As if reading her mind, Logan said, "I heard you worked here. I was looking for you."
Her heart thumped in her chest. "For me?" she whispered. "Why?"
He looked at her like she was nuts. "Why do you mean why? Because... because..." He was starting to stammer. Mia thought it was cute. "Because we have unfinished business."
Oh my God. He knows about Emma.
"When do you get off?" he asked, deciding to turn his charm all the way up and shoot her his million-dollar smile. The smile faltered a little when Mia showed no reaction.
"Not till five," she said.
"In the morning?" His eyes bugged out of his head. "That's right," she said. "And I think you should go before I get in trouble." She'd seen the way his eyes had lit upon her face. The smile he kept trying to charm her with. He didn't know about Emma, he just thought he could finagle a little action with her for old time's sake. But she wasn't about to give in to him, no matter how damned beguiling he was.
"Listen Mia, I've missed you."
Her mind raced. She reminded herself he was just trying to get her into bed. That was the only thing that made any sense. With millions of dollars and millions of women, it was ridiculous to think that Logan could have missed her. Her heart longed for it to be true, but her mind knew better.
"My boss is coming," she finally said, just to get rid of him. Mr. Rayner was probably sleeping in the back."
"I'm not—"
"Leave Logan, before you get me fired."
His eyes looked hurt, and for a second Mia felt bad. But then she remembered the womanizing he was so known for, and felt justified in sending him away. When she didn't say anything else, Logan turned his back to her and left the store. Mia relaxed her shoulders, then burst into tears.
Chapter 6
Once five o'clock hit, Logan started to question just what he was doing. Mia had obviously changed since he'd last seen her. He'd hit her full throttle with his million-dollar smile and she'd had no reaction whatsoever. So why was he standing outside, waiting for her like a schmuck?
Apparently I'm a sucker for heartache.
He laughed to himself. If his friends could hear him they'd say he was a pansy. Football players were tough. They didn't have feelings. The only place they could get hurt was on the field. It was an image Logan had cultivated well, but finally come to loathe. He looked up and saw Mia crossing the parking lot.
"Mia," he shouted, running over to her.
She jumped and looked wildly around until her eyes found his and settled there.
"Sorry," he said, "did I scare you?"
She broke into a smile to rival the approaching dawn and shook her head, laughing. "Maybe a little. I'm not used to people stalking me." There was a hesitation in her voice, which was still as soft and sensual as ever. It almost seemed like she didn't trust herself around him.
"I'm not stalking you," he said. "But maybe I should. You look good." It was true. Though she clearly wasn't the same Mia he'd left in Oakville three years ago, her looks had only improved. He'd already thought she was beautiful before, but now her hair had more gold. Her eyes had more caramel. He wondered if it was only that he hadn't seen her in so long, or had she really gotten prettier with time?
She blushed and her pink lips formed into a perfect "oh" as she opened her mouth. "You too," she said. "Look good, I mean." Then it seemed like some unseen force smacked the back of her head and her smile faded. She did a complete turnaround. Instead of the soft, almost demure way she had paused and looked at him, her eyes darkened and she turned abruptly on her heels. "I have to go."
He couldn't believe it. She was leaving. Again. "Wait!" he called. "I came all this way to see you, won't you at least talk to me? Let me buy you breakfast. You must be hungry."
She paused mid-stride and Logan jumped on her before she could run.
"Where's your car? You can follow me to Maui's. It's still there, right?"
"Yes..."
"Good. Then let's go."
"I don't have a car," she said, as if that somehow prevented her from eating breakfast. "I have to get home. I... I don't have time for Maui's."
He wouldn't relent though. He was desperate to get her to talk to him. "What about Lou's? Everyone has time for fast food. Right?" But she just stood there, uncertain. "It's drive-thru Mia. Come on. What's so important at home you don't have time for drive-thru?"
Finally, Mia consented. It was his scent. Ocean breeze wafted through the air and filled her like oxygen. He smelled good, and the parts of her that had been hidden away for the last three years—the parts that belonged to a young woman—began to power on.
