Because This Is Forever (4 page)

“Mia,
why aren’t you eating?” her mother asked.

Mia
looked up from her plate and into her mother’s concerned face. Curry chicken was
her favorite but just the smell of the spicy sweet sauce upset her stomach. Mia
had to ask her mother to brew some of her special ginger tea but that didn’t
seem to be helping her. She was starting to realize part of her upset stomach was
largely due to her nerves. She was waiting for the right time to tell her
mother about her condition.

“Mama,
Mia’s not into eating curry chicken anymore,” Leah said, smirking. “She’s into
shrimp or sushi or whatever it is that rich boyfriend of hers takes her to.”

Mia
ignored her little sister, who thrived on trying to get a reaction from her. Though
Leah was a few inches taller than her, they resembled each other in the looks
department. Their personalities, however, were as different as the sun and the
moon.

“I’m just
not that hungry right now,” Mia said to her mother. She managed to swallow a
few bites of her dinner to appease her until her mother brought
him
up.

“So how’s
Nate? You haven’t mentioned him much lately.”

“He’s
fine,” Mia muttered, concentrating on the food on her plate. Just the sound of
his name brought on a wave of intense emotion. Her mother had never met Nate
but she had spoken to him on the phone a few times, the first time when she had
been stuck in Chicago during the holidays. Nate had been charming and courteous.
Her mother had taken to him instantly.

Mia
didn’t want to think about the time when the snowstorm had prevented her from
traveling to Detroit to spend Christmas with her mom and sister. Since she had
been stranded in Chicago, Nate had spent the holiday with her as the storm
raged outside. It had been easy to forget about the rest of the world as they
stayed, trapped in her small, warm apartment. That night she had given him her
virginity and it had felt right.
 

Her
sister, however, had gotten to meet Nate when she’d come up for a few days in
March for a modeling agency casting call. Her sister had been embarrassingly obnoxious
toward him during their one dinner out together but Nate had taken it all in
stride, exuding the patience of someone dealing with a troublesome kid.

Mia
ate enough to satisfy her mother then got up to clear the table.

“Leah,
help your sister.”

Her
sister huffed loudly and ungracefully rose from the table. Mia was packing the
leftovers into the fridge when her sister dumped the dirty dishes into the
sink.

“I
helped cook so you have to do the dishes.”

“Whatever,
Leah,” Mia called over her shoulder. She had hoped at twenty, her sister would
have gotten a little less selfish and aggravating but that didn’t seem to be
the case.

“Cool,”
her sister said triumphantly. “Where’s your cell? I’m out of minutes.”

Mia
sighed. She didn’t want her little sister going through her phone but she had
learned years ago, when it came to Leah it was best to pick her battles.

“It
needs to charge.” Mia had made the long drive only to have her phone die on her
when she got into Detroit.

“Okay,”
her sister said with a shrug. “I’ll charge it for you. Where is it?”

 
“In my purse,” Mia said absently. “But it’s
dead,” she yelled out when her sister rushed out of the kitchen.

Mia was
busy scrubbing and rinsing, she didn’t notice when her sister returned to the
kitchen until she leaned against the counter next to her. Mia glanced over at
her and asked, “Did you find it?”

“Yeah,”
she said. “And I found these too.”

Gripped
in her sister’s palm were Mia’s prenatal vitamins and the pamphlet she had
taken from Dr. Ellis’ office. Mia dropped the ceramic plate into the sink and
grabbed for the items her sister held. Leah snatched them back.

“Give
those to me,” Mia said in a tight whisper as she advanced toward her sister.
Her anger intensified at the mischievous smile on Leah’s face. Her sister pulled
back the mini booklet and read the front cover.

“Pregnancy.
How to keep you and your baby healthy and happy.” Leah looked over at her,
wide-eyed. Her sister’s smirk was one of shocked amusement. “You can’t be… Are
you… Oh wow, this is just too good! Little Miss Goody-goody here is having a
baby!”

“Shut
up!” Mia rushed to her sister, wrestling the items from her tight grasp.

Their
mother burst into the kitchen. They immediately pulled away. “What is going on
in here? Mia, turn off that faucet. Now what the hell is wrong with you two?”

“Nothing,
Mama,” Leah said, grinning. “Mia was just about to tell you that you’re gonna
be a grandma.”

Silence
filled the kitchen as her mother and sister stared at her.

