn’t feel drawn to him like she used to. Even now, realizing their breakup might not have been his fault at all, it didn’t bring back those loving feelings. What she’d felt for him was gone.
Maybe it was the recent presence of Levi in her life, or perhaps it was just the realization that she’d never truly felt at home with Wes. She still cared about him, but she didn’t love him anymore. It was a freeing thought. A freeing feeling.
In truth, she already felt closer to Levi than she ever had to Wes, something she hadn’t been aware of until this moment. How had that happened so quickly? Was it because she was so far removed from her normal life, with more time to think and process? How had she let him in so far, and more importantly, how could she make sure she didn’t make the same mistake with Levi that she’d made with Wes?
Wes set his hand over hers and squeezed it.
“I just couldn’t let you go on thinking I’d used you. That I didn’t love you. Because I did, Mia. I just realized I wasn’t the man for you, and so I let you go.”
* * *
Technically Levi was working the front desk. But their guests were out enjoying the sunny day, so his job really only amounted to answering phones. And he could hear them just as well from the back of the inn.
He parted the gauzy white curtains in the library, catching sight of Mia and Wes on the Adirondack chairs. He glared at the back of Wesley’s head. What gave him the right to just barge in on Mia like this? She’d come here to get away from everything.
What could the man possibly want that he couldn’t have accomplished with a phone call? No need to drop in on her out of nowhere.
Levi wished he could see Mia’s face. Maybe then he’d have some clue how she felt about Wesley’s sudden appearance. And yes, how she felt about Wesley, period. Last they’d spoken on the subject she hadn’t felt too warmly toward him. But men like Wesley could be charming, and she’d fallen for him once before, hadn’t she?
“You’re spying on them?” Molly leaned on the doorframe, arms crossed, disapproval on her face.
Levi went back to his surveillance. “Weren’t you supposed to be going somewhere?”
“I canceled my plans. No way am I leaving you here with Wesley after what just went down in the lobby.”
“Didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did. Look at you.”
All Levi could look at was Mia and Wesley. Just then the man reached across the space and put his hand over Mia’s.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Levi’s grip tightened on the drapes.
“Come away from the window before you tear the sheers.”
His heart was beating hard. His chest squeezed painfully. Molly was right. A play-by-play was only going to drive him crazy.
He let go of the material and turned to his sister. An ache spread from the epicenter of his heart. “What if he wants her back, Molly?”
Her eyes softened. “Honey, you have to trust what you’ve built with her.”
“You mean over the two and a half weeks we’ve known each other? She was with him almost two years. They were engaged to be married.”
Carolina Breeze Page 19