“Actually, a funny thing happened with that story.”
With a slight turn of his head, he wasn’t sure what exactly that meant. “Really? Funny how?”
“Well, there’s almost always a twist at the end of the book; the person who looks to be the guiltiest, is rarely the killer. So, all through this book, there was a collective group of people who all could have been guilty. No one person stood out more than any other. And then…the twist even shocked me.”
Austin knew his eyes had gone wide, and he was dying to know what the twist was, even though he had no idea about the rest of the story. “And? What was it?” he asked excitedly.
“Oh…I can’t tell you that,” she replied sweetly. “You’re going to have to wait and read it for yourself.”
“Read it for…? But…you said…I mean, remember when we talked about this? No one…” And yeah, he was completely stumbling over his words, but after the big fuss she had made about people reading her work, he figured he’d never see this book. “So you’re going to pitch it to Jillian?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure yet. I may self-publish it, but I haven’t really put in a lot of thought to it. I’m considering my options. It would be a standalone and most publishers prefer a series, so…we’ll see.”
“Wow.”
“But if you’re good, I may let you read it sooner rather than later if you have the time.”
Time. Yeah, that was something they really needed to talk about too.
“Well, time is going to be a little tricky in the coming weeks,” he began, trying to think through everything he needed to tell her.
“Oh? How come? Does Ryder want more work done on the house?”
“No, everything over there is almost done so he’s good. I need to go back to Baltimore for a bit.”
Mia was silent and luckily they were almost back to the house. Austin figured maybe he should wait to explain it all until they were home.
The silence stretched and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it and why she wasn’t asking for more of an explanation.
But once they were in her house and the front door was closed, that ended.
“How long are you going to be gone?” she asked, tossing her purse onto the kitchen island as she went and grabbed two bottles of water for them.
“A week. Maybe two,” he replied, accepting the drink from her.
“Oh. Okay. That’s not so bad, but…wait. You’re coming back here then, right?”
He nodded.
“And you’re going to take the job with Colemans?” she asked as a smile blossomed across her face.
“No.”
And there went the smile.
“Then I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
Taking her by the hand, Austin led her over to the couch and motioned for her to join him. “Okay, here it is…I’m going to start my own firm. I’m going to be the lead architect for Colemans, but as a subcontractor. I’ve already got some leads on projects and honestly, this was something I thought I’d do somewhere down the road. I hate working for somebody else and it’s important for me to make a name for myself.” He shook his head and laughed. “Which will probably be hard here in Magnolia where the Coleman name is synonymous with almost everything here, but…I have to try. If things don’t work out, I know I can work for Jake. But for now, this is something I have to do.”
Reaching over, Mia squeezed his hand and her smile was back. “That sounds amazing and you are going to kick some serious butt at it.”
“Yeah? You think so?”
Her smile grew. “Definitely. I’d hire you if I were going to build a house here or something.”
That gave him an idea…
“Hmm…so you’d hire me to design a house?”
She nodded. “Yup!”
“What’s your idea for a house?”
“Well, I have a townhouse back in Boston. My mother actually picked it out. It’s four stories including the finished basement and the floorplan is…well…it’s very long and narrow, if that makes sense.”
“It does. Go on.”
“Brick exterior, lots of hardwood floors and lots of stairs. The master bedroom is on the top floor so every night I have to climb three flights of stairs to go to sleep.” She chuckled. “And by the time I get to the bed, I’m definitely exhausted.
“It does sound like a lot…”
“So if I had the chance to design something of my own, it would be two stories, tops. Or…have an elevator like this place.”
“Townhouse or a single-family house?”
“Oh, single family next time, for sure. Other than the noisy neighbor at the beginning, having the whole house has been glorious!”
It was hard not to laugh at that one as he squeezed her hand. “Brat.”
“Anyway,” she sang, “back to the house. Open floorplan like this is fantastic and a main floor master bedroom is actually very nice.”
“Basically, you want this house. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Well, not this exact house, but…yeah. Everything here is just extremely functional and it’s made staying here very enjoyable. And the view? Yeah, I don’t think I’d want to be in the middle of a city ever again.”
“My place up in Baltimore was an apartment but it was right outside the city so it was a little quieter. And I’ll be honest, I grew up here my whole life and never appreciated how amazing it is to live on the water, so when I’m ready to build a place of my own, that would be a priority.”
“Where are you going to live once Ryder’s place is done and you’ve moved back here?”
Letting out a long breath, he shifted in his spot to get more comfortable. “I haven’t started looking or anything, but…here’s the thing, Mia…I’d like to stay with you until you go back to Boston. I know we’ve been kind of living together already, but…this time I’d be moving my stuff in, if it’s okay with you. Not my furniture, of course; that will go into storage. But my clothes and stuff I’d have with me. And then when you go back to Boston, if I haven’t found anything, I’ll probably crash at my mom’s.”
