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Grant had thought about nothing but this on the way here today.
“I’d like to spend a day with you. See your routine. Who you come into contact with on a regular basis. I also think…that I should dig deeper into your ex. Even if he’s in prison, he might have friends on the outside who are willing to do things for him.”
“He didn’t treat his friends much better than he did me, but I guess it’s a possibility,” Mia replied. “He’d pissed off a lot of his family, too, by the way.”
“I also think that you should consider not staying here for a little while,” Grant went on, bracing himself for her reaction. “You could stay with me while we look into this.”
He could see the internal struggle on Mia’s face. She was a strong woman who didn’t want to seem weak, but she probably didn’t want to stay here all that much after her home being broken into. It would upset even the most stalwart of humanity. He could only imagine how violated she currently felt, and how unsafe and unsure the house looked now. It wasn’t the sanctuary that it had been just the day before.
“Or you could stay with us,” Lane suggested eagerly. “We could have so much fun. You’d be safe at our place.”
Grant wasn’t as sure about that. If someone had been watching Mia, they’d know that she had friends just down the block. Saying that out loud, however, didn’t seem like a wise thing. Lane and Mike were only trying to help. They wouldn’t knowingly let anything happen to their friend.
“I don’t want to put both of you in the middle of this,” Mia replied. “I think that going with Grant is probably the best idea. I’ll be out of town, and he has experience dealing with things like this. But I do thank you from the bottom of my heart. Having friends like you means so much to me. I don’t think I’d be here without your help and support.”
Mia and Lane had both teared up, and even Mike was looking emotional, swallowing hard a few times.
“We’re just glad that we were here for you,” Mike said, clearing his throat. “You’re family to us.”
“You are to me, too.”
Mia had people that cared about her. Grant wasn’t surprised about that though.
After all, he was head over heels in love with her, too.
They’d all work together to make sure she was safe.
16
Mia and Grant had decided that he would stay the night and the next day she would walk him through a typical day. She’d warned him that it would be beyond boring. Her days weren’t exciting in the least, and she actually liked that her routine was dull. She’d had enough excitement in her life as far as she was concerned.
They’d gone out to dinner with Lane and Mike, chatting about any other subject than the elephant in the corner of the room. Everyone had tried to keep the conversation light and casual, not wanting to bring down the entire meal.
“This might all be for nothing. This probably isn’t even a big deal.”
The words had simply left her mouth before she could think about whether she should say them. She and Grant were sitting at her kitchen table drinking coffee and munching on yogurt and toast for breakfast.
To Grant’s credit, he didn’t immediately reply, instead taking a sip of his coffee before placing it back on the table.
“You think that the break-in didn’t have anything to do with the text messages? And your feelings of being watched?”
“I mean…what are the chances?” she asked awkwardly, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s probably all a huge coincidence and now we’re thinking that I’m in some sort of mortal danger and need a bodyguard. It’s probably nothing, and we’re blowing this all out of proportion.”
Long after Grant had fallen asleep, Mia had laid awake tossing and turning, thinking about this whole shitshow of a situation. Somewhere around five in the morning, she’d concluded that this had blown up quickly, and it all felt out of control. Her life. Everything. She needed to claw some of it back before her head exploded.
“Mia,” Grant said, his tone soft and gentle. “If you don’t want me here, you can tell me to go. If you think that I’m being overbearing, I will respect your wishes. I will do whatever it is you think I should do. This is not about me forcing you to do whatever I want. That’s not who or what I am. If you don’t think you need me here, I can pack and be out of here in minutes.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she protested, alarmed that he might actually do just that. She didn’t want him to go…she just…wanted him not to worry. She didn’t want to be worried either. “I don’t want you to go. I love having you here.”
“But?”
“I just…I wonder if maybe we’re jumping the gun. If perhaps?—”
Her explanation was interrupted by the chirp of her phone, telling her she had a text message. Checking to see if it was perhaps Lane checking up, Mia’s gut tightened as she read it.
Another unknown number. But this text wasn’t vague.
You can’t hide from me. We were meant to be.