Mia
leaned against the sink, the air rushing out of her. She looked at her sister,
too astonished to speak. Leah shrugged. They had never been close. Their
personalities had just been too different for them to ever be as close as she
would have liked, but Mia never expected such vindictiveness from her sister.

Instead
of the disappointment she had expected to see on her mother’s face, there was a
sort of stunned disbelief. At her mother’s dazed, unwavering stare Mia glanced
away, her shoulders slumped. At least now her secret was out.

“Mia,
is that true?”

Mia
closed her eyes, wanting to be anywhere but there at that moment. “Yes,” she
whispered.

Her
mother said nothing, but Leah wasn’t quite finished with her persecution.

“Can
you believe this, Mama,” she said, breaking the thick silence. “All this time—”

“You
can go now, Leah.”

“But
Ma—”

“I
said
go
.”

Leah dropped
the medicine bottle and pamphlet on the counter and stormed out of the kitchen.

Once
alone, her mother filled a pot with hot water and walked to the stove.

“I was
going to tell you myself,” Mia finally said. “That’s why I came home. I wanted
to tell you in person.”

Her
mother gave no indication she heard her as she concentrated on peeling and
crushing the large gingerroot.

“Mama,
say something.”

Her
mother dropped the contents into the boiling pot before turning to face her.
“Mia, what I have to say doesn’t matter. What I think doesn’t matter either.
What matters now is that baby you’re carrying.”

Mia
looked down at her hands. “You’re disappointed, aren’t you?”

Her
mother sighed. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. But I was in your
situation at your age. My only hope was that you and Leah wouldn’t follow in my
footsteps.”

Tears
blurred Mia’s vision. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Her
mother softened and pulled her into a gentle hug. “I know, baby. But now, your
life isn’t yours anymore. Everything you do from now on has to be for that
baby.”

Mia
knew that but having her mother say it gave it a finality that terrified her.

Her
mother went to the cabinet and took down two mugs. “When is the baby due?”

“January,”
Mia whispered. She watched as her mother poured the pale yellow liquid into
them. Mia took the small, steaming cup her mother handed her and sat down at
the small kitchen table. She cradled the warm mug, the heat soothing her cold,
stiff fingers.

“So
what’s your plan?” her mother finally asked, sliding into the seat across from
her.

Mia
looked up. “What do you mean? I plan to raise it, of course.”

Her
mother’s dark brown eyes turned gentle. “I can see that. But how? You just lost
your job and you’re so far away from us.”

Those
facts already occupied Mia’s waking thoughts. They were a few of the many
issues that kept her up at night. But her mother had raised her and Leah on her
own and Mia could do it too. Just because she didn’t want to do it alone didn’t
mean she couldn’t.

“You
did it on your own,” Mia said. “So can I.”

Her
mother shook her head. “I did it on my own because I had no choice. I don’t
want to see you struggle like I did. Not when you don’t have to.”

Mia
looked up at her mother, lost. “What should I do?” she asked softly.

“Does
Nate know?”

Mia
looked down at her steaming mug. “No,” she whispered.

“Why
not?”

“It’s…complicated.”

“Only
because you’re making it so,” her mother said with a heavy sigh. “I know you
love him.”

Mia
nodded, too emotional to speak. Her mother grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

“I
could tell from the beginning, just by the way you talked about him,” her
mother said. “And I was really hoping you wouldn’t get hurt, but men will be
men, and you can’t love a man more than he loves you. He has to love you more,
Mia, or else you end up with your heart broken.”

Tears
began to flow down her cheeks. That’s where Mia had made her mistake. She had
loved him so much and had fooled herself into thinking he felt the same way.

“I
don’t know why you’ve decided to keep this from him, but you didn’t make this
baby by yourself. The best thing for you to do is tell him and see whether or
not he mans-up and takes responsibility.”

“And
what if he doesn’t,” Mia whispered. “He already told me he doesn’t want kids.”

Her
mother pursed her lips. “Then he should’ve thought about that before he stuck
his penis in you.”

Mia’s
cheeks burned with embarrassment. Her mother’s words painted a vivid image in
her mind that made her want to find a box to hide in. Then take that box and
bury it in a deep, dark closet.

“I’ve
told you before,” her mother continued. “You can’t turn a cockroach into a
prince. No matter how rich or poor, how educated or whatever, men cannot be
trusted.”

