The line goes silent for a minute.
“What, no rebuttal?”
“Would it do me any good?” she asks with a chuckle.
“No.”
“Good, I really want to see you.”
Fuck, I couldn’t agree more. “I’m on my way, Mia.”
“See you soon.”
Ending the call, I head right for her.
On the way, I call the restaurant to let them know we won’t be able to make it, then place another call to the pizza place a few blocks down to be delivered in an hour.
It’ll be easy to take back to my place too, once she finishes talking to the cops and her building manager. Because if they can’t fix her locks tonight, she sure as shit won’t be staying there.
That, I’m sure, she’ll have an argument for, but my only compromise will involve me staying there with her. She can claim harmless teenagers all she wants, but she’s my girl—just because she doesn’tneedmy protection doesn’t mean she doesn’t have it.
Getting to her place, she buzzes me up. If she hadn’t texted me her apartment number, I might have had some trouble finding it, but not much considering several of her neighbors are in a much bigger uproar about the situation.
An older man across the hall from her is absolutely irate that one of his vases was broken. While I can find some rationale with him being upset, he’s yelling loudly in the hallway with…very little clothing on.
I knock on Mia’s door that’s already ajar. “Mia, it’s me.”
“Hi.” Mia pops around the corner with a small smile. “Aww, you look so handsome. I hate that our plans got canceled.”
It hadn’t crossed my mind to change out of my dress pants and button-up after she called. She wraps her arms around my neck as I pull her to me and give her a quick kiss.
“I know, but I ordered us pizza, and apparently we have a show across the hall.”
For someone who just had their privacy violated, Mia lights up. “You’ve really missed the best parts. So, that’s Mister Harveson. He’s the one who caught the boys. I don’t know the full details, but something about them only breaking into places where no one answered the door, and they had to take something.” She waves it off as if it was no big deal. “But hedidn’t answer because he was too occupied with someone who’s not his wife.”
“Oh shit, is that why your door was left open?”
Mia scrunches her nose. “I mean, my lock is broken…”
“Mm-hmm, okay, nosy.”
Mia scoffs. “Hey, he reaps what he sows. If he didn’t want me to eavesdrop, then he wouldn’t be yelling about how his one night of ‘relief’ was interrupted and his wife’s favorite vase was broken.”
At that moment, the cop’s voice carries into Mia’s apartment. “Again, sir, if you’re not going to put clothes on, then keep your robe tight.”
Mia lifts a hand. “See, how do you not want to hear that? It’s like television.”
I can’t stop my laugh. “Is knowing people’s business one of the main reasons you still work the bar sometimes?”
“I can’t believe you have to even ask that. Of course it is.”
The look on her face has this warmth spreading through my body. It beats every moment I’ve stood at the plate to bat. The nerves, the charge of holding her in my arms…it’s incomparable to every moment of bliss I’ve experienced before.
Brushing the hair from her face, I lean in, placing a kiss to her lips that has her body melting into mine.
Yeah, this is exactly what Jett was talking about.
A knock comes from Mia’s door as someone clears their throat. “Miss Wright?”
