“Mama. That’s a rude question.”
“I don’t think that’s rude. I’m just curious. She can lie to me. How would I ever know?”
“Then why ask?”
“I’m showing interest.”
“I’m sorry,” I told the driver, a woman around my age.
“It’s fine,” she said. “This is okay money for a side gig.”
“Huh. Mia, you should do that.”
“I have three jobs already, Mama. I can’t drive a car in my sleep.”
“No, I guess not. Plus, you need to work on keeping your man happy. That should be your number one job.”
“When you say it like that, it sounds so gross.” I gave her an amused look. “Like I should be massaging his feet or something.”
“You probably should after game day. The man makes millions. Give him a foot rub on Mondays. Along with another kind of rub.”
I laughed. “Stop. That’s not appropriate mother-daughter conversation.”
“Says who?”
“Me.” Not that it had ever stopped Mama in the past. I knew far more about Turkey’s alleged sexual abilities than was good for my sanity.
“Her boyfriend is a football player,” Mama told the driver. “They met at, at… what’s that place called, Mia? Oh. Starbucks.”
That was such an embarrassing blatant brag. “I’m sure she could care less,” I told my mother.
But the driver looked at me in the rearview mirror. “Wait. Are you the woman in the coffee shop who fainted and JJ Beckett saved you? I saw that video.”
I wasn’t sure what anyone thought JJ had saved me from exactly, besides my own stupidity of trying to stay at work, but it had been a heroic gesture. They didn’t even know that at the time he had still thought I was a thief. “That was me. Pale, fainting girl.”
“You guys are a thing now? God, I’m so jealous. It would be amazing to date a guy like that. I would love to have him spend his money on me.” She gave a giggle. “VIP, bitches, all the way.”
“He’s a nice guy.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. I’d never been in a position of having anyone envy me. Okay, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. I’d gotten boobs first in sixth grade and that had set off some tween envy. It was weird to think the reason this woman was now envious was because she wanted to live the very dating lifestyle with someone (anyone, really) that made me uncomfortable with James.
“Who cares if he’s nice? He’s hot and rich,” she said.
I guess I shouldn’t have worried about Mama being inappropriate. “I mean, I care,” I said. “I work in a coffee shop and a hotel. Lots of people are dicks to me on a regular basis. I’d prefer not to have a boyfriend who is also an asshole.”
I didn’t really care what the driver thought or whether or not she was really serious about willing to date a prick if he had money. But hearing my own words made me realize something. Being in the service industry I did spend a lot of time gritting my teeth and trying not to eyeroll humans behaving badly.
James was a great guy. He could have been an arrogant asshole, treating people like crap. Yet I’d never seen anything even close to that. He treated service staff well and tipped generously. He had a good relationship with his family and had long-term friendships. He’d been amazing to me. Hell, even when he’d thought I’d stolen from him, he hadn’t called the cops on me. Why was I resisting so hard? Because I was still resisting. I had told him I would go to Miami, but I’d felt ridiculous saying it, and I’d felt awkward kissing him in public.
He’d even said I hadn’t sounded like myself.
Having him pay Mama’s medical bill made my palms sweat because I didn’t want to owe him anything. But James honestly didn’t want anything in return other than to spend time with me. Why the hell would that ever be a bad thing? Christina was right. It was romantic.
“Easy for you to say,” our driver grumbled. “You already have the hot, rich, and apparently nice boyfriend.”
“You’re right. I do.” I couldn’t prevent a grin from splitting my face. “I’m really, really fortunate.”
We pulled into the apartment complex, and even as I was mentally expressing gratitude for living on the first floor, which would make getting Mama inside so much easier, I saw James in front of my building. A jolt of pleasure rushed through me. I hadn’t expected to see him. He put his phone to his ear. My phone rang in my purse.
I retrieved it and saw it was him. “Hi. I can see you in the parking lot. We’re pulling in. I thought you were busy today.”
“Hey. They have to reschedule a portion of the filming to next week. I called Oak Harbor but they said you’d left already, so I figured I would just meet you here and see if you need any help.”
“You’re very sweet,” I said into my phone, watching him pacing back and forth, wearing a navy suit that showed off every single one of his muscles. Damn, he wore a suit well. His shoes were very shiny and he had on sunglasses. He looked like James Bond, if James Bond were six foot five and ripped.
I had the strangest out-of-body experience watching him pace while simultaneously talking to him on the phone. My heart felt full, and I wanted to both cry and smile at the exact same moment.
“How’s your mom?”
“She’s good,” I murmured, my nostrils flaring and my eyes suddenly and unexpectedly filling with tears. I widened my eyes, taken completely off guard.
Holy shit. I was in love with him.
That’s what this strange sensation was. It felt like I was being inflated like a balloon and sent floating up into the atmosphere. It was love. I was totally and completely in love with James.
It was at that moment he turned and spotted us. “Hey,” he said softly on the phone, but making direct eye contact with me in the back seat. He removed his sunglasses and tucked them into his inside suit pocket.
I knew it was impossible, given the fifteen feet between us, but I swore I saw desire and passion and something softer than both in his green eyes. It made my catch my breath. Then James crossed the distance between us. I hadn’t imagined his expression. That’s exactly how he was looking at me.
“Thanks for coming,” I said into the phone still, needing the illusion of space it created, my throat tight. I’d never felt this and it was scary and wonderful all at once.
“I’m glad I could be here.” He lowered his phone and opened my door. He bent down and cupped my cheek, kissing me softly. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” I said, truthfully, and completely not caring that we weren’t alone. I loved him. I was in love with him. I looked at his face and I couldn't stop smiling.
James returned the smile so that we were both just staring at each other like idiots until Mama spoke up.
“Can you two eye-screw each other inside? I want to go in.” She sounded cranky about being kept waiting.
That definitely burst my little love bubble.
It made me scramble to get out of the car, easing past James, and sticking my phone in my back pocket. God, what the heck was I doing? “Sorry, Mama.”
James leaned past me and gave my mother a charming smile. “Let me come around and help you, Miss Margaret.”