"But we can eat and drive, right? We don't have to sit there?"
He nodded before she could change her mind, at the same time kicking himself for being so eager to please her. She'd dumped him in an email. He couldn’t forget that, no matter how good she looked or how much his heart sang when he was near her. He realized he might be acting a little pathetic, but this new knowledge wasn't enough to stop him from opening the car door for her.
Mia's eyes widened when she slid into his red Corvette. "Is this a rental?" she gulped, hoping he'd say yes.
"No, I bought it for my parents a while back. I'm just borrowing it while I'm here. I hate rentals."
"Oh." Logan was clearly living in a different world than hers. She instantly regretted getting in the car with him. The richness of it suffocated her. They drove to Lou's and Mia hesitated before asking, "Um, do you think it would be alright if I got an extra burger to take home?" She was thinking of Emma and what a treat Lou's would be for her.
Logan smiled and said "of course," but immediately assumed she must have a boyfriend she lived with. He resented buying food for her lover. He should have listened to his inner voice. This had all been a huge mistake.
"Where do you live?" he finally asked, deciding he should just take her home.
"Harvest Road," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes.
Logan thought he did a pretty good job of hiding his shock. Harvest Road had always been for hookers and druggies. No decent person was found there. Even his family, as poor as they'd been, had avoided Harvest Road. "Is that where your boyfriend lives?" he asked, disgusted.
"No," she said a little defensively. "That's where I live."
They were just approaching Harvest when he decided he couldn't take this anymore and gave in to the thoughts eating away at him. His head snapped around and Mia shouted, "Watch the road."
He slammed on the breaks and pulled over in front of an old apartment building that looked like it was probably run by homeless people. His mind was racing. "Okay Mia, what's going on?"
"What do you mean?" she asked. Her heart hammered in her chest. "Why did you stop?"
"Because I want to know what you're doing living on Harvest Road. And working at Smart Mart. And not at Harvard. When did you even get back from the east coast?"
Mia's lips trembled and Logan felt bad for yelling, but she was driving him crazy with her vague answers and her weepy eyes that were so beautiful in the breaking dawn they made his head buzz.
"I... I..."
"You what?" he demanded. "Just tell me."
The tears ran from her eyes in thick waves stained with anger and embarrassment. "I never went to Harvard," she finally exclaimed. "I lost the scholarship. I never left Oakville." Giant sobs shook her shoulders and Mia opened the door and ran from Logan's car into the building that he'd thought was waiting to be bulldozed.
He sat watching her go, too shocked to follow her except with his eyes. "Mia," he finally managed to whisper and stretched a hand towards her open door. But it was too late. She ran into her apartment and shut the door, closing him out.
Chapter 7
Rachel was driving Mia crazy. She texted her all morning. It was her one day off this week and she was trying to enjoy playing with Emma. Luckily, the wedding was tomorrow and soon both Rachel and Logan would be out of her life for good. But she couldn't keep
avoiding Mia, it was just creating more questions and Logan was already suspicious. She finally responded to one of Mia's texts, agreeing to meet her at her parents' place for a late lunch. She called Tera, who was making a small fortune off Mia in babysitting money, and asked her to come by for a couple of hours. She didn't think a visit with Rachel would take longer than that; she wouldn't let it.
At four Mia showed up to Rachel's. She'd had to walk from the bus stop, but it wasn't too far and she could use the exercise. She'd heard about the place Logan had bought his parents after getting drafted by the NFL, but seeing it in person was sort of spellbinding, especially done up for the wedding. The long driveway curved towards the house, creating a masterful scene as it wove its way towards dark gray stones and spires, just like a castle. It almost looked like a real one, and given the multi-millions Logan—and Rachel too for that matter—were supposed to have, Mia couldn't be sure it wasn't a real castle, imported from Europe and reconstructed here in dinky little Oakville.