It was
true her mother had pounded that into her head. Not that her mother hated men,
she just didn’t trust them. Mia didn’t remember much about her father. He had
walked out on them a little after Leah was born and the burden had then fallen
on her mother to become their sole provider. There were times Yvette Trent worked
two, sometimes three, jobs to keep them comfortable. She couldn’t remember if her
mother ever even dated. She had simply worked and taken care of her two
daughters with a strictness that she deemed necessary for their own well-being.

But Mia
had listened with one ear open. She had held on tight to her belief that true
love still existed and had truly believed she would find it someday.
Now look at me
. Maybe
Nate was right. It was time she got her
head out of the clouds.

“If it
doesn’t work out,” her mother said after a while. “Then you should think about
moving back here.”

Her
mother’s words gave her pause. She certainly didn’t want to raise her child on
her own but she didn’t want to become a burden on her mother either.

Her mother
must have sensed her hesitation because she added before Mia could say anything,
“I would sleep so much better knowing you weren’t alone,” her mother said. “With
me and Leah here, you wouldn’t be. It’s either that or I’m moving to Chicago,”
she added briskly.

Tears
clouded Mia’s vision again and she didn’t know why. She laughed at her erratic
emotions. Maybe they were tears of joy, but either way she was happy and
relieved to have her mother’s support. “Okay,” Mia said, her voice thick with
emotion. “I’ll think about it.”

But
Mia didn’t have much to think about when she got back to her apartment. A pile
of bills, ranging from utilities to medical, crowded her center table. She had
forestalled her job search, wanting to finish out the semester, but now that
classes were over, her bills were piling up and she didn’t even know where to
begin.

Nate
had made his point loud and clear. Two weeks had passed and still no word from
him. It hurt her but Mia refused to let his callous attitude discourage her. She
was prepared to raise her child as best she could, with or without him. She
would have to put school on pause, which she didn’t want to do, but her baby
came first. She fully intended to go back once her baby was born.

She
had weighed her options seriously but it all led to one definitive decision. With
Nate keeping his distance, and no job for her to get to, there was nothing
tying her here. She would return home to raise her baby. She would miss Chicago
as it had been her home these past six years, but she wasn’t prepared to do
this on her own and she had more than herself to think about now.

Mia
placed her hand over her belly and felt the firmness there. A fierce
protectiveness overcame her. The reality that she was now responsible for
another life changed everything. What she wanted didn’t factor anymore.

Chapter Four

He needed
to see her.

It
had been about two weeks, and Nate didn’t think he could hold out any longer. He
didn’t care that she hadn’t called first. He just wanted to see her. Now that
he was back from his fool’s errand—the global summit his father had insisted he
attend—Nate was eager to get to the office.
 

When
he arrived at McArthur, Murphy and Company, however, he was disappointed to
find an older woman sitting behind the executive assistant’s desk. Nate strode
into his father’s office and asked without preamble, “Where’s Mia?”

Charles
looked up from the document he was reading. “Welcome back. How was your trip?”

Nate
walked up to his desk but didn’t respond. Charles laid down the papers and
leaned back in his chair. “Stop glowering at me and have a seat, Nathan.”

Nate
fell into the seat nearest him. “Where’s Mia?” he asked again.

Charles
raised a brow. “You seem awfully concerned about my former assistant.”

Former?
Nate stared levelly at his father. So he knew. Now he
understood why his father had sent him to a summit that had been more of a
glorified networking event. Nate hadn’t gleaned anything resourceful for MMC.

“Did
you fire her?” Nate asked, his tone devoid of emotion.

Charles
cocked his head to the side and regarded him closely. “I don’t know what you and
Mia had going on here, and frankly I don’t care, but you could do a lot better
than a barely competent executive assistant.”

Nate’s
jaw clenched. Charles McArthur was an unbelievable snob. He looked down his
nose at anyone who didn’t fit into his social circle, but Nate had made certain
no one at MMC knew about his relationship with Mia, particularly not his
father. It had been more for her protection than his. If he hadn’t expected his
father to make things more difficult for her, he wouldn’t have cared who knew
about them.

Charles,
however, had done more than make things difficult for her. He’d fired her for
his own personal reasons. The company may have filed it as a lack of competence
or whatever but Nate knew it had been largely out of spite on his father’s
part. Nate hadn’t missed the look his father had given them when she’d last
been in here and he hadn’t been able to tear his eyes away from her. She had
been only a heartbeat away from him. Nothing had ever been more difficult than
for him to hide his reaction behind his usually cool indifference and not reach
for her.

“Anyway,
I suggest you get her out of your system,” his father continued. “She’s gone
now, and I don’t need you distracted.”

