Bear

Chapter 39

I nursed a hangover all day on Saturday. On Sunday, I just spent the day at home with Izzy. Liam was at his house, doing a few things to get it ready to sell after the wedding. I was thankful for that, because Izzy was asking a lot of questions about Damien. Neither Amy or I mentioned that we saw him.

When Monday morning came, I felt like I was in a fog. My mind was consumed with Damien. I needed to be comfortable at work, so I put on a pair of white jeans with a light green oversize sweater. 

I walked out to the kitchen and grabbed a juice box and a banana, and set them on the table.

"Izzy baby, come eat before we go to Gigi's." I said to her in the living room. She ate as I put a bottle of water and a granola bar in my purse for when I was at work.

I pulled down a light jacket for Izzy, and draped it over my arm.

"Come put shoes on, please." I said.

She walked her empty juice box and banana peel to the trash, then sat by the door and put on her little shoes. I held her jacket open and zipped it up. I got her in her seat and drove over to Mom's.

I quickly dropped her off, and drove to work. I quickly walked down the street, and got in line at Starbucks. While I waited, my eyes drifted to the table by the window that Damien and I sat at on our first date. I looked at it, and ran my hand over the back of my neck as I stepped closer to order.

"A Grande Nonfat Cinnamon Dolce Latte, please." I ordered.

The barista called my name a minute later, and I walked back to work. I went into my room, and set everything up for the day. All of my morning appointments were women, so I set out the most popular oils for them to choose from.

The morning crawled by, and the quiet of the room during each massage just left room for my mind to wander. Even though I was distracted, I made decent tips on each massage and I was pleased. I got the water out of my purse and went to the front desk. I looked over the stock order sheet, and made sure there wasn't anything missing. We were also looking for a few more massage therapists to join us, now that we are expanding, so there were resumes to print off.

I knew my last appointment for today was at 1pm. When it was about 12:50, I pulled up my schedule to see who my next client was going to be. My heart dropped when I saw it was a Sandstone PT patient. It didn't say who was coming with him, but I new just a second later when Damien walked in the door.

He was wearing jeans with a teal t-shirt and a black jacket, and I was struggling to keep my breathing steady. 

"Hi, I have an appointment for 1:00." the young guy said.

I couldn't move my eyes off of Damien.

"Name?" I asked.

"Josh Jones." He said.

I finally looked away from Damien, to check the computer. I confirmed he was in fact my client.

"OK, follow me. My name is Mia, and I'll be the one doing your massage." I said as I opened the door to my room.

Josh turned to look at Damien, just as he sat down in the lobby.

"You aren't coming in?" Josh asked him.

"Nope. You're in good hands with Mia... Trust me." Damien said.

I swallowed as I closed the door behind us.

Josh pulled a muscle in his back, so I did everything I could to help him. An hour later, I walked him out and gave him all of my suggestions for a rapid recovery.

Damien talked to him afterwards in the lobby, so I went into my room to hopefully avoid any awkward moments.

That didn't last long, though. I was sitting at my little table, with my forehead in my palms when there was a knock on the door. I slowly looked over, and closed my eyes and sighed when I saw Damien. He stepped inside, and gently closed the door behind him. He walked over to the table and sat in the other chair next to me and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Mia, you look miserable." He said quietly.

"I'm surprised you noticed, and thanks for the compliment." I said sarcastically.

"I notice everything about you, Mia." He said as he sat forward and put his elbows on the table. "You think I don't know how I affect you? Every time I'm near you you can't control your breathing. Your pupils are practically blown, and you hold your breath when I lean in." He said as he looked into my eyes. "Even now, you are trembling at our closeness. You can feel me, and I'm not even touching you." I released a shaky breath as I could smell his familiar cologne the closer he got to me. "Your eyelashes flutter as you smile when I compliment you. You blush when you drink red wine, and bite the inside of your lip when you're getting turned on." He dropped his voice deeper, and to almost a whisper. "Or how you sing quietly as you cook, I know the tip of your nose turns red when you try and lie. I had you swept off of your feet in an incredible romance, because I know exactly what you want. I know every single inch of your body and how it responds to my touch. I know exactly what you want without you even having to say a word. I know all of this because I love you enough to care."

I closed my eyes as I took deep breaths. Slowly opening them, I looked at my hands in my lap.

"That doesn't matter, Damien. I'm getting married on Saturday." I said, avoiding looking at him.

"Right." he said, sitting back in the chair. "The only thing that matters is that Liam is her father." he said nodding. "I want you to really think about the months that we were together. Who was it that had Izzy face her fears and have the confidence to go down the slide, and the monkey bars at the park? Who held her as she slept when she was exhausted? Who took her out on little dates and bought her flowers to make her feel special? Who was it that spent time with her because he wanted to, not because he HAD to? Who was it that comforted her when she thought there were monsters in her room, and she had nightmares? Who stood next to you in the emergency room when her fever wouldn't break?" he asked.

My face fell as I thought back to all the times he was there for Izzy. He was there when Liam wasn't.

"It takes a hell of a lot more than DNA to be a father, Mia." He said softly. "So by your own logic, you should be marrying me."

I took in a hard breath. I immediately had flashbacks to the night we broke up, and Amy asking me if I thought he was going to propose. I wanted that so badly. I would have said yes in an instant.

"Tell me one positive thing he has done for you or Izzy, that is different now that you are with him?" Damien asked. His eyebrows lifted slightly as he waited for an answer.

I just sat there with my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"That's what I thought." He said nodding slowly. Moving closer to me, his thigh brushed mine, and his nose was almost touching my cheek. "I'm going to do everything I can to make you miss me so much you can't stand it. I'm not going to be this easy to leave. I'm going to make you wish you were sleeping next to me. Every song you listen to will make you think of me. Every time your phone goes off, you're going to wonder if it's me." he said with a determination that made me shiver. "Enjoy your boy, Mia." he said before dropping his voice and moving even closer. His lips were lightly brushing my ear as he said, "When you're ready for your man back, let me know."

He abruptly stood up and walked out of the room without looking back.