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“I’m a cop, and my cousin is ex-DEA. I tracked you down,” he admitted. “Not knowing what had happened to you was making me a little crazy. So, we did some research. I was happy to hear that you had started a new life.”
“Then you know I was okay the whole time,” she said with a frown. “You didn’t need me to tell you.”
“It was fairly recently that I checked,” he said. “And you didn’t know what I knew.”
“That’s true,” she conceded. “I am sorry, Grant. You were nothing but kind to me when I desperately needed it. I should have contacted you.”
“I understand that what you’ve gone through wasn’t easy,” he replied, reminding himself that Mia had been through hell. This wasn’t about him. It was about her. “I’m happy to see that you’re doing so well. I knew you would. I knew you wouldn’t go back.”
“I could never have done that.” She placed her hands on her hips, her head tilting as her frowned deepened. “You knew I was down here? You knew my name? You never reached out to me either, Grant.”
“I was respecting your wishes. If you didn’t want to see me, then I had to be okay with that. Are you seriously mad at me for not calling?”
He was smiling at her irritation, which probably wasn’t a wise thing to do, but he couldn’t help himself. It was rather funny. She’d wanted to reach out but didn’t feel like she could because it wouldn’t be fair. He wanted to call, as well, but didn’t do it because he thought she didn’t want to see him again.
They’d been at cross-purposes.
“I’m really upset and you’re smiling. I could use a laugh. Can you tell me what’s so funny?”
“Our communication is terrible. We’re awful at it.”
This time she did smile, nodding her head in agreement.
“You’re right. But in our defense, we didn’t have much time to learn how to talk to each other. Maybe we should cut ourselves some slack. I am sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too. It wasn’t my intention today to make you feel badly about what happened. Honestly, I’m just so goddamn glad that you’re safe and happy. That’s enough for me. Are you, Mia? Happy, I mean? Is your new life good?”
He hoped like hell she would say yes. He wanted that for her even if she didn’t want him in her new life. Their night together had been just that. One night. No repeats.
“It is good,” she replied, the words coming slowly as if she was thinking hard about her answer. “I have friends and a job that I love. It’s more than I ever hoped for, to be honest. The night we met I had given up on any dreams of being happy. You met me on the lowest day of my life.”
“That’s the life of a cop, sadly. But I was glad I was there for you.”
“Frankly, I try not to think about my time with Kevin. It makes me sad, and it makes me mad.”
“It looks like you have a new man in your life,” Grant said, pushing himself to keep smiling. “Is he good to you?”
Mia’s brows pinched together, and she shook her head.
“A new man—Oh wait, you’re talking about Cory? No, he’s not anyone. I mean…he’s obviously someone, but not my someone. It’s a blind date. I just met him tonight. He’s not my boyfriend.”
Grant wasn’t sure how to respond. He was a total asshole, because he shouldn’t be this happy that the guy wasn’t with Mia.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” she went on. “I haven’t dated much.”
Her cheeks were pink as if she hadn’t meant to reveal that information.
And I’m still an asshole.
That awkward tension was back in spades, a growing wall between them that Grant didn’t have a clue how to breach. He wouldn’t get the opportunity either. The door of the bar opened, and a woman stepped out, moving closing to where he and Mia were standing.
“Are you okay, Mia?” the woman said, her gaze sharp, taking him in from head to toe. “Do you feel alright?”
“I’m okay,” Mia replied, giving her friend a smile. “I just needed some air, and I ran into someone I know. Isn’t that funny? I’ll be right in.”
The friend was still appraising Grant, but she finally nodded and ducked back into the restaurant leaving the two of them alone.
“I guess I should be getting back,” Mia said. “I’m…glad we ran into each other. I did want to say thank you for all you did for me.”