She studied him for a long moment.
“Would you come to Boston to visit?” she asked, her tone serious.
“Every chance I could. And would you want to come and visit me here?”
Nodding, she said, “Of course. Besides seeing you, I’d get to visit with Sydney and work with her, so…you know.”
Austin felt like all his worrying was for nothing. “Okay then. So we’re giving the long-distance thing a chance and once I get settled into the job and all that, we can probably work out some kind of schedule so we don’t go too long between visits.” He smiled at her. “I know we’ll have to work around your writing schedule and I won’t ever interfere with that so you don’t have to worry.”
That’s when he noticed she wasn’t smiling.
Not even a little bit.
“Is everything alright?” he asked, feeling nervous again.
“Let me ask you something—is this really what you want? Traveling back and forth and seeing each other maybe once or twice a month?”
“I mean, it’s not ideal, but…logistics aren’t really on our side. Plus, I have a much better chance of getting my own business off the ground here in Magnolia than I would if I went back to Boston with you.”
“So you’d go to Boston with me if you could start your own business?”
And I walked right into it again…
“Uh…I don’t know…I guess…but I don’t know anything about the job market up there, so I wouldn’t want to just jump into something and then end up unemployed.”
Nodding thoughtfully, Mia was quiet again and it was enough to make Austin squirm. When she finally spoke, he figured she had a solution so they could see each other more often.
“Here’s what I’m thinking,” she began evenly. “I think it all sounds good and very logical but…I can’t do it.” She paused and gave him a sad smile. “I can’t do the long-di
stance thing, Austin. It’s just not who I am. I’m sorry.”
And just like that, he felt like the rug had been pulled out from under him. All of their talk about being in love and being happy meant nothing. The wheels were already in motion—at least mentally for him—to move back here to Magnolia Sound and start his firm. People were already excited for him and talking about hiring him. How could he just walk away from the career he only dreamed of having?
But then again, how could he walk away from the woman he loved and never dreamed he’d be lucky enough to find?
With a curt nod, he met her gaze. “Then I’m coming to Boston with you.”
“Um…what?”
He nodded. “If I have to choose between a job and you, then I’m going to choose you, Mia. You’re it for me. I love you and I want a future with you and if that future is in Boston, then that’s where I’m going.”
She sighed and gently pulled her hand from his.
Uh-oh…
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding, Austin. You see, I didn’t ask you to move to Boston with me.”
And that was it.
He snapped.
Jumping to his feet, he looked down at her. “What the hell is going on then? What are we doing?”
“Austin, I…”
“I mean, just last night you were telling me how happy I make you and that you love me. We crawled into bed together and quietly made love while telling each other how much we loved the other! And now when the shit is getting real and we’re talking about what happens when you’re out of vacation mode, you’re basically telling me you’re fine just walking away and going back to Boston!”
“If you’d let me explain…”
“Explain what? That you’re okay with letting this just be a…a fling? Because that’s just insulting!”
“Austin, seriously,” she said with a little more heat, but he wasn’t listening.
“My whole life I never understood the big deal about falling in love. From what I experienced watching my parents, all it led to was someone getting hurt. Then the older I got, I thought I was wrong because I saw so many people doing it and getting married and just being stupidly happy! So when it finally happened to me, I understood what all the fuss was about! But obviously I was just fooling myself and the universe gets its big laugh at me again.” He raked a hand through his hair in frustration.
He went to turn and walk away but Mia sprung into action by grabbing his arm and stopping him. “If you’re done having a one-way conversation,” she snapped, “maybe you can be quiet and actually listen to what it is I’d like to say.”
“What’s the point? If you’re just going to…”
She shoved him.
Hard.
Austin fell back onto the couch and was momentarily speechless.
Mia held up a hand to him as she leaned forward. “Shut…it,” she said angrily before she straightened.
Then he watched as she paced a few steps before facing him again. “I never said I was fine walking away,” she began, her tone calmer than it was just a few seconds ago. “If anything, I never said I was walking away!”
“But…”
“Nuh-uh, you don’t get to talk!” Smoothing a hand over her hair, she let out another long breath. “What I was trying to say before you immediately jumped to every wrong conclusion known to man, was that I’m not okay with a long-distance relationship, because I want to be here with you!”
“Really?”
“Still talking!” She paused but he saw her lips twitch when he pretended to zip his own lips. “Austin, when I told you last night how happy you make me, I meant it. Why would I want to leave that and go back to a place that doesn’t make me happy? I knew I wanted to stay but…I didn’t know how to ask. Besides, the beach was always my happy place. Now with you, it can be my forever place.”
There was so much he wanted to say but he was afraid to interrupt her. So he waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
“Oh my God! Say something!” she prompted.
Jumping to his feet, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her with everything he had. Her arms went around him as she pressed herself as close as she could get.
And damn if it didn’t feel perfect.
