Giving Mia what looked like a rather sad smile, she added, “I’m just trying to find the person that I used to be. Your father is away so much on business and it gets . . . lonely here sometimes.” She took Mia’s hand saying, “One of the things I regret the most is never having this type of relationship with you. I bowed to pressure and let the nanny handle most of your care even though I wanted to do it all for you. I’m so sorry I didn’t stand up for us.”

Mia looked on in horror as her mother burst into tears. She sat up in her chair saying, “Mom . . . please don’t. We can start from today. It’s not too late.”

Her mother jerked her head to look at her, hope beginning to burn through the tears that still rolled down her cheeks. Mia couldn’t remember ever seeing her cry before. Maybe she should harbor anger toward her, but having the chance for a real relationship with her mother for the first time ever was something too enticing to refuse. “Honey . . . do you mean it? I know I have a lot to make up for, but will you really give me a chance to get to know you and have a place in your life?”

Mia could feel tears gathering in her own eyes as she said, “I’d love that, Mom, I really would.” Maybe when one door closed, another did open. She was gaining a real mother even as her heart still mourned the loss of Seth.

***

“Margie! Where are last month’s budget figures?” Seth bellowed. Was everyone at the resort completely incompetent? Was expecting everyone to do their damn jobs too much to ask? Margie stalked into his office and slammed the door behind her. She picked up a folder from the corner of his desk and smacked it down in front of him.

“It’s on your desk where it’s been for days, master!”

“Margie, I’m not in any mood for any shit today,” he growled.

Putting her hands on her hips, she glared back at him. “I’m not in any mood for your shit, either, Seth. You have been nothing but an asshole to me and everyone within a ten-mile radius since you lost Mia. If you keep this up, everyone here is going to walk out. I have already had to talk three people out of quitting just today!”

“Don’t coddle the staff. If they can’t handle being called to task for not doing their jobs, then let them quit.”

He saw her face flush red before she threw her hands up in the air and sank down into a chair in front of his desk. He could feel the now-familiar irritation burning just beneath the surface as he waited for her to say whatever she needed to say and get the hell out of his office. He was surprised when she finally raised her head and gave him a look of genuine sadness. “What?” he asked, surprised.

“I love you, Seth, you’re like a son to me. In the years I’ve worked for you, I’ve seen you at your best and your worst. In all of that time though I’ve never known you to be the cruel bastard that you have turned into. You are being mean, insensitive, and overbearing. I know this all comes from Mia so tell me, what happened?” When he opened his mouth, she added, “And don’t say ‘nothing’; I know better.”

He stared at her, feeling his heart race in his chest as thoughts of that night crashed back in. He had worked nonstop since then to keep his mind off the look on Mia’s face as she walked away from him. He kept thinking things would get better, but it only got worse. Margie was right: He had turned into a monster, and he couldn’t seem to stop it. He looked at the woman who was more of a mother to him than his own and felt his anger start to fade away for the first time since Mia left. Running a hand through his hair, he admitted to Margie and to himself, “I fucked up royally and I don’t know if it can be fixed.”

“Oh, honey,” Margie said. “You know between you and me, we can fix anything. Just tell me what we’re dealing with and we’ll go from there.” Without further urging, he poured out the whole sordid mess and watched Margie flinch a few times before he was finished. She shook her head before dropping it onto the desk. He heard her blow out a breath before saying, “Shit, when you screw up, you don’t do it halfway. Geez, didn’t I warn you about Ashley? Where is she hiding out, by the way?”

Seth snorted. “Apparently, I even turned her off that night. She took off afterward and I haven’t heard from her since. I guess I’m too big of an ass for her.”

“Probably,” Margie agreed. “All right, let’s start at the beginning. Have you called Mia to apologize?”

When he shook his head no, he felt a paperclip bounce off his cheek. “Hey,” he protested, “I was in denial. People in denial don’t apologize.”

“Well, you’ve pulled your head out of your ass now, so that should be our first step. Give her a call and tell her you messed up. If she gives you long enough before slamming the phone down, try to explain.”

Seth gave her a disgusted look. “You’re really filling me with confidence here.”

With an exasperated snort, Margie said, “Honey, this would have been easier if you had just called her fat. I could have worked with that. You had a naked woman in your lap after you had strongly led Mia to believe you were waiting for her. You are going to have to do something that you aren’t used to doing: grovel.” Before he could answer, she added, “And I mean the lick-the-dirt kind. Now I’m going back to my desk and you are going to call her. Do you have her number?”

Rolling his eyes, he said, “Of course, I’m not completely incompetent.” He knew by the look on her face that she was dying to challenge that statement, but wisely, she continued on out the door. Before he could talk himself out of it, he pulled Mia’s cell number up in his contacts and clicked to connect the call. He was secretly relieved when it went straight to voicemail. He left her a message to call him and ended the call.

When Margie stuck her head in the door four hours later, he shook his head in disgust. After another five calls, Mia had neither answered nor called him back. He had already looked up the number for Danvers and was fixing to call there when Margie said, “She’s not at work, either. I . . . um . . . took the liberty of calling there and they said she’s on vacation this week. Her home number is unlisted and despite a considerable amount of charm on my part, they wouldn’t give me that number.”

Seth really wasn’t surprised that Margie had taken it upon herself to track Mia down. She never could resist a challenge and Mia was giving them both that. But, still, he was hanging onto the hope that she would return his call sometime before the day was over.