Different colored Chinese lanterns were strung from invisible wires across the front and back yards. Mia had no idea how they'd done it, but it actually looked like the lights were floating in mid-air. She walked up the driveway, the hair on her arms standing up. Her breath was sharp and shallow. She didn't like being here. The door opened and Rachel stepped out with a wide smile.
"Hi," she cried, running towards Mia like it was old times. Mia accepted the hug but hung back when Rachel stepped inside. "Come on," she said, pulling her arm. "The house isn't gonna bite." She led Mia up to a spare bedroom that was serving as the pre-honeymoon chamber. It was decorated in soft French lace and looked like something straight out of a magazine.
"So," Rachel said. "Smart Mart huh? What happened to Harvard?"
Rachel always had a way of cutting right to things. Mia shrugged and raised her shoulders. "Things happen," she said. "Life doesn't work according to plan." She looked at Rachel, surrounded by designer clothes and plush carpet. "Except maybe for you and Logan."
Rachel sat on her bed, staring up at Mia with eyes that hinted at something she wasn't sure she should ask. "Was it drugs?" she almost whispered.
Mia burst out laughing in spite of her discomfort.
"No," she said. "It wasn't drugs."
Rachel let out a long sigh of relief. "Good. Though I wouldn't judge if it was and I could totally help you." She smiled and Mia saw why she was such a good model. A perfect mouth, with perfect blonde hair falling in ringlets. She was made for the camera.
"So," Rachel whispered, more conspiratorially this time. "Was it a boy?" She half winked at me and I felt the blood drain from my face. Logan and I had never told Rachel about us. We weren't sure how she would react. It had been my excuse for breaking things off with him so long ago. I'd told him I couldn't keep seeing him because I was afraid it would hurt Rachel.
A few weeks ago at work, I'd read my horoscope in some magazine in the break room. I'd been regretting it ever since. It had told me that I was cursed with bad luck. Forever. Okay, maybe it didn't say forever, but you had to read between the lines. My fears were now confirmed when there was a light tap on Rachel's door and Logan stepped inside. His eyes registered surprise and I immediately looked away, embarrassed at the way I'd left things with him the other night.
Logan stood there for a second with a dumb expression on his face before Rachel finally said, "Well? Did you want something?"
He looked startled, like he'd forgotten she was there, then said, "Yeah. Mom wants to know how many of those little swan vase thingies should go on each table."
Rachel's eyes widened in alarm. "Those don't go on the tables!" she shrieked, jumping off the bed and running out the door. She paused just long enough to turn her head and say to Mia, "We're not done here. And you're coming to the rehearsal tomorrow, whether you want to or not." She turned to Logan. "Talk her into it, will you?" Then she ran down the stairs before her mom could misplace the swan vase thingies that would, apparently, make or break this wedding.
Logan and Mia were left alone in the room. There was an awkward silence before Logan finally said, "So, you're going to the dinner?"
Mia shrugged.
"You want to talk about it?"
"About what?" she asked.
He rolled his eyes. "About all of it. Why are you living in that... place? And what happened to Harvard and law school?" Logan felt his blood boiling. "And what happened to us?" He took a step towards Mia and she wished she could pull her eyes away and run, but something about his face glued her to her seat. "The last time I saw you..."
Mia knew what he meant. The last time they'd seen each other was her eighteenth birthday party, when they'd made love and declared a commitment that seemed naïve now. There had been promises made... to always be together, to always be honest with each other. Mia had broken each of them.
Logan read the memory in her eyes. He could almost always tell what she was thinking. "Why did you dump me like that?" he asked.
"I..." Mia had started to say she didn't, but of course that wasn't true. She'd sent him an email saying they couldn't be together anymore and blaming her friendship with Rachel as the reason. Was it too late to tell him about Emma? She'd come this far alone. Even if she wanted to tell him, now was not the time. "I told you why."
He shook his head and sat on Rachel's bed, dropping his head between his knees. "Fine," he said. "Don't tell me. But you owe me, for the way you left. Do something for me."
Mia stared at him, her breath caught in her throat. "What?"