Nate’s
eyes flared. His father was the last person who should suggest anything to him
about his relationships. His marriage alone was a living disaster. “It’s none
of your business who I’m seeing,” Nate replied coldly. “And if you fired her
because of this—”

Charles
raised a brow. “You’ll do what, Nathan?”

Nate
fixed him with a hard glare. “I’ll make damn sure she sues the hell out of this
place.”

Charles
let out a harsh laugh. “Well, you can rest assured that I have enough to prove
her incompetent. And besides, it wouldn’t be in your best interest to have a
lawsuit on your hands.”

“What
the hell are you talking about?” Nate asked, frowning.

Charles
glare was sharp. “You will refrain from talking to me with such disrespect,
Nathan. Like it or not, I am your father.”

Nate gritted
his teeth.
Not much of one.
But arguing
with him would be a waste so Nate left the words unsaid. His father had spent part
of his life ignoring him until he’d eventually found a use for him. It was
after he’d finished business school that his father started paying attention to
him and pulling him into MMC business affairs. Nate, however, liked to keep his
involvement minimal. He wanted little to do with his father’s company and there
was an inherent determination in him to prove he could set out on his own.

His father rose from his seat and stood staring out the large
windows. “It’s time you take your place on the board, Nathan,” he began. “I’ve
allowed you to ignore your responsibilities long enough.”

“I
don’t think so, father.” Nate said with finality. “We’ve already had this
discussion before. I’ll step in as needed, but I’m not going to be stuck behind
a desk working for you or anyone else.”

Charles
turned to face him and the irritation was plain in his eyes. It was a look Nate
was all too familiar with, but he refused to back down. Taking over his
father’s company was not a part of his career plan. “You’re a McArthur. You
wouldn’t have to work for anyone but you would work with me so I can groom you in
running a real company.”

Nate
clenched his teeth at the barb. “Whether my business measures up to your
standards or not, doesn’t change the fact that I have my own responsibilities
there. I don’t have the time or the interest to be here full time.”

His
father observed him, his eyes curious. “Why not?” he asked. “I’ve seen you at
work and there’s a shrewdness and competitiveness in you that reminds me so
much of my own when I was your age. You’re a natural leader, Nathan. Your little
investment company, though impressive, is just a hobby. You’re meant to run a
company like MMC.”

Nate was
stunned, though he wasn’t sure if it was more from what his father had said or because
he had said it so matter-of-factly. Though it had been a throwaway line, Charles
had never given him praise, indirect or otherwise, and Nate didn’t know how to respond.
His irritating tendency to impress his father, however, was already swaying him
to do what he had set out never to do.

“If I
agree to do this,” Nate said carefully. “You’ll have to give Mia her job back.”
When his father didn’t respond to the stipulation, Nate added, “If you want me,
you’ll have to accept her. That’s the only way you’ll get me here.”

A
cross between admiration and annoyance flashed in his father’s eyes but Nate
didn’t particularly care. He was going to be with Mia, this time openly, and
his father would just have to accept that. But first, Nate wanted to make sure
he righted his father’s wrong. Though Mia had never told him, he knew she
didn’t particularly enjoy working for his father but because she was putting
herself through law school, she needed the job.

“Negotiating
with your own father?” he finally said. “I knew you were a natural.”

Nate
said nothing as he regarded his father, unwavering.

Charles
sighed and walked back to his desk. He picked up the documents he’d been
reading earlier and said without looking up, “Fine, but find someplace simple
to put her. Maybe the front desk can use another receptionist.”

Nate
gritted his teeth. Mia was smart and driven and it was obvious his father hadn’t
taken advantage of that. “She was too good for you,” Nate blurted. As soon as
those words left his mouth, the same thought echoed back at him.
She’s too good for you, too
.

Nate shook
away the thought and without another word, slammed out of his father’s office,
not wanting to acknowledge there may be some truth in that thought.

He drove
until he eventually found himself standing outside her apartment door. The
desire to see her was magnetic. He hesitated for the briefest of seconds before
he gave the door two hard knocks.

A moment
passed before she called out through the door, “Coming.” Another second and the
door swung open. Too much time had passed between them and he wasn’t prepared
for the relief and pleasure that filled him just by being near her again.

But the
smile she had on her beautiful lips fell. Large, slanted dark eyes stared up at
him and he couldn’t look away. With her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail,
and her smooth, brown skin clear of makeup, she was still breathtaking. Only
she could make cutoff shorts, fuzzy slippers, and an oversized sweatshirt look
sexy.

