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Grant didn’t even hesitate to answer. He’d already thought this through.
“Whatever I have to.”
If Kevin Fuller wanted to get to Mia, he was going to have to go through Grant first.
13
It had taken all the restraint Mia had not to overpack for the weekend trip to the cabin. It was a terrible habit that she had, wanting more choices in clothes than she really needed. The only time she’d ever packed “small” was when she’d run from Kevin. She’d only had a backpack then.
Grant had offered to come pick her up, but she’d told him that it didn’t make any sense for him to drive south just to drive north again. It was already going to take a full day to make the drive to the cabin. She would meet him at his home and park her car there for the long weekend.
After checking her security cameras and the house alarm, she locked the door and popped the trunk of her car open. She placed her bag and jacket inside, and then pushed it shut with a click. For a moment she paused before walking around to the front of her vehicle. She looked to her left, then her right, and then behind her.
She had that creepy feeling again. Like she was being watched. Everything looked completely normal with a man and a child walking their dog and a delivery person a few doors down. Nothing strange or out of the ordinary. Just any other day.
I’m getting paranoid. Is this going to happen every time I see Grant?
This was getting out of hand. She didn’t have the time or patience to be freaked out whenever she stepped out of the house.
Determined to nip it in the bud, she strode confidently to the driver’s side of the car and climbed in. She wasn’t going to be scared by her stupid past. She might have a few issues from running from Kevin, but he didn’t get to win. He wasn’t going to keep her from finding happiness with Grant. He didn’t have any power here; she did. She was in control, and she’d be damned if he was going to ruin one more thing in her life.
Screw you, Kevin.
Mia didn’t mention her creepy moments when she arrived at Grant’s home, and she didn’t mention them either when they were on the road up to the cabin. She didn’t want to spoil what she hoped would be a lovely weekend. Just the two of them. Kevin wasn’t going to hitch a ride on this trip. He wasn’t invited.
They’d stopped at a small general store to pick up groceries for the time they’d be there. They quickly stowed them in the pantry and refrigerator before starting dinner. Grant cooked a couple of steaks on the grill outside and Mia made baked potatoes and a simple salad. With good food and candlelight, it was the perfect romantic meal. She was certain dinner had never tasted as wonderful as it did tonight.
“I could put in a movie,” Grant suggested when they’d finished the dishes. “Or we could play a game. Whatever you want to do.”
Mia knew exactly what she wanted to do, but she wasn’t sure that Grant would be on board with it.
“Would I be crazy if I said that I wanted to sit on the front porch with a glass of wine and look at the stars? Does that sound too cold and boring?”
Grant’s face immediately lit up. It looked like she’d hit on a winner.
“Sweetheart, that sounds perfect. You pour the wine, and I’ll grab a nice warm blanket.”
The temperature had dropped when the sun went down, but with the two of them huddled under the wool blanket, it was toasty warm. The fresh air and wine had made her slightly drowsy, and she laid her head on his shoulder, luxuriating in the feeling of being so close to him. This night had turned out perfect.
“He’s not invited here,” she muttered, almost half asleep. “He’s not going to ruin our vacation.”
“He?”
Realizing that she was talking in her sleep, Mia jerked wide awake.
“Who is not going to ruin our vacation?” Grant asked.
“No one,” Mia replied quickly. “No one is going to ruin our vacation. I was almost asleep and wasn’t thinking about what I was saying.”
Technically, she and Grant hadn’t spent all that much time together. Their first night together had been compressed because of the storm and made all that more emotional because of what she’d been going through. Grant shouldn’t be able to read her mind, but the look he was giving her said that he wasn’t buying what she was saying.
“Kevin,” she said with a loud sigh. “It was Kevin that I was talking about.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about you thinking about him when you’re with me.”
Grant didn’t sound angry, but he did sound disappointed. And maybe a bit hurt, too. Shit, she hadn’t meant to do that.
“It’s not like that,” she said with a firm shake of her head. “I can explain. Truly, I can.”
