by Hazel Gower
Earning Her Love
by
Hazel Gower
Earning Her Love
Copyright © 2016, Hazel Gower
ISBN: 9781944270292
Publisher: Beachwalk Press, Inc.
Electronic Publication: June 2016
Editor: Pamella Tyner
Cover: Jessie Buffett
eBooks are not transferable. No part of this book may be used or reprodduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quottations in articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Back Cover Copy
A hot cop and a single mum...
Mia Lexington is a mother whose life is devoted to caring for her four-year-old son Zane. After her family abandoned her on the heels of her baby’s father, Mia vowed to never again allow anyone to make her feel like her parents and Zane’s father did. Since that time she’s refused to allow any man to get close to her.
Alex Douglas is at his niece’s swimming lesson when he first meets Mia and her son. He doubts the gorgeous young woman would give him a second thought. He’s also hesitant because of their eighteen-year age gap, but he can’t get her out of his mind. Before he gets a chance to ask her out, she’s gravely injured and her son is left with nowhere to go. Not wanting Mia to lose her boy to the foster care system, he lies so he can claim temporary custody…but what will Mia think of his grand gesture when she awakes?
Content Warning: this book contains a hot cop and steamy sex scenes
Dedication
This book is for all those single mothers out there who don’t think they’ll ever find the right man. You will. Never settle. Be like Mia and find an amazing man that loves not just you, but your children, and treats them like they’re his.
Acknowledgements
There are always so many people to thank. The first is always my family. My husband is amazing, and my children are the best. Writing takes time away from them, and they’re always supportive.
Writing a book takes time and there is a team behind getting it out to you, the readers. I have a bunch of people to thank for this book: Jess Buffett for the fantastic book cover, my scandal girls, Pamela Tyner for being the best editor I know, and Beachwalk Press for always saying yes to my books and supporting me.
Lastly, but certainty not least, thanks to all my readers.
Chapter 1
Mia tried not to laugh as she glanced at the other women in class. They practically drooled watching the gorgeous man, Alex, hold out his arms and wait for his niece to swim to him. Mia nudged her friend as their sons both swam to them. “Beth, eyes forward on Landon.”
Mia’s own son, Zane, beamed up at her. “Mummy, did yous sees me? I swam real far and was super fasted.”
“I saw you. You’re amazing.” Mia held onto her four year old, giving his legs a rest from treading water.
“Yeah, I’m a super swimmer nows.”
Nodding, Mia looked around at the angry faces on some of the children as they got cross at their mothers for not watching them swim. She couldn’t help but giggle. The reason they hadn’t seen their children smiled at his niece Olivia, and his muscles bulged as he cuddled her to his bare, tattooed, toned chest.
“Muuummmyy, you’re not listening.”
Shaking her head Mia, returned her gaze to her son. She felt heat rise on her cheeks as she realized she’d been staring at the masculine perfection like the other women. “Sorry, Zane, what did you say?”
“Iza said can Landon sleep over tonight? I wanna shows him my new Skylander.”
“Not tonight, honey. Mummy has to work. You will be at Landon’s while I work. You can show him the Skylander then, or how about Friday after swimming he can sleep over?”
“Yay,” Zane squealed. “Landon, yous staying on Friday.”
Beth smiled when Mia turned to her. “Thanks. Are you sure you can take him?”
“Yeah, Landon is no problem.”
“So.” Beth smirked. “You got caught, didn’t you?”
Mia blew a raspberry at her friend and felt the heat crawl up her face and knew she’d be bright red. She wanted to say no, but she had been snared by the handsome man. Ha, handsome was a modest way to describe Alex Douglas. He was drop-dead gorgeous, with jet-black hair shaved to his head, eyes that were the darkest Mia had ever seen, a chiseled jaw with a five o’clock shadow, and full, thick lips that had women coming just from viewing his rugged perfection. The body adding to his looks was just cruel, he was magnificent, tall, roughly six-two, and all thick, solid muscle covered in tattoos. Mia bet female criminals threw themselves at him, begging to be arrested.
Shrugging her shoulders, she sighed at Beth. “I’m only human.”
Beth grinned, and they listened as the instructor told them that was all for the day and she would see them Friday. Mia held Zane tight as she walked to the stairs of the pool. She watched as the other mothers did the same and noticed that a lot of them were wearing what looked to be new swimsuits, and they had either lost weight or were breathing in and holding everything in as they got out and walked to the change rooms. Mia rolled her eyes. She felt sorry for the women. Mia was through with men. She’d learned her lesson with Zane’s father, and she vowed to never be something she wasn’t, for anyone.
Mia got out of the water and carried Zane to the change rooms. She placed Zane on the seat and went to the locker, getting her backpack out, then moved to the back corner of the room. Beth soon joined her.
“Do you think any of those women have a chance with Mr. Alex the hottie?” Beth glanced over at the women in question.
Mia shrugged. “Maybe.”
“He was looking at you, Mia. He might ask you out.”