“Hi.”

“Hi,”
she whispered back.

He
wanted to touch her but wasn’t sure how welcoming she would be to that. “What
are you doing here?” she asked after a short pause.

Nate
hadn’t planned on what he would say when he saw her but he had hoped by him
making the first move, she would see how much he wanted to be with her. Instead
she kept herself guarded, so unlike the carefree, open book she had been.

“You
have your job back at MMC,” he said without thinking.

She
looked at him puzzled then shook her head, frowning. “No thanks. I would rather
eat snakes than work for your father again.”

“You
wouldn’t work for him. I’ll find someplace better fitting for you to work in.”

“No
thanks,” she said with finality.

Nate
looked at her curiously. “So you’ve already found something else?”

She
stared at him, her eyes direct. “Nate, why are you really here?”

He
ran his hand through his hair, letting the subject drop. If she didn’t want the
job, he wouldn’t force it on her. “May I come in?” he asked softly.

She
hesitated, her eyes somber as if he’d posed her with a grim question, but then
she stepped back so he could enter. She glanced out to the hall before shutting
the door.

“Were
you expecting someone else?” He couldn’t keep the hard edge out of his voice.

She
nodded, walking around him. “My neighbor from 6C is supposed to bring me down
some tape.”

Nate suddenly
noticed the boxes and newspapers scattered around the apartment. “What’s up
with these?”

“I’m
moving,” she whispered.

Nate
surveyed the apartment. The place was small but he had always found it cozy.
Now with all her things scattered around, the apartment appeared smaller and
crowded. Maybe a bigger place wouldn’t be so bad.

“Where
to?” he asked, trying for light conversation and avoiding the one they actually
needed to have.

She
cocked her head to the side. “Do you really care?”

Nate
sighed. “Okay, I deserve that,” he said, running his hand through his hair
again. “I was an ass that night. I’m sorry.”

She was
silent for a moment then nodded. “I’m sorry you were an ass too.” Her soft smile,
however, took away some of the sting from her words.

“I’ve
missed you,” he blurted.

Her
eyes softened. “I’ve missed you too,” she whispered.

Her words
gave him hope as a renewed sense of joy surged through him. “You know, I’ve
been thinking about you,” he began. “About us. About hitting the reset button and
having us start over.”

Her
eyes glistened. “Do you really mean that?”

Nate couldn’t
stand it anymore. He walked up to her and trailed a finger along her jaw. Her
skin was warm and smooth beneath the pads of his thumb. “Yeah,” he murmured. “Being
without you has been hell.”

He
leaned down and captured her lips for a light, tender kiss. He meant for it to
be brief but the taste of her was intoxicating. She was like sweet nectar and
he couldn’t get enough. He was hard and hungry for her. He moved his hands down
her waist and pulled her solidly to him, deepening the kiss. He tightened his
hold as her slight tremors fueled his desire.

She brought
her hands up to his chest but to his great frustration, she pushed away from
him and took a step back. “Nate, wait,” she murmured thickly. “I have something
to tell you first.”

Nate
frowned, trying to clear the fog of desire that clouded his mind. Her tone said
it was serious and his back went rigid. It was the same tone she had the night she
suggested they ‘take a break’.

“What is it?”
                                         

Before
she could continue, a loud knock came at the door. She rushed past him to answer
it. From where he stood he could see a tall black man at the door.

“Thanks,
James. I’ll bring back what’s left when I’m done.”

“Keep
it,” the guy said with a crooked smile. “You won’t let me take you to dinner,
so this is the least I can do.”

Nate
walked up to the door, wanting to get a better look at this James who was boldly
flirting with his girl. He also wanted James to get a good look at him in case
he got any more ideas for dinner.

Nate
stood directly behind Mia and the man glanced up at him over her shoulder. He lost
his lopsided grin.

“I’m
sorry. I didn’t know you had company.”

Mia turned
to follow the man’s gaze and bumped into him. She let out a startled ‘oh’ then made
quick introductions.

“Hey,”
James said in acknowledgment. Nate greeted him in kind. After a brief, awkward
silence, James turned back to Mia.

“Well,
I better run. But keep the tape,” he said with a wink. “Hopefully I won’t need
to move again for a while. Just let me know if you need anything else,” he
added.

Nate’s
jaw clenched. This guy was annoying the hell out of him.