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Y/N FOLLOWS MY MOM INTO the backyard while giving me the cold shoulder.
She has plenty of reasons to be upset with me, starting with putting her in this predicament. I have a tendency to dive into situations without evaluating the potential repercussions of my actions, and I suspect I'll face the fallout when we're alone later.
The last thing she wants is to pose for photos with my family and pretend we're in love, especially when she's upset about me not bringing up the acquisition sooner. As soon as I suspected she might not be aware of it, I should have addressed it. To hell with the merger's confidentiality rules. I should have put Y/n first. I won't make that mistake again.
Once we get to the back deck, Mom and Tomoe leave us to help Rin and the photographer with arranging a couple of wooden benches in front of an ivy arch on the property's edge.
Y/n and I stand side by side as Mia comes out of the house dressed in a bright blue summer dress and silver sneakers. Her golden-blonde hair falls in waves to her waist, framing her distinct, mismatched eyes—one blue, the other green.
She moved in next door to Akira a year and a half ago, and he didn't exactly roll out the welcome mat. Everything changed when his long-term nanny quit, and Mia stepped in to help care for Lola. It didn't take Akira long to fall for Mia, and after three months where she lived abroad, they moved in together and recently got engaged.
"Look who finally showed up," Mia teases me.
"It's good to see you, MiMi." I wrap my arm around her shoulder in a side hug.
"You must be Y/n." Mia extends her hand to Y/n, who accepts it with a small smile. "I'm Mia, Akira fiancée, and that's our daughter, Lola." She motions out into the yard, where Lola is running, chasing after their dog, Waffles.
"Waffles stole my headband again," Lola shouts in our direction.
Mia adopted the Australian Shepherd/Corgi mix with comically large ears from an animal shelter before she moved to Aspen Grove. She felt an instant connection because he also has mismatched eyes—a combination of one brown and one blue.
I laugh when I spot the three tiny furballs with floppy ears trotting closely behind Lola, yipping with excitement.
Akira slings his arm around Mia's shoulders and tugs her close.
"I can't believe you're keeping the whole litter," I say with a hint of amusement.
Mia recently started volunteering at the local animal shelter, and a couple weeks ago, someone brought in three Aussie-Corgi mix puppies they found on the side of the road. Instantly reminded of Waffles, she knew she had to take them home with her. What started as an offer to foster them quickly led to her adopting all three.
"Yeah," Akira grumbles, but his tone changes when he glances down at his fiancée with affection. "Mia doesn't want to separate them."
"They're part of our family, and I won't abandon them," she declares. "Who else would love them like we will?"