Mia couldn’t help but laugh at Beth. “Oh, come on, Beth. There is no way Alex Douglas was looking at me. I have no chance with him. Men like Alex are too hyped up on steroids and image conscious to go out with a woman bigger than a size eight. Women like me don’t have a chance, because not only do I have a kid, but I have an arse, real breasts, and a stomach, because I like to eat.” Mia dried Zane and got him dressed before she did herself.
Beth giggled. “He’s a cop I heard. So I don’t think he’s on steroids.”
“Of course, then he’ll be one of those ‘my body is a temple and I watch what I put into it’. I mean come on, there is no way I’m his type. His body is pure muscle, and I’m…well, just look at me.” Mia pointed to her flabby belly with the faded stretch marks and thick, solid thighs.
“Yeah, you’re probably right, but just imagine him in his uniform.” Beth sighed, and a dreamy look came over her face.
Mia gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to fantasize about Alex in uniform as she finished getting ready and left the change rooms.
* * * *
It was the third time Alex had taken his niece Olivia to swimming. The first time he’d been reluctant, but his brother Chad had begged him to go to swimming with Olivia. Chad had promised his wife Lana that swimming would be something he organized and dealt with, but on that particular day he had to work, and both Owen and Lockie were unavailable to take their niece. So, on one of the few days he had off, Alex had given in and taken Olivia. It only took the one time for him to see her—Mia—and Alex asked Chad and Lana if he could take over swimming lessons and it be his and Olivia’s special thing. Alex had been glad when they both agreed, no questions asked.
He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but the first time he’d come to swimming lessons, he’d become intrigued by Mia. She was one of the only mothers who didn’t flaunt themselves or star
e at him. When she smiled her eyes brightened, and her cheeks dimpled. She was beautiful, with a full, shapely body, huge breasts, a wide waist, and thick, strong thighs. Her long, strawberry blonde hair sat just above her arse. Her face was stunning, with big chocolate brown eyes, long lashes, and small, pink lips. Her laugh was magical and full of life and had him eager to find out more about her.
Alex chuckled as he listened to Mia through the thin walls as she told her friend what she thought of him. She sounded a little bitter, and he didn’t know if he should feel offended that she’d judged him so harshly without even knowing him.
Giving his niece his phone to play with while he got dressed and gathered their things, he listened to the women talk. He dressed Olivia, and when the talking stopped he picked her up and walked out of the change rooms and toward the car park. He spotted Mia getting her son into a beat-up car that looked a good twenty-five years old.
Walking to Mia, he watched her arse wiggle as she belted her son into the car seat. She had a great arse, full and round. Images of him cupping her arse cheeks as he sank his cock into her pussy flashed before him. He groaned, reminding himself that now wasn’t the time. Not only did he have his niece, but he barely knew the woman.
“Hi,” he said as she backed out of the car. Mia’s eyes widened, and she looked startled.
“Um…er…hi.” Mia nibbled on her lip and he zoned in on the action.
“I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Alex Douglas, and this little beauty is my niece Olivia.” He kissed Olivia’s forehead and she giggled. He gripped Olivia with one arm and held his other hand out.
Mia stared at his hand, and he thought she wasn’t going to take it. Slowly, she placed her small hand in his, and he wrapped his fingers around hers. “I’m Mia. Mia Lexington. In the car is Zane, my son.” She tugged at her hand to get it back, but for some reason he didn’t want to give it back. He held onto it tighter.
“Nice to meet you, Mia. I was wondering if you’d like to go get a coffee and let the kids play somewhere.”
Mia tugged on her hand again, and when she figured out he wasn’t giving it back she narrowed her eyes and sighed. “Why? Why me?”
“Why not you?”
Mia tugged on her hand again, and this time he reluctantly released his hold. Olivia squealed with joy at the game she was playing on his phone.
Mia glanced into her car then back at him. “Fine. But I only have half an hour to spare before I have to go get ready for work. Let’s go to Macca’s. The kids can play there. The closest one is just around the corner. I’ll meet you there.”
Alex smiled at her. “I’ll see you there.”
Mia nodded and walked to the driver’s side of her bomb of a car. He shook his head as he heard her mumble, “We’ll see.”
Walking to his car, he placed their bags inside and put Olivia in her car seat and buckled her up. He then got in the driver’s side, fastened his own seat belt up, put the keys in the ignition, and drove to MacDonald’s.
Alex parked his car next to Mia’s bomb, got Olivia out, and walked into Macca’s. He spotted Mia sitting on a seat with her son, who had an ice cream. She held a drink cup. Mia seemed surprised when she saw him, her eyes widened and her mouth opened and shut a couple of times as he walked over to her and placed Olivia down.
“Do you mind if Olivia stays here while I get her an ice cream and get myself a coffee?”
“Argh…yeah, sure.”
“Do you want anything else?” he asked.
Mia shook her head, and he turned and went to the register. Alex felt Mia’s eyes on him, and he straightened his shoulders, feeling insecure for the first time in many, many years. He ordered a coffee, ice cream, burger, and chips.
