AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I lifted my wrist, checking the time, Mia should’ve started her shift by now. Even though I was bone tired from lack of sleep, bruised from fighting off two grown men and one crazy housewife, I grabbed my keys and left the office. Debrief could wait until tomorrow. It was time for dinner.
7
MIA
Today had been really crappy.
I’d woken up feeling like I hadn’t slept at all. Then, Miles almost missed the bus because I was trying to find his other shoe that for some reason was behind one of the couch cushions with a handful of green army men. My own bus had broken down halfway into town, leaving me with the option to either wait to be transferred to a new one and be late for work or walk the rest of the way and hope I made it on time. So, I’d hefted my bag on my shoulder and started walking.
Pushing through the door of Rose over Bros at exactly nine, I’d had to rub my calf for a solid minute to get the cramp to release. Even though I spent a large chunk of my day on my feet, I was not in good enough shape for a power walk first thing in the morning.
The crappiness had continued when I’d accidentally bumped into a table full of vases and broken two of them. I was so sure that Gemma was going to fire me on the spot but she’d treated me with kindness, assuring me that it happened to her all the time. Gemma’s movements were always graceful so I doubted her statement but was grateful to still have my job.
That afternoon, I’d met Miles at the bus stop, then, I’d knocked on Mrs. Gonzalez’s door for a solid minute until Miles reminded me that she was visiting her sister for a long weekend. Something I’d completely forgotten, even though it was on my calendar and she’d reminded me about the trip just last night. I hadn’t lined up another babysitter which meant I’d be taking Miles with me to the restaurant.
It was a busy bar and things could get rowdy sometimes when a customer had too much to drink, not exactly the best environment for a kindergartner. Not to mention, I worked until close and that was a solid three hours past Miles’ bedtime. Thank God it was Friday and there was no school tomorrow.
I lifted my server pad to hide my yawn as I listened to the orders of a family of five. Exhaustion was dragging me down and the cup of coffee I’d chugged when I got here was doing nothing to fight it. Apparently good sleep was one of those things you needed to be a functioning human being. Of course, I knew why I’d been sleeping so poorly for the last three nights and that just added to my bad mood.
Ever since our odd conversation the other night, I hadn’t seen Gage. He hadn’t been to Brooks’ to eat dinner and he hadn’t been in his usual spot outside my house. After the first night of him being a no show, I’d stayed up later than usual, my eyes glued to the window. The next night I’d grown worried something had happened to him. Could he be hurt? Or was he mad at me for not giving him straightforward answers to his questions?
Now, I was just plain angry. How dare he disappear without saying something. I liked my routines and somehow, he’d become a part of them. Not showing up to stalk me was downright rude.
Grumbling to myself about pushy men with beautiful eyes and giant muscles, I walked down the hall that led to Brooks’ personal office. Miles was stretched out on the faded leather sofa watching cartoons on the TV that was mounted to the wall.
“You doing okay, buddy?” He gave me a thumbs up, his eyes never leaving the screen and my mood lifted from getting to see him. “I’ll have Bear make you some chicken nuggets and be back in a little while, all right?” Another thumbs up and I shut the door, happier than I was before. At least Miles didn’t seem bothered by the change in his routine.
After popping my head in the kitchen to ask Bear to make Miles’ dinner, I went back to the dining area to check tables. The smile slid from my face and I stopped walking. He was here, sitting at his usual table, alone and staring right at me.
Mixed emotions swam inside me, relief that he didn’t appear to be hurt, happiness at seeing him again and fury that his mouth lifted in a smile like nothing was wrong. My shoes slapped against the concrete floors as I started moving again. His brows ticked up and his smile grew wider. Was he laughing at me? Ass.
“Mia,” his deep voice gave me tingles in all kinds of wrong places.
“And where have you been?” My hands fisted on my hips and I tapped my foot while I waited for him to answer.
“Was working a case, sorry I haven’t been,” he seemed to search for the right word, “around.”
“Oh,” my arms dropped to my sides and the warm flush of embarrassment settled on my face. Looking everywhere but at him, I desperately tried to come up with something to say.
“Did you miss me?” The question was spoken so quietly I’d almost missed it in the noise of the bar. My eyes darted back to his and I stunned both of us by nodding.
“Hey, Mom, is dinner ready yet?” I jumped, feeling guilty that I hadn’t seen him coming because I’d been distracted by Gage. “Who are you?”
“Miles, that isn’t polite, you should introduce yourself first,” going into mom mode was automatic.
“I’m Miles, who are you?” I snorted a laugh and a deep chuckle joined me.
“I’m Gage. What are you having for dinner?”
“Nuggets, do you like nuggets?” Miles climbed onto one of the empty chairs at the table and my hands hovered over him, unsure of how to proceed. Should I shoo him back to the safety of the office or see how this played out? Gage wasn’t a danger to Miles, I knew that deep in my bones.
“I do, in fact I think that sounds pretty good right about now.” My brows practically hit my hairline. Gage always ordered the same thing, a medium rare cheeseburger with fries and a house salad with ranch. A chicken nugget kids meal didn’t seem like enough food for a man of his size.
My mouth hung open, unsure if he was serious or simply placating my son. Gage’s smile was warm and my knees almost buckled beneath me. Holy shit, I’d never seen him smile like that before, it was even sexier than his usual dark, brooding, hot boy persona.
“Go, do what you need to do. We’re good,” he gave me another smile before turning his attention back to Miles who was rattling off his vast knowledge of Pokémon.
In a daze, I turned and went back into the kitchen, almost knocking Liz over with the door. She righted her tray full of food then put it aside when she saw my face.
