Michael was calmer on the exterior, but she could tell he was excited, too. She was pleased he was. That made her life easier.
Maybe co-parenting would be a good thing. Though she was still skeptical that Niall would really step up to the mark beyond this weekend.
He’d messaged her this evening to confirm what time he’d be picking the boys up, and for the first time she’d seen some humility in his words. He thanked her for letting him back into the boys’ lives, and apologized that he hadn’t been around for the past few months.
She noticed he didn’t apologize for leaving, or for taking everything they owned. But she wasn’t expecting miracles.
And anyway, she had other things to think about. Things like airplanes and bikinis and a weekend away with the hottest guy in Hartson’s Creek.
“So, I’m going away this weekend, too,” she told Sam, as she walked back into the living room. He was watching an old war documentary, and lifted the remote to pause it.
“Anywhere nice?” he asked her.
“Just to see a friend. I thought I’d take advantage of having some free time.” She sat in the chair beside the fireplace. “I know I’d planned on painting the kitchen on Sunday, but I’ll do it next week if that’s okay.”
Sam waved his hand. “That kitchen hasn’t seen a lick of paint in twenty years. Another week won’t hurt. And you’ve done more than enough to this place. I feel like I’m taking advantage.”
“You gave us a home when we had nowhere to go,” Mia said softly. “If anybody’s taking advantage it’s me.”
“But things are better now that you have your job.”
Yeah, they were. But there was still the money she owed Cam. She frowned, remembering that he still hadn’t given her the invoice.
“The job is great. And I’m managing to save some money. In a few months I’ll have a good deposit, and we can move out and give you some peace.”
“There’s no rush. I kind of like having you all here. Even if Josh does eat all the cookies.” He cleared his throat. “So this friend, is it anybody I know?”
“Um, I don’t think so.”
“So it’s not a certain ex-football player who gives you googly eyes whenever he sees you?”
Mia froze. “What?”
Sam cleared his throat. “Don’t look so worried. I won’t say anything. I just see a lot more than people think, that’s all. And I saw your car parked in his driveway a couple of weeks ago when your boys were at Saturday football.”
Mia slumped back in her chair. “Does everybody know?”
“Nope. But people aren’t stupid. They’ll put two and two together eventually.” His watery eyes met Mia’s. “Is it serious between you?”
“No,” she said softly. “He’s just made me smile again, that’s all.”
“That’s a good thing.” Sam nodded. “I’ve noticed how much more relaxed you’ve been recently.”
She swallowed down a splutter. Hopefully he had no idea how relaxed Cam made her.
“You go have fun,” Sam told her. “You deserve it. You’ve carried your family for months, but you’re still young. You have your whole life ahead of you.”
Her throat felt tickly. “You’re a sweet man, do you know that?”
“Don’t tell anybody,” he whispered. “It’s our secret.”
She mimed pulling a zip across her lips. “It’s safe with me.”
“You can’t think about pulling out now,” Derek said, his voice thick with irritation. “First you took way too long thinking about retiring, and now you’re having second thoughts about L.A.? It’s a small industry, Cam, and reputations get made and ruined on the turn of a dime. Marty pulled strings to get you this meeting. You can’t throw that back in his face.”
Cam ran his hand through his short hair, glancing at his suitcase from the corner of his eye. “Isn’t it just as bad if I go meet everybody in L.A. with no intention of signing? Honesty has to be the best policy, right?”
“No.” Derek huffed. “Having a plan is the best policy. Thinking things through is the best policy. Not messing up your career because you’re having too much fun running around with your brothers is the best policy.”
Cam had twenty minutes before he had to leave for the airport. Mia had insisted on meeting him there. It grated him, but he understood why. Being seen climbing into his car with a suitcase was asking for gossip to begin. And right now she thought they were a casual thing.
Yeah, well it was time to persuade her otherwise. Starting with saying no to L.A.
“I’m not changing my mind because of my brothers. I have a lot of reasons to stay east, that’s all.”
“You should think about things when you’re in L.A. Even better, you can do it around a swimming pool surrounded by models and actresses. The sun always shines in L.A. I promise you that. No more snow. No more rain. Just sweet blue sky every day. Why would you turn that down?”
“You seem really keen on me taking this job,” Cam pointed out. “It’s an expansion team. The bottom rung. It’ll take years for them to win anything, if they ever do. Maybe we should wait and see if there are any other positions opening closer to home.”
“If you turn this down, Marty just has to put out the word and nobody will touch you with a ten foot pole,” Derek told him. “I’m not telling you this as your agent, but as your friend. Seriously, you’re making a really bad decision turning this down. Your next step is crucial. You told me yourself, football is your life. Do you want to throw that all away?” Derek clicked his tongue. “Just do me one favor, okay? Fly out to L.A., meet me there, and we’ll see how you feel after that. If you really feel it’s not for you, okay, we’ll make a different plan. But at least
