Forty minutes later, Mia shook the hands of all the board members and walked back to her own office, taking her time and wondering if she would miss this. She would miss the excitement of it all. But, by the same token, now she would be free to explore other opportunities, which was thrilling. It’d taken her a few days to come to terms with the fact that things were changing. Whether she was there or not, the company was successful and will continue to be successful due to Ryan and Mia’s sharp mind and hard work.
Ever since Ryan had had his heart attack, she’d been wracked with guilt for contributing to his condition with the workload she’d put on his shoulders. If Ryan could retire and enjoy what was left of his life, even if it was on the island, she’d be thankful. At least she would still have him alive and happy.
He deserved it all and more because he’d just given her the best gift of all, which she finally acknowledged to herself. She was going to walk away and have a life. She couldn’t believe she wasn’t crying over it. Last week she would’ve. After all, she had when Matt suggested it.
Barb put her head around Mia’s office door. “Mia. Your doctor’s appointment is in thirty-five minutes. Better get a move on.”
“Thanks, Barb.” She grabbed her purse from the desk and hurried down to the street. It was only a short walk to the specialist’s office and she wanted to feel the sun on her face and the fresh air in her lungs before she got into the nitty gritty of dealing with her own possible heart condition.
“Mia, come in.” Dr. Sanders gestured her into his office. “Take a seat.”
She sat and placed her purse on the floor beside her chair. “I got your request for a follow up appointment. I gather it’s not good news. I have the same condition as my uncle, don’t I?”
“Yes, you do. But not to the same extent as Ryan or your father since we’ve caught yours at an early stage. Even so, as I said before, I’m concerned about your blood pressure.” He looked at the computer screen in front of him, clicked a couple of keys and swung it around so she could see. “These are your monitor readings. The pauses in your heartbeat are still minor but will probably get longer with time.” He gave her what should have been a reassuring smile. “I want to keep you on medication and see how that goes before we try anything more invasive like we’ve had to do with your uncle. Hopefully it’ll keep everything running smoothly. Two weeks should give us a fairly good indication of how its tracking.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“We’ll have to look at putting in a pacemaker. You’re young and fit. This shouldn’t slow you down at all. This kind of heart condition is more common than you think.”
“But it’s genetic. So if I have children, chances are they’ll have it too.”
The doctor nodded. “Yes, true. Many factors come into play when we talk genetics. None of your children may have it or all of your children might get it.”
She chewed on her bottom lip.
“Before you get stressed over this and decide children aren’t for you, let me tell you what medical science is doing for this condition.”
By the time Mia walked back to the office, she’d decided her future.
* * *
Matt pulled fresh beans from the vine in the vegetable garden and dropped them into the basket at his feet as his father walked up the driveway. He’d been so lost in his own thoughts, he hadn’t even heard the car pull up.
“Hi, Matt.”
“Hey, Dad. What are you up to?”
“Heading into town to meet up with Mia. Thought I’d drop in and say hi on my way.” He paused at the edge of the garden and picked a bean, looking it over before popping it in his mouth and chewing happily.
“She’s here?”
Atticus swallowed and nodded. “Yes, she is. Called me to say she wanted to look at the commercial properties I have for lease. An agent showed her the ones in the city and I’m meeting her in half an hour to show her the ones I have available here.”
“She didn’t tell me she was coming back.” It hurt that she hadn’t let him know, but it wasn’t as though they’d been in constant touch since she’d gone back. “I did tell her I’d have a room for her, though.”
“Good. Because I can’t imagine she’d want to stay anywhere else with Ryan here.”
Matt thought about it. According to his father, she’d given in and accepted what the board suggested without any fuss. She’d never once balked or tried to argue, which surprised everyone and gave Matt hope for the future. Maybe she was going to surprise him too. Perhaps that was why she hadn’t told him she was coming.
“I’d better go and meet her. You take care, son.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
His father stopped at the edge of the driveway. “Listen, do you know what happened between David and your aunt Gigi?”
“She mentioned something about him wanting to move to New York, and she didn’t even want to contemplate that idea.”
“When she first mentioned it, I figured she’d go with him. Fair enough. So”—he glanced at the house—“she and Ryan seem to be hitting it off.”
“They do. And since he’s staying on the island, it’s good. Right?”
“Yeah.” His father said goodbye and walked back down to his car.
So Mia was looking at setting up a shop. That made his heart dance. To have her around all the time would be amazing. Would he be pushing things if he asked her to stay there with him as his partner, or should he wait and woo her a bit more? They’d only had