He came back and set Olivia up with her ice scream and dived into his food. Mia didn’t say anything, she even tried looking anywhere but at him. Groaning, he swallowed the food in his mouth. “So, any Mr. Lexington?” Alex knew there wasn’t, he’d heard from one of the other mothers that she was a single mother.
“No.”
Alex waited for her to say more, but when she didn’t say anything he narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re not going to ask me if there is a Mrs. Douglas?”
“Nope.”
Mia was different already from all the women he knew. She didn’t talk nonstop. “There is no Mrs. Douglas.”
Mia nodded and took a sip of her drink. “I knew. If you didn’t guess by now, you and your brothers are a big conversation topic at swimming. Well, with the other women. Olivia’s father took her at the start, but then Lockie took over, and the week before you first brought Olivia, Owen was with her. The other women now get to swimming twenty minutes early, and they eagerly wait to see which Douglas will bring Olivia.”
He sighed. Great, he knew he was being watched, and he knew they were checking him out, but he thought most were just anxious because he was the only guy in the class. He hoped the novelty would wear off.
“Well, I’ll be bringing Olivia to swimming from now on. Unless I get called into work, but I work mostly nights.”
“Oh, okay. I think that will be good. It’s a nice thing for you two to do. Olivia is lucky to have such a wonderful uncle.”
The kids finished their ice creams, and he and Mia took them out to the play area and watched them. They sat silent for a moment as they watched the children. Alex admitted he’d never had a problem of women not talking to him before, usually they did all the talking and he found out everything he needed to without barely talking himself. Mia was different though, she didn’t tell him anything, and when he asked most of her answers where short.
“Are you from around here?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“I am. I grew up close by. I live about fifteen minutes from here. How far away did you live before you moved here?”
She shrugged. “About an hour and a half north.”
“What do you do for a job?”
“I’m a checkout chick. I’m permanent part-time.” Mia didn’t even turn to look at him when she answered.
“What do you do with Zane while you work?”
This time she turned to him. Mia looked him straight in the eyes. “He goes to a family daycare one day a week. The lady is great. My best friend Beth takes him twice a week, and I take her son twice a week.” She smiled. “I’m lucky to have a job that’s so flexible. The extra money helps me out big time. I know Centerlink thinks it gives me enough to live on, but what they give me barely covers the essentials.” She held up her hand. “And before you ask, no I don’t get anything from Zane’s father. He signed away his parental rights.”
Alex didn’t know what to say for a moment. Mia sounded very defensive about her situation. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude prying into your situation.”
Mia ran her fingers through her hair. “Sorry. I hate leaving him, and when people meet me they want to know the story and they always think they have a better way to help me.” She closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them again. “Look, I’m sorry. I have to go. Maybe I’ll talk to you later.” With that she grabbed her kid and rushed away.
Alex stared after her, unsure what to do. He’d never had a woman treat him like Mia had, and he didn’t know how he felt. Alex was eager to find out more about her, and that was one thing he intended to do.
* * * *
Over the next couple of weeks Alex took Olivia to swimming lessons and he learned about Mia. He was amazed that she’d done so well. She’d had her child at seventeen, and from what little he could gather her parents had abandoned her and she’d raised Zane on her own. When he found out her age he told himself to stay away, that she was way too young, clearly too young for him, and not interested anyway. He’d thought Mia looked young, but he’d assumed she was at least in her mid-twenties.
Mia didn’t talk to him again, and when he did look at her, it was to see her blushing and avoiding him, but by the fourth week he was really struggling not to ask her out or to t
urn up at her apartment. Alex became more interested and attracted to Mia the more he saw her and learned about her.
Alex decided that the next time he saw Mia he would ask her out. He couldn’t get her off his mind, and all the signs he’d waited for were there—when she was around, his heart beat faster, he grew hard, he followed any movement she made, he worried about her, and she was all he thought about. He’d never had all those things before. He’d promised himself long ago he would never settle, he wanted what his parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had. His brother Chad had it with his wife Lana, and Alex wanted it too.
Chapter 2
Mia silently begged the light to turn green. Not only was she late for work, but her car didn’t sound like it was going to last much longer. Zane sat in his car seat making explosion sounds with his two action figures. Mia knew she was way overdue for a service, but Grant would just tell her the same thing he had said last time—she needed a new car. Mia couldn’t afford a new car. She’d just paid the rent, phone, and electricity bills, and this week was a speech therapy week for Zane. So she had to find money somewhere in her nonexistent funds for that, even though she was broke beyond belief.
The light finally turned green, and she put her foot down on the gas pedal. The car made a sputtering noise, and then it stopped completely. Cars honked around her. She tried to start the car again, but nothing happened. She couldn’t even turn her hazard lights on. “Crap.”
“Mummy.”
“Sorry, sweetheart, Mummy can’t talk right now.”
She looked around the busy intersection and knew she had to call someone before she was hit by a car. Grabbing her bag off the passenger seat, she reached into it and got her mobile out and dialed triple zero.
“Hello, which service would you like to be connected to—ambulance, fire station, or police?”