When he finally lifted his head, he grinned. “It’s no wonder you write mysteries and suspense. That whole thing just about killed me!”
She preened. “Well, to be fair, it wasn’t meant to be a big mystery or suspenseful. That was all because of you and your wild imagination.
That made his smile grow. “I do have a wild imagination.”
Mia’s smile matched his own. “I know you do.”
“Want to know what I’m imagining right now?”
“Hmm…are you imagining us going inside to the bedroom and not having to be quiet?”
And in a move he knew she loved, Austin scooped her up in his arms. “Am I that predictable?”
“Well…that’s not necessarily a bad thing…”
He started walking toward the bedroom and then stopped and spun around. “Plot twist! I’ve got other plans for us!”
“Austin!” she cried out with a laugh. “What in the world? Where are we going?”
Walking across the room and toward the sliding glass doors, he considered making her squirm for a few minutes.
Then immediately decided against it because he wanted her squirming for other reasons. “I’m taking us next door to try out that massive shower in the master bathroom. No one’s working today and we have the whole house to ourselves and I even went out and bought new, fluffy towels for us and I have wine waiting.”
He maneuvered them out the door and onto the deck before Mia twisted to slide the doors shut. As he made his way down the deck stairs, he knew he was grinning from ear to ear.
In his arms, Mia let out a husky laugh. “Look at you! That was a twist I wasn’t expecting! How long have you been planning this?”
It wasn’t until they were in the house and he was putting her on her feet on the cool marble floors that he answered. Then he looked down at her beautiful face and caressed her cheek. “Since the moment I first saw this face. That’s how long.”
Blushing, she leaned into his hand. “Oh, stop. The first time you saw me, you thought you’d killed me with a sink.”
It should have been funny, but now wasn’t the time for jokes. “No, that wasn’t the moment. At the time, I was really worried I’d hurt you. But once I got you inside and upstairs in the bathroom, I imagined what it would be like to kiss you. You had the softest skin and felt so delicate…and now I want to get you under all those shower heads and jets and touch you and kiss you all over. Will you let me?”
“Austin Coleman, if you don’t get that water going right now, I may never speak to you again.”
Now he smiled again. “Such a brat,” he teased. “But I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered. “And I love that we’re right here where it all began and getting ready to start our lives together.”
“How about we seal it with a kiss?” He was already a breath away from her lips.
“Yes, please.”
Before he could kiss her, he had one last question. “If this were a story you were writing, how would it go from here?”
“That’s easy,” she said as her arms went around him. “They lived happily ever after.”
And that’s when he closed the distance between them and gave her the kiss they both wanted.
Epilogue
Six Months Later…
“Mia Kingsley, you little minx!”
“Hey, Jill!” she said happily as she cradled the phone against her ear. “What did I do?”
“This story is phenomenal! It’s so different from the previous series but everything about it just grabs the reader and keeps them on the edge of their seat! What in the world was the inspiration for this one? You never mentioned it to me before!”
Glanci
ng over her shoulder, Mia watched as Austin—shirtless, of course—finished hauling in the groceries she had just picked up.
Not that she minded the view.
“Well, when I first got to Magnolia and was trying to finish Twisted Deception, the story just came to me. It was a good distraction while I was dealing with the writer’s block and then…you know me…I couldn’t leave it unfinished.”
“I’m glad you didn’t! And that ending had me falling out of my chair! Honestly, Mia, it was brilliant! Please tell me there’s going to be more like this!”
“Can you hang on one minute?” Mia asked before she placed her phone down on the kitchen counter and put it on speaker. “Jill, can you repeat that last part so Austin can hear?”
She felt him move in close behind her and playfully leaned back against him. “Hey, Jill,” he said. “What’s going on?”
“I was just telling Mia how absolutely brilliant this Deadly Renovation book is! The ending knocked me on my ass! She needs to write more like this!”
Austin nuzzled her neck before responding. “I agree with you wholeheartedly! She was truly inspired on this one!”
“Ooh…it sounds like there’s a story there! C’mon you two, spill it!”
Mia couldn’t help but giggle. “Let’s just say this book had a very particular inspiration that can never be duplicated and leave it at that.”
“Hmm…I’m not thrilled to hear that, but hopefully you’ll find another source of inspiration because we are prepared to make you a very generous offer on this book. I’m emailing you the contract to look at. And…spoiler alert…there’s even more for any other books you might consider for a series.”
“Jillian…I don’t know…”
“Just think about it, okay? Now I’ve got to go because I’ve already got some fantastic ideas for a cover and I want to get them over to you in the next couple of days. Talk to you soon!”
Mia hung up and immediately pulled up her email to glance at the contract.
“So this book can be a hit, huh?” Austin asked as he went back to kissing her neck and shoulder. They were standing in the middle of Ryder’s kitchen—which was their temporary home while they looked for one of their own—and she had a feeling he was a little frisky.
The Way the Story Goes Page 22