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Mia ducked to hide a grin. Yes, it was a petty thought. But sometimes petty was the difference between being able to sit elbow-to-elbow with your ex for an hour and a half at the local high school or having to hide in the ladies’ room while you bawled your eyes out in the far stall over broken dreams.
She shifted her attention back to Margaret, determined to keep the mood light. They were here for Brooklyn, and here was where she needed to be. What she wasn’t required to do, however, was entertain her ex and his family; they could do that on their own. So, rather than sit there stewing on the past, she joined in on her neighbor’s people watching hobby.
Which, it turned out, was far more fun than she’d realized. Time passed quickly as Margaret spun tales and opinions on every family that stepped into the room. Seats around them filled with townsfolk, and waves and smiles were exchanged. Soon the band was filing out onto the stage, Brooklyn stepping carefully around music stands with her bassoon. Mia turned to Greg to point out the new dress they’d found on clearance in Warsaw last week and found him leaning close to his new wife, a smitten look on both their faces. But it wasn’t their faces that had her at a sudden loss for words—it was Greg’s hand, resting lovingly on Becky’s belly.
Her swollen belly.
Just like he’d done with Mia a million years ago.
Becky’s gaze shifted to Mia and her grin turned sheepish. Mia sat frozen in her seat, trying to keep her cool. Only, it was the last thing in the world she wanted to do.
Mia had wanted another baby so badly. Had begged Greg for years to grow their family by just one more so that Brooklyn could have a little brother or sister to grow up with. But an only child himself, he’d been adamant that their family of three was the perfect size, and that Brooklyn was the only child they would ever need.
That baby bump, however, said otherwise.
Oh God, what did this mean for Brooklyn? Would she become an afterthought as all the attention shifted to her new half-sibling? Forced to babysit every time she was at her dad’s?
Or worse, would she want to spend less time with Mia and more time at her dad’s with the new baby?
Greg turned to find Mia staring. A blush rose in his cheeks as a proud papa smile tugged his lips wider. The same smile he’d worn when they’d been expecting with Brooklyn.
“Surprise,” he whispered.
As Mia struggled to think of a high-road-type thing to say, Margaret leaned forward and mumbled her own assessment of the situation:
“Guess we know what happened to the skinny jeans now.”
“Sorry?” Greg asked.
“She said, ‘congratulations’,” Mia called over several dozen sets of footsteps, shuffling across the stage.
“Like hell I did.” Margaret leaned around Mia to get another look at the baby bump and raised her voice. “You know, if you and your hot new man aren’t careful, that could be you in a few months.”
OhmyGodMargaret.
Surprise lit Greg’s features. “New man?”
Several heads turned in their direction. If ever Mia had wanted to find a rock to hide under, it was now. Unfortunately, they had an entire concert to sit through, and the music had yet to begin; Mia was stuck here for the foreseeable future. Her ex continued to stare, waiting for an answer.
“Old friend is all,” Mia said. “Definitely won’t be any babies on the way.”
She shot Mrs. Harper a dark look, but it only broadened the smirk on her neighbor’s face. She’d wanted to get her digs in, and that one had caught Greg off guard. Unfortunately, it’d also drawn the attention of several other members of the audience.
If the rumor mill hadn’t been churning before, it would be now.
Mia tried to focus on the concert but struggled, her mind unable to quiet. And though it would have only caused more rumors to arise, she wished Alex really was there. Because right about now, she could use a solid shoulder to cry on.
Chapter Nine
Alex left thedinner table and stepped into his father’s home office to take a business call Tuesday evening. Frank Schuler was one of their biggest clients in Tennessee, and if he wasn’t happy, no one was. Fortunately for Alex, they quickly worked out a temporary solution to a hydraulic cable issue that’d been cropping up in some of their newest dump beds. He promised to contact his design engineers and get Frank an update by noon the next day.
Frank was pleased. Alex’s father, upon learning that Alex would be leaving shortly to get the ball rolling on finding a lasting solution, was far less so.
“You’ve got to stop promising such a quick turnaround, son. One of these times, you’re going to bite off more than you can chew and lose credibility. Solutions take time. Frank knows that.”
His father had been short with him tonight, though Alex had given him no reason to be. Yes, he’d been in Bourbon Falls all weekend, but he’d worked from his laptop for the duration. After a productive meeting at the Tipsy Barrel with Max Williams, Del had given Alex a ride back to his Rover, so he’d been able to check on a few customers in northern Indiana that day. No Wellington deals had slipped through the cracks, no customers displeased. Not from his actions, anyway; Frank’s issue was with the manufacturer.
Was his dad grouchy because he’d mentioned that he was seeing someone? Dating had never gotten in the way of his work before; Alex knew better than to let that happen, especially with the promotion to CEO on the horizon. So why would that bother his old man now?
