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“I think I can manage, seeing as I’m not four anymore.”
“Lindsey.” The hint of warning in my strict-dad tone gets the point across.
“Sorry,” she concedes.
“I know, hun,” I say more gently. “I’ll be in the other room if you need me, okay?”
Lindsey nods, turning her attention back to her suitcase she’s about halfway done unpacking. The sigh that follows communicates so much more truth than her words.
I hate that I can’t protect her from her mother’s constant letdowns. I hate that she has to carry the burden of these disappointments, even if I’m here, trying to pick up the pieces.
Leaving Lindsey to her thoughts, I head out to the communal area and grab my bag, slinging it over my shoulder.
I can’t help but think about Mia as I do so. Even in the chaos of the day, her image remains vivid, her striking sky-blue eyes and broad, winning smile etched into my memory. She’s always been a force to reckon with, her vibrant energy that rips through a room like a hurricane—a sharp contrast to my quiet, routine life.
Then Halloween fills my mind. That night, something shifted between us, a boundary crossed that I never should have breached. As the daughter of my childhood best friend, she should be completely off limits, and messing around with her, even if she started it, feels like sacrilege. Yet, the memory of her lips on mine lingers, her closeness a temptation I can’t fully shake.
A knock at the door startles me, and I open it to find Mia standing there, a hesitant smile playing on her lips. “Hey, Zach, just wanted to make sure you and Lindsey are settling in okay,” she says, her voice friendly as her eyes search the room behind me for my daughter.
“Oh. Yes, great. Thank you.” I return her smile, my pulse quickening as I realize this might be the perfect opportunity to broach the topic that’s been on my mind since I saw her last. “Would you like to come in?”
“Sure,” she agrees, though the relief on her face makes me wonder if she’d been hoping to talk.
She steps inside the door, and the sudden proximity brings a rush of warmth to my cheeks. I gesture for her to lead the way into my designated bedroom. Then I close the door behind us for some privacy because I don’t want Lindsey to hear the conversation I know we need to have.
We sit on the edge of the bed, the air heavy with unspoken tension, and I find myself blurting, “How have you been since Halloween?”
Mia’s eyes widen, her composure faltering for a moment. “I’ve been… I’ve been okay,” she stammers, her gaze flicking away. And that tells me without a doubt that she’s been thinking back on that night with trepidation.
“I want to apologize,” I start, my voice tight as I broach the topic so she won’t have to. “Things got out of hand that night. I never should have let it get that far—”
Before I can finish, Mia interrupts, her words spilling out in a rush. “Zach, I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant, and I don’t know what to do. Daddy will be furious when I tell him, and I’m kind of freaking out. I didn’t know who to turn to, so you’re the first person I’ve told. I mean, I know I want to keep it, but I don’t have my life even a little bit together, and to tell my dad when I have no answers…”
As her words taper off, her confession hangs between us, a shocking revelation that sends my mind reeling. I grasp for words, my heart thudding in my chest. “You’re… you’re sure? I mean—of course you are. Sorry. That’s just… wow.” I comb my fingers into my hair, trying to ground myself in reality. “Do you know… who the father is?” I manage to ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
Silence lingers in the air, replacing the oxygen that had been there just moments before.
Mia shakes her head, her eyes anxious. “I don’t,” she whispers back, her vulnerability tearing at my insides. “But I’m confident it’s from that night, that it… belongs to one of you three.”
I take a deep breath, my mind racing as I try to process the weight of her words. “I’ll take responsibility,” I say firmly, my voice unwavering. “I know how your dad can be. You don’t have to worry. I’ll stand by you, Mia.”
She can’t possibly rely on Cilian to support her, and Luke won’t be able to prioritize Mia and a child when his relationships have always come in second to his work. I might not have a shining track record when it comes to successful marriages, but I know my priorities in life. My child will always be at the top of my list. It doesn’t matter if this child is biologically mine or not. It’s luck of the draw who got Mia pregnant that night, and I won’t let her feel scared and alone, bearing this burden on her own, not if I can help it.
A palpable relief washes over Mia, her shoulders sagging with the weight she’s been carrying for too long. I know Mike Florence loves his daughter. After having known him for most of our lives, I can see it in the way he spoils her with gifts.
But he’s not one for showing affection. If anything, he tends to be harder on the people he loves, holding them to his impossible standards to ensure theymake the most out of life, a motto he’s lived by since we were children. He won’t take it well that his daughter is pregnant fresh out of college.
If I stand by her side, he at least won’t be able to claim she’s completely irresponsible. After all, he knows Mia and the child will never want for anything.
“Thank you, Zach,” she murmurs, her big blue eyes wide and trusting. She’s always been beautiful, but seeing her so open, so vulnerable now, after having spent such an intimate night together, it somehow makes her all the more breathtaking.
She’s not the cheeky, overly confident young spitfire. She’s raw and emotional and surprisingly composed for having to manage such a life-changing event. She licks her lips nervously, wetting them, and my gaze flicks down to her full mouth.
In a flash, the air charges with an electric tension, a connection that makes my pulse quicken. Then Mia leans in, and before I can process what’s happening, her lips meet mine in a soft kiss.
I can taste the mixture of emotions there—relief, gratitude, and a hint of longing. My heart races, and I find myself responding, pulling her closer as our kiss deepens.
The moment heats with unspoken desire and the unearthing of emotions that have been simmering beneath the surface. She pulls away too soon to peer up at me through thick lashes, her golden-blonde hair forming a curtain over one eye.
