“Are you some kind of wine connoisseur?” she asked him, a tiny smile playing on her lips. She looked completely different when she smiled. Young and carefree.
He was all too aware that every time they’d come into contact until now, something had gone wrong. His car. Her car. Him asking her on a date. It was good to see her face without those tiny furrows between her brows.
“Not really,” he admitted, as she lifted the glass to her face and inhaled the aroma. “Logan’s the one who knows all about wine. He buys it, I try it. Only off season, of course.”
“You don’t drink during season?” She pressed the glass to her soft lips, and closed her eyes as the crisp Chardonnay coated her tongue. “Oh boy, that is good. Your brother has good taste.”
“It runs in the family. And no, I don’t drink when I’m playing. I have a nutritionist who’d whip my ass if I didn’t keep to the plan she gives me. The older I get, the more I realize how much my performance relies on what I put in my body.”
Her gaze flickered down to his torso. She swallowed hard. “I guess she’d have a fit if she saw these burgers,” Mia said, sliding his plate to him.
The burger was still on the foil wrapper, the fries covering the rest of the plate.
“I guess I’d better make the most of it.”
“Will you be going back to Boston soon?” she asked him, her voice light. She took a bite of her burger, washing it down with her soda. He liked the way she smiled with the pleasure of it.
“I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure out what happens next.” He didn’t want to talk about his injuries with her. Didn’t want to see any pity on her face. “In the meantime, I’ll be coaching the Eagles and relaxing for a few weeks. I guess I’ll go back after that.”
“It must be hard, leaving the team behind. You’ve played with them for years.”
For a woman who hadn’t known who he was when they first met, she seemed to have a good knowledge of his playing career. Had she been Googling him? A little pulse of satisfaction rushed through him.
“I guess I could say the same about you. Coming here with your kids must be tough. Where are you from again?”
“Kansas City.” She popped a fry between her lips. “And yeah, it’s hard, but other people have it harder. I’m lucky the boys are settling in. Even luckier to get a job that suits my skills. So I’m not going to start complaining.”
He liked that about her. “Sam said your husband left you without warning. Cleaned out your bank account.”
Mia dropped the fry she’d been holding. Her gaze that had been steady on his slid away. She swallowed hard, before tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Sam should keep his mouth shut.”
“For what it’s worth, I think your husband’s a damn fool.”
She took a deep breath, still looking down at her plate. For a moment, there was silence. Cam wanted to reach for her chin, to make her look at him again. Because when she looked at him, it felt like he knew where he was.
Maybe even felt like he belonged.
“Can I ask what happened?” Cam’s voice was soft.
“It’s old news,” Mia finally said. Her cheeks plumped as she forced a smile onto her face. “Boy and Girl meet. Girl gets pregnant when they’re too young and they’re forced to grow up together. Except she grows up and he thinks he’s Peter Pan. He wants to relive his twenties, and she and the kids don’t fit in there anymore.” She caught his gaze. “And I wouldn’t want to. I don’t want a guy who hasn’t grown up. I don’t want my kids to get hurt again. I just want to build somewhere safe for us all. I guess that’s why I’m here.”
“How old were you when you met him?”
“Eighteen. Freshman year of college. We were both business majors. I got pregnant during our sophomore year, and dropped out. He carried on while I waitressed or worked in shops or did whatever it took to pay the rent and save some money. We agreed that I’d go back to college once he had a job and the baby was a little older.”
“And did you?”
She nodded. “But only part time. It took me seven years to get my degree. I worked for our business, and took care of the kids, so trying to fit in school was difficult.”
“But you did it.”
“Yeah. I guess I thought the hard part was done, you know? I was ready to enjoy life, to finally relax, spend time with my family, really throw myself into the business. And then he left.”
“Like I said, he’s a damn idiot.”
“Maybe I was the idiot for believing we had an unwritten deal. For thinking that good things came to those who put in the work.”