***

Mia had just finished emailing Hank and Nikki to let them know that her cell phone was dead and that she had left her charger at her condominium. They were really the only two people who would possibly try to reach her this week. She had planned to go home today, but with the surprising turn of events with her mother, she was curious enough to stay for a few more days. It wasn’t that their relationship had completely changed overnight, but they were trying. She had always thought she was just fine without the usual parental affection, but now that it was being offered, she found herself soaking it up, unable to get enough. Her mother was actually funny and just a tiny bit irreverent, which was completely shocking. She was still smiling when she rounded the corner to find her mother in a heated conversation on her phone. “Listen here, you had your chance, and you screwed up big time. You had better come up with something more impressive than a phone call if you want to fix this. I expected better from you. Don’t disappoint me again!” With those words, the phone call was ended without a goodbye.

“Mom?”

Her mother whirled around, surprise obvious on her face. “Oh, darling, I didn’t hear you.”

“Is everything okay?” Mia asked.

Her mother took a moment, choosing her words carefully. “Yes. It’s nothing really. Your father can just be so . . . thoughtless sometimes. Sometimes a man needs a good challenge so that he can rise to the occasion. I have no doubt that he will figure out a way to get back into my good graces. Now, how about we grab some lunch and spend the day on the beach?”

Mia could only shake her head at her mother’s lightning change of mood. Her poor father didn’t stand a chance against her. Whatever he had done, she hoped he was smart enough to make amends because it didn’t sound like something that flowers would take care of.

***

Seth threw his phone across his office in disgust. Margie had given him Mia’s mother’s number and he had just attempted to reach out to her for help. He gave Margie an incredulous look, saying, “She fucking told me off and hung up on me!”

Margie winced in sympathy. “I guess Mia told her what happened then.”

“You think?” he grumbled. “The way Mia spoke of her led me to believe that they didn’t have a close relationship.”

“Maybe she emailed her,” Margie added helpfully. When he gave her a nasty look, she held up her hands in surrender before saying, “Alright, that was a bad joke. I do have something that will make you happy, though.” She dangled a piece of paper from her fingertips. “I have Mia’s home address.”

He stood up and grabbed it from her hand. When he started for the door, she yelled, “You have a conference call with Ash and Dylan in an hour.”

“I’ll call Ash on my way and cancel it.” Without waiting for a reply, he took off out the door and to his car. Hopefully, this was what her mother had meant about doing better than a phone call.

***

Days had gone by and he was back in his car stalking Mia’s home. He wasn’t sure when his need to apologize had turned into desperation to make things up to her, regardless of the cost. Once he had finally admitted to himself that he wanted her, the floodgates had truly opened. His pride was definitely taking a beating from his brothers. His pursuit of Mia had Ash laughing his ass off every time they talked. He had suggested that when Seth finally located Mia, he spank her ass and show her who was in charge. He was pretty sure Ash wasn’t joking. He knew enough about his brother’s lifestyle to know that spankings were the norm for him. He didn’t think Mia would be receptive to it, either. He had called her mother countless times and the damned woman hadn’t answered or returned any of his calls. He had even found her address and attempted a drive-by, but was turned away at the security gate of the exclusive community. He continued to leave messages on Mia’s phone to no avail. It was Sunday evening. Surely, she would come home tonight. Didn’t she have to return to work tomorrow? He finally gave up at midnight and drove home to catch a few hours of sleep. Tomorrow he would go to Danvers and see if she showed up for work.

Chapter Thirteen

“Welcome back, kid.” Mia looked up as she stepped from her car smiling as Hank walked toward her.

“Hey, boss-man, you miss me?”

“Hell, yeah,” he laughed. “I got stuck with all of the shit I usually put off on you.” Then studying her face a little longer than usual, he asked, “How you doing? Everything . . . better with you?”

Hank didn’t know all of the particulars, but he did know that something had happened with Seth. His concern for her was obvious and she was touched by it. “I’m fine, ready to get back to work.” She wanted to laugh at how relieved he looked when she didn’t elaborate. She knew how uncomfortable he was discussing “lady problems.” He didn’t want to hear that she was still a heartsick fool over Seth Jackson, a man she barely knew, or that she hadn’t washed her dress yet from their night together because it still had the faint scent of his cologne clinging to the fabric.

“Good deal then. We have some installations to schedule so I’ll tag you when I have everything ready to go over.” They parted ways in the hallway and she spent the morning catching up on emails and returning calls. When her phone rang around lunchtime, she assumed it was Hank. He usually liked to grab a sandwich while they worked on scheduling. “You ready to roll?” she joked.

“I was born ready to roll,” replied an unfamiliar female voice.

“Oh, excuse me, I thought you were a man . . . er . . . I mean Hank.”

A feminine chuckled filled the line. “Yeah, I get that a lot. This is Suzy Merimon. I work . . .”

“Oh,” Mia gasped, “I know who you are. I freaking love you! Oh my God, please forget I said that. Um . . . what can I help you with, Mrs. Merimon?”

“I like you. I knew I would. We have the same taste in shoes, after all, and shoes never lie. Could you possibly meet me in the outdoor seating area? I have a . . . situation that I need your help with.”

As she rushed from her desk to the elevator, Mia belatedly realized that she hadn’t answered Suzy; she had simply rushed off, eager to finally talk to her idol, regardless of the reason. Cool your jets! Never once did she question why Suzy would want to meet her outside. Once she’d made it to the arrangement of chairs and benches under the outdoor pergola, she looked around for Suzy’s red hair. When a hand settled on the small of her back, she jerked around, nearly fainting when she saw Seth. “What the . . . ”