"Be my date for Rachel's wedding."
"I can't," she said without thinking it over. "I have to work."
"At Smart Mart?" he said, sounding cynical.
"Yes," she said, getting defensive. "At Smart Mart. And there's nothing wrong with that. I have to make money somehow. What do you think? That me and Em—" Her face went white as she realized what she'd almost said.
Logan was watching her, looking confused. He opened his mouth and she interrupted. "Fine," she said, hoping to stop him from asking whatever was on the tip of his tongue. "I'll go with you to the rehearsal, not the wedding."
"Okay," he said, "sure." In the back of his mind though, he thought that if he could get her to the rehearsal, he could get her to the wedding too.
Chapter 8
Logan decided that being back in Oakville definitely had some advantages. He just couldn't decide if Mia was one of them or not. She'd broken his heart when she left him, and every woman he'd hooked up with since then had been but a pale comparison. He realized now that he'd been trying to fill Mia's void with meaningless relationships so he wouldn't get hurt again.
He opened the door to the Steak Shark Bar and Grille. He wasn't surprised to find that it was still here—Oakville was only so big. Once a store opened in a small town, it generally stayed open. Everyone knew the owners of Steak Shark. If someone from an outside town had tried to put up a new bar, no one would have gone.
Logan raised his hand and waved to his old friends as he entered. Johnny saw him first.
"Hey! Look who's here, the wild man of football." His friends started chanting and yelling, "Uuhhooough Uuhhoough," and soon the whole place had their eyes on Logan. He had to admit, it felt good being the center of attention.
"A round for everybody," he shouted to the bartender. "On me!" He'd always wanted to say that. The crowd at Steak Shark cheered and someone shoved a beer into his hand. He thought a beer sounded like a great idea, maybe even something a stronger. If he drank enough, maybe he'd be able to forget about Mia for the rest of his trip. It was only a couple more days.
Soon Logan was walking lopsided. How'd I get so drunk so fast? He wondered. I've only been here a few minutes. He pulled on Rob's arm and when Rob turned his head, Logan asked what time it was.
"Midnight thirty," Rob said, laughing. He was drunk too.
Logan did a double take. Twelve-thirty? That meant Logan had been here at least three hours, not three minutes.
/> "I gotta go," he said. His words slurred together but they were clear enough that his friends understood him and started shouting.
"What do you mean go?" Anthony asked loud enough to draw attention. He sounded angry.
"Yeah!" someone else he couldn't identify yelled. "The least a money bags like you can do is buy another round for us working stiffs."
"That's right," Rob chimed in. "And I need a new car." He laughed but his eyes were hard and looked at Logan like he was a dollar sign instead of a person. Logan was suddenly uncomfortable. He signaled to the bartender to give everyone another round on him, then began gathering his things.
"Now, really. I have to go." Logan said, making his way to the bartender. He asked how much his tab was, and was floored to find that it was over a thousand dollars. One thousand dollars in three hours? That didn't seem possible. He started to call Johnny over to help him sort it out, when suddenly he realized that most of the town who was over twenty-one was here in this bar. And they were all buying drinks off him. These people were using him. And the bartender was a part of it.
He felt disgusted and handed the bartender his credit card with a slow churn growing in his stomach. Better to just pay and be done with it. Outside, he stood beside his car for a minute, wondering whether or not he was okay to drive. When he realized he was seeing two of everything, he decided to walk.
He took River Road, startled by the unchanged landscape around him. The cross street up ahead was Harvest Road. Mia. The thought struck him like a lightning bolt that Mia was the only one in this town who hadn't asked him for anything. She hadn't even wanted to see him when he'd turned up at her job. She was the only one he could really trust... except that he knew she was keeping something from him.
His feet veered down Harvest without even thinking about it. He stood outside Mia's building, a combination of anger and passion swelling inside him. "Mia!" he shouted. "Mia!" He was going to get some answers tonight. He didn't know what her problem with him was, but he wasn't leaving until he found out.
Bears of Burden: WYATT Page 44