“Henry––”
“I understand our arrangement, Mia. It’s not a problem.” He pulls out of the parking lot.
The drive back to our building is torture. The silence makes me sick to my stomach as I pick at my cuticles. But I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to fix this. I don’t know how to make him feel better while maintaining our arrangement and not muddying the waters further.
He waits on the edge of the grass while I let Nala pee. Once she finishes, he guides us inside the building, nodding at David without uttering a word. He’s still quiet. Still disappointed.
My keys jingle in my hand as we ride the elevator and stride down the hallway toward my apartment with Nala in Henry’s arms. When we reach my door, I crumble under the silence and peek up at him.
“Listen,” I start.
“Seriously, Mia. It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” I argue. “I feel guilty––”
“Don’t.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Like I said, I understand our arrangement.”
Yeah, but I don’t, I want to argue. Instead, I bite my tongue. My mind is a mess. Especially after today. After the last few weeks. It’s made our arrangement confusing and convoluted and messy and––
“Hey,” he murmurs. The softness in his voice cuts through my obsessive thoughts like a knife. He lifts his hand and taps his finger against my temple while balancing Nala in his other arm. “I can see you overthinking things. Don’t. I’m a patient guy.”
A patient guy? What does he even mean? Does he expect an invitation next time? Should I give him one? What’s he waiting for? Our arrangement to change? To shift into something else? It can’t. I won’t let it. I can’t let it.
“Mia,” he soothes, grasping my chin and tilting my head until our eyes lock.
“I’m not worth your patience,” I whisper.
“I disagree.” He smiles again, and this time, it’s almost real as he lets my chin go. “Have fun with your friends, okay?”
“Henry––”
“Do you want me to watch Nala for you?”
I take the puppy from his arms and hug her against my chest. “I was thinking about bringing her.”
“Good idea,” he agrees. “They’ll be excited to meet her.”
“I think so too.” My chest swells under the silence until the steady thump-thump of my heart is almost painful. It’s like I miss him already. But he’s one foot in front of me. How can I miss someone when they haven’t even left yet?
“You should call me after,” he adds.
I smile. “I think that can be arranged.”
“Good.” Bending forward, he brushes his lips against my cheek. “Thanks for hanging out with me today.”
“Thanks for Nala and for…” I lick my lips. “Everything else.”
“Always.” He waits for me to open my apartment door and heads back to the elevator.
40
MIA
“Hey!” I greet Blake when her front door opens.
“Mia!” she cheers, gasping when she sees Nala in my arms. “Shut up! Is it yours?”
I laugh. “Yup. This is Nala. Also known as Baby Lion and Monster Baby.” I shift the bundle of fur, waiting to be invited in. “Can I come in?”
“Of course. Sorry. You caught me off guard with this precious girl.” Blake pushes the door the rest of the way open, and I step inside as more gasps ensue.
“A puppy!”
“Oh my goodness, I need it.”
“You got a dog?”
“Aww, what’s its name?”
I wave at my friends mingling in the front room of Blakely and Theo’s new house. Blake swipes Nala from my arms.
“She just peed,” I tell her.
“Dude, I don’t even care,” Blake informs me. “We have hardwood floors. Nala is fine.”
“You named her Nala?” Ashlyn asks from the kitchen while balancing a baby boy on her hip. “Jaxon loves The Lion King.”
“Yeah, it’s a classic,” Colt adds beside her. He brushes his lips against Ashlyn’s temple and steals Jaxon from her. With the baby propped on his hip, he heads toward me in the foyer. “What are you gonna do with her when we travel?”
“Henry said I could bring her along,” I answer.
“Cool. What kind of dog is she?” he asks.
“A, uh, a German Shepherd, actually.”
“Sick,” Theo compliments from the couch as Blake sits next to him. Colt and Jaxon join them in the family room, leaving me alone with Ashlyn, who’s busy staring a hole in the side of my head.
My lips pull to one side as I tear my attention from Nala and give Ashlyn a pointed look. “Yes? Something you want to say?”
“So, Henry knows about Nala?” she prods.
I fold my arms, rubbing my hands up and down my bare arms. “Yup. He does.”
“Interesting,” she notes. “Did you ask permission or something before getting her?”
Damn, this girl and her detective skills. She knows. She doesn’t even have to ask, and she already knows. She simply wants to hear it from the source.
“Actually,” I mutter, “he’s the one who bought her for me.”
Ashlyn’s eyes pop, and her mouth spreads into a grin. “I knew it!”
Tugging on her arm, I peek at our distracted friends a few feet away. “Can you keep your voice down, please?” I grit out.
“Why?” She glances at Nala in Blakely’s lap and turns back to me. “Because you’re afraid our friends will find out your boss bought you a dog?”
“Don’t be a smartass. You know why,” I hedge.
“Yeah. I do,” she returns. She's nice enough to keep her voice quiet. “Which is awesome and all, but I’m really curious when you’re going to stop playing around and finally admit you like the guy.”
My lips press together, and I fold my arms. “I admit nothing.”
“What doesn’t she admit?” Kate asks, coming back from the bathroom.
“Theo, hold Nala,” Blakely says from the couch. “I think I’m missing out on girl talk.”
I groan and drop my head back. “You guys are the worst.”
“No, we’re the best, and you know it. Now, what did I miss?” Blake asks.
With a pointed stare at the boys hanging around the couch, I mutter, “Can we talk about this later? Or maybe…somewhere more private?”
Ashlyn hooks her arms through Blake’s and Kate’s. “Let’s have Blake show us the guest room. Come on, Mia.”
Grudgingly, I follow the girls into a bedroom at the end of the hall and collapse onto the plush mattress, crossing my legs and leaning back onto my hands as everyone stares at me like I’ve grown a second head.
“Whaaaat?” I groan under their scrutiny.
“Nala was a gift,” Ashlyn informs the room. “From Professor Buchanan.”
“Ooooh, so you’re still tapping that, I assume?” Blakely asks.