The One

BONUS CHAPTER #1

A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH for 105K reads!! Here's part of the bonus chapters I'm working on... 

When Benji suggested we act like middle schoolers and call Sadie without her knowing I was on the phone, I almost gave up on him, too. He was at a loss, but I know he was mostly indifferent.

"It's not just that she won't call you," he told me as he sipped from his beer "but she's also not calling mom."

"Do you want something else to eat?" I asked, squatting in front of the fridge while I pretended food would have the answer.

"No, but I would like you to listen to me, Mia. You can't silence me with food."

I stood up, holding a pan of tiramisu between us. "That's bullshit and we both know it."

Benji rolled his eyes and gave in, taking the pan from me and peeling back the lid. I followed him to the dining table with two forks. "You're not that different from mom," he teased, laughing when I glared at him mid-bite.

The tiramisu did the trick for a few minutes, but then I started thinking about everything my brother told me.

"Look," I sighed, "I tried calling Sadie two times when we got back from Italy, but I'm not responsible for her and I can't be. I just can't."

Benji leaned back and nodded in agreement. "I know. Then what do we do?"

We heard the door open and Rhys drop his bag in the foyer, his shoes making a soft thud against the wall when he kicked them off before walking into the living room.

"You're supposed to be asleep," he told me, scratching his head. "But I see we're not even waiting for a knife and plates. Are you talking about your sister again?" Rhys laughed at us, the playful sound making me feel better about all of it. I returned the kiss he pressed against my lips as he sat down, taking my fork and digging in across from my brother after they'd said their hellos.

"I take full responsibility," Benji told him. "Have you heard from either of them?"

Rhys shook his head, his only sound was a satisfied moan when he slipped an overloaded fork into his mouth.

"I learned a long time ago not to expect much from Matthew," he replied, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "It's been three months. I give it at least one more before one of them needs something from someone."

I turned to him, trying to read between the lines of his smiling eyes. "Do you know something?"

"No." Rhys rolled his eyes and stood up, kissing my forehead. "I'm always honest with her, Benjamin," he informed while filling a glass at the sink.

"And we both know what happens if someone messes with Mia Valentino." My brother grinned, shaking his head playfully and taking one more swig from his beer. "Thank you for dinner, Mia."

Following Benji to the door, I gave him a hug and told him to have Amelia call me about seeing a show the following weekend. We'd grown a lot closer since Sadie's wedding, and she saved a date for me whenever Rhys was out of town. With another trip approaching, I felt restless.

Rhys was in his small studio shuffling through a portfolio when I crossed his apartment to find him. I watched him from behind as he knelt on the floor, every muscle in his biceps and forearms twisting while sorting through the prints.

"Did you have a nice evening?" He asked, peering at me over his shoulder.

"It was fine," I sighed, "but I'm wondering how much my mom put him up to it."

"I don't know, Mia," Rhys snickered above his work, "you women hold quite the grudge, and I haven't seen someone so close to death as your mother at the wedding." He stood, carrying two matted photographs onto a drafting table near where I stood in the doorway. "Tell me what's really on your mind," he directed, molding his warm hands around my shoulders.

I closed my eyes as he kissed my forehead, letting the tickle linger across my skin.

"Have you really not heard anything from Matthew?"

Rhys's head fell back as he groaned. "Oh, my god. Mia," he lifted his hands to my neck, his thumbs tracing circles around my collar bone while his eyes met mine, "I'll never keep things from you, nor have I ever, so if you ask me one more time if I've heard from either of them, I might put you on the next plane to London myself just so you can talk to them yourself."

I leaned forward, letting out a deep exhale as I fell into his embrace. "But London is closer to Paris than New York," I mumbled against his chest, "and then I could be with you at your show."

"You know I want you everywhere I go," he kissed my hair, "but you earned your promotion and that has to come first." I slowly nodded, knowing he was right, but I couldn't let go of my hold around him.

Rhys pulled his head back and lifted a fist to my chin, bringing my gaze to his. "Is there something else on your mind?" I shrugged. "I can feel your heart pound, Mia, and you're doing that thing with your fingernails behind me." He loosened his hold and knelt before me, looking up to flash a grin that melted my anxious heart.

"I know what to do about those nerves," he told me, wrapping his arms around my legs. Rhys lifted me over his shoulder, carrying me through the apartment to his bedroom, and all I did was give in because we both knew he was the best medicine.

I bounced on the mattress when he lowered me down, climbing on top and towering over me with his smoldering eyes and mischievous smile.

"I'll give you something to think about when I'm gone," he whispered against my neck as his lips grazed my skin, "and something to plan for when I come home."

Holding his knees around my hips, Rhys slowly lifted my shirt, his knuckles tickling their path along my stomach.

"I'll miss you," he told me, lowering his mouth to mine, "and I'll be thinking of this every second we're apart."

Rhys's palms spread around my head, holding our mouths together as we kissed, savoring every moment we had together. With his tongue swirling around mine, I greedily reached for his pants while moving my hands along his abs.

He melted away my thoughts, keeping my mind focused on him and how loved I felt within his hold.

I didn't know what time it was when I woke, only guessing it was sometime after midnight by the darkness.

Lifting his arm from across me, I moved from beneath Rhys when his phone rang for the fourth time. Moonlight barely slipped into the bedroom as I fumbled in the dark to find his phone in the pile of his clothes.

"Come back to bed," he groaned sleepily.

"Don't you hear your phone?"

He rolled over, the comforter falling off of his bare chest when he moved. "No," he replied, slipping back into sleep.

I found the phone after it rang one more time, squinting at the bright screen while my eyes adjusted. "It's your brother."

He moaned after a moment, probably more annoyed that I was waking him up than his brother calling in the middle of our night. Kicking off the rest of the covers, Rhys sat up in bed and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Did you hang up?"

"What?" I scoffed, not sure I heard him correctly.

He looked at me after his palms pulled along his face. "Mia, it's the middle of the night here and he should have the courtesy to consider that at least. Come back to bed. I'll see what he needed in the morning."

His phone rang again and I turned to Rhys who shook his head. "Do you really want to talk to them right now?"

I wasn't sure. I thought about how it'd feel to see them again, but that was so unlikely that I felt I was in control of that fantasy. Having them call one of us in the middle of the night wasn't something I planned for.

"Answer it," I told him finally, joining him on the bed. Rhys clicked on the small lamp on his bedside table and slid his finger across the screen of his phone.

"Hello?" His eyes met mine, a small and sort of melancholy smile meeting his lips while Rhys stroked my cheek as he listened to the phone call. "You're right. It has been. No, no. Matthew," I watched his smile widen, the lines around his eyes deepen, "Congratulations." He looked at me. "She's next to me. Of course."

"What?"

Rhys handed me his phone. "It's your sister."