“Why does it feel as though everyone knows about me? What’ve you been saying, Matt?”
He swallowed. He had nothing to feel guilty about. “I haven’t said anything—certainly not to Bradley. Maybe I mentioned that it’d be nice to see more of you. And you know why the girls want you here and I had nothing to do with that. You shouldn’t have been so accommodating if you didn’t want people to like you.” He smiled and started walking up the hill and Mia kept pace beside him. “But I would like to see you here more often.”
Mia grinned. “Would you now?”
They picked up the pace and started to run the final part of the road. Matt’s calves began to burn but he pushed ahead. “Yes, I would. I like you, Mia, a lot, and I know you like me. Perhaps we should make an effort to see if this could go somewhere.”
Mia sprinted past him just before they got to his street corner and waited in the driveway for Matt to catch up. The look on her face was serious and for a moment he had a dose of mild anxiety brush over him. Where the heck did that come from? He hadn’t felt like that in years. With help from Bradley and his father, he’d managed to get past the feelings that used to swamp him after his mom died. Why would he be experiencing them now?
Mia couldn’t look him in the eye as she spoke.
That can’t be good news.
“Look. I like you a lot but I’m not ready to give up everything I’ve done to be with you. Not yet anyway. Can’t we just have fun being together and not get serious?”
Matt’s heart took a dive. He’d honestly thought they were starting something. Even though they’d only had a short time together, it’d been full on and quite emotional. Matt didn’t sleep with anyone for the sheer heck of it. He’d given her his heart as well as his body.
Sadly, she didn’t seem to see it that way.
He put on a brave face and smiled. “Sure. Why not?” He touched her arm as he passed, wishing that things were different but not wanting to make her feel bad. “Let’s see if Ryan’s awake. You two can have breakfast together on the front porch.”
She slung a casual arm around his shoulder, ignorant of the fact that she’d just broken his heart. “Thanks. That sounds perfect.”
Chapter 15
Matt delivered the breakfast trays to the front porch, just as he’d offered.
“You’ll join us, Matt?” asked Ryan.
“Thanks, but I’m off to the farmers markets this morning. I’ll leave you two to have some quiet time together. Anything else I can get you before I head out?”
Mia glanced at him a moment before she answered, trying to read his body language. Something had changed since they got back from their run. Had he taken her news badly? He’d readily agreed when she said it but she still felt guilty. “Thanks, but I know where everything is if we need something. This looks amazing, Matt. Thank you.”
He gave them a smile then left them alone.
Mia picked up her coffee and sipped, savoring the first hit of caffeine.
“How are things in the office?” Ryan sat back and stared at her, his face blank.
“Good. I hadn’t realized how much things had grown since you took over that side of things for me. Guess I was too focused on stock and securing new lines for the shops to look at the actual marketing side of the business.”
“There have been a lot of changes, Mia. I sometimes think it’s all too much for us to handle.”
Panic hit her then. Once Ryan was on the road to recovery, she half expected things to go back to normal but who was she kidding?
Even as the thought raced through her mind, Mia knew she was trying to hang onto something that was already written in stone. Her uncle was going to leave the business and she needed to let him go. “What are you saying? You’re not coming back to work once you get better, are you?
He reached for her hand. “I don’t know what’s in my future but I’ve had some serious conversations with a friend, and changes are going to be necessary. I can’t keep up this pace any longer, sweetheart. I’m too old. I need to look after myself better and honestly, the business as it is now doesn’t allow me to do that.”
Mia pulled her hand back as if he’d scalded her. Terror gripped her and she struggled to breathe. The business was her world and he was a huge part of it. “You can’t leave me on my own. I don’t know how to do it without you. It’s nearly always been the two of us together.”
“Honey, you’re not looking at the big picture at all. You’re still so fixated on making this company something to be proud of that you don’t realize you already have.” Ryan reached for his coffee and took a sip while she stared at him, willing him to take it back.
“But I have so many plans for the company. You know I do. I can’t just drop those and scale back.”
Ryan wasn’t going to be swayed. “Give me one good reason why not, and don’t bring money into it.”
“But the shareholders want the money. Don’t be ridiculous.”
Ryan shook his head. “The shareholders want you alive and well. Can you imagine what would happen to the company if you worked yourself to death? You’re young, Mia. You deserve a life, a husband and a family.”
“I’m not ready for that yet.” She put down her cup and stood up. She didn’t want him to see how close to the truth he’d come when she wasn’t sure she could handle it herself. She wanted a family. Could she saddle Matt with someone like her
