Earning Her Love (8 page)

“You’re amazing. Thank you so much.” Mia smiled at Catharine and fell instantly in love with her.

Alex shuffled to the edge of the couch, and Mia reached over for her crutches only to squeal when Alex’s arms hooked under her and he grunted and stood, cradling her in his arms.

“Hey, put me down.” Mia whacked his chest. Catharine laughed. “You’re going to hurt yourself. Put me down, Alex.”

His arms gripped her tighter, and he shook his head. “No. Never.”

* * * *

They’d spent the rest of the day at his parents’ house, and even ended up having dinner there. Zane slept in his car seat, and Mia sat with her head resting against the window of the car with her eyes closed as he drove into his garage. He parked and wasn’t surprised when he stopped the car that Mia didn’t wake. She’d had a big couple of days, and what they’d done last night and this morning had probably worn her out too.

Slipping out of the car, he shut the door and went over and unlocked the door to the house, getting the doorstop and wedging it in to keep it open. He then went to the back passenger door to get Zane out. He carefully undid the seat belt and gently lifted the sleeping child into his arms. He took Zane straight to his room, placing him on his bed, taking his shoes off and tucking him in under the covers.

“Goodnight, little buddy. Sweet dreams, my boy.” He kissed his forehead and left to fetch his mother.

Mia was still in the same position as when he’d left. Slowly, he opened her passenger door, careful of her leaning on it, and gathered her against him so he could carry her inside. As he hooked his arms under her she moaned and turned in toward him. Smiling, he held her close as he eased away, mindful of her cast leg.

Alex took her up the steps to the bedrooms, pausing at the top step and debating about where he should put her. He wanted her in his bed with him, like she’d been last night, but Alex knew with her son now there she might not agree. Going to the guest room, he paused at the threshold and gazed down at the beautiful woman in his arms. She looked so content, so peaceful. A small smile graced her lips and she sighed, snuggling her head against him. Damn, so much for good intentions; he couldn’t sleep without her. They were together now. Zane would have to get used to them together. Alex wanted Mia with him. They were both adults, she could sleep with him.

Backing out of the guest room, he went to his bedroom and laid Mia gently on the bed. He undid her shoe and she groaned and mumbled nonsense about not wanting to move and to let her sleep just a little more as he undressed her and put one of his shirts on her. She didn’t wake, and when they were done she burrowed under the covers.

Alex chuckled as he stripped himself down to his boxers. Mia was a deep sleeper. He bet a bomb could go off and she wouldn’t wake. Slipping into bed, he smiled as Mia inched closer to him, her arms snaking out to hold onto him. Happy, he closed his eyes, content in knowing he’d made the right choice in not only being with her, but bringing her into his bed. They would deal with Zane if he had any questions, because there was no way he was giving this up.

* * * *

Mia could hear whispering near her.

“I know you want to wake Mummy, but your mum needs sleep. Remember I told you about her needing rest so she can get better again and play with you?”

“Aha, I so remembers. I love my mummy, ands I want her better so she can play with me again.”

Mia kept her eyes closed a little longer just to listen to Alex and Zane. Her lips curled up in the corners as she smiled, listening to them.

“Good, buddy. How about we get up and make her a special breakfast?”

Zane squealed with joy, and Alex shushed him and groaned, “Quiet, bud.”

Mia couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped free. They sounded so cute. Slowly, she opened her eyes with a smile on her face. But what she saw had that smile turning into a frown. Why was she in Alex’s bedroom? Gazing up and to her left, she saw her son sitting on Alex’s bare chest. What the hell?

Curious even more so now, she stretched her arm under the cover, checking to see if Alex was underneath, and her fingers met with bare skin. “Why am I here? Why are you here?” she blurted.

Zane giggled. “Silly Mummy. Mummies and daddies are supposed to sleep in the same bed.”

Sitting up, Mia stared at her son, wondering where he’d heard that. She didn’t have to wait long as he continued.

“Guess what else Olivia told me?” Olivia was Alex’s niece.

“Er, um…I don’t know, baby.”

“She said if girls kiss boys that’s how babies are made.” Zane giggled. “I told her that’s wrong cos I kiss you all the time.” He rolled his eyes. “So she went and asked her daddy and came back and told me that yous gotta sleep like mummies and daddies in the same bed, and I have to sleep over at Grandpa and Grandma lots. Olivia said she’s always staying at Grandma and Grandpa’s, so she gunna have lots of brothers and sisters.”

Mia bit her lip to keep from laughing.

“Are you gunna kiss Alex and make a baby? I like Grandpa and Grandma. So I can stay at their house lots. I wanna brother. Can I have one? Pleasssee.” His little lips trembled as he pouted and begged.

Mia’s face felt hot, and she knew she was probably bright red. Embarrassed beyond belief, and momentarily stunned silent, Mia avoided looking at Alex. Oh God, her kid had no filter. Closing her eyes, she wished the ground would open up and she could sink down and it would close again.

She heard a chuckle, soft at first, but then it got louder until it turned into a full-blown laugh. Opening her eyes, she glared at Alex, who was in hysterics. “This is all your fault,” she mumbled.

With that he laughed harder. He shook his head and between chuckles said, “Buddy, it takes a little more than that.”

Zane’s happy little smile vanished and he deflated. “Oh, well, what yous got to do then? Cos I really wanna brother.”

Ha, that shut Alex up. He stopped laughing instantly, his eyes going wide as if he just realized what he’d done. Mia smirked as Alex gave her a pleading stare.

“Baby, what Olivia said is sort of true.”

“It is?” Zane started smiling again.

“Ah, yeah. You have to kiss, and mummies and daddies have to sleep, but er…well…” Mia was about to say you have to love someone, but she knew firsthand that you didn’t. She didn’t love Zane’s father, and she hadn’t been married to him either, so she couldn’t say that. Unable to think of what else to say without telling him things he was way too young for, Mia added the only other thing she could think of. “You’ve got to hug a lot too, and other things that I’ll tell you about when you’re an adult.”

Zane nodded. “Okay. Well, yous can do that? Yous are adults.”

Crap, this wasn’t going at all well. Looking at Alex, Mia mouthed
A little help?
She figured since it was his niece telling Zane things and Zane finding Alex in bed with her, that had probably started this idea in her son’s head.

“Your mum needs to get better first.”

Mia was shocked when not only did this seem to work, but that Alex had basically just told Zane that when she got better she and Alex would try for a baby.

Zane nodded and climbed off the bed. “Let’s make Mummy breakfast.”

“Sure, buddy.” Alex winked at her and followed her son as he ran out of the room. He stopped at the entry. “Sorry. I’ll learn.”

Mia knew what he meant; he shouldn’t have told her son there was more. “It’s okay. Kids are sponges. They soak up everything anyone tells them or they hear.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, I’m learning that. I maybe should have put you in the spare room. I was being selfish and wanted you with me.”

Mia wasn’t sure how she felt about Alex placing her in his room and not the spare one. They had slept together the night before, but Zane hadn’t been around. Zane had never seen her sleep in any bed other than her own, let alone sleep with a man. “This has to be what you want. I like you, Alex, but I don’t want Zane to get confused if you don’t want us as a package.”

Alex smiled at her. “I know. I want this.” He left and Mia let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

* * * *

Alex had gone over to help his brother Owen move into his new house. Beth sat next to Mia, and Landon and Zane sat on the floor before them playing Skylanders on the Xbox that Alex had hooked up to his big, flat screen TV. Zane was in heaven. He thought the huge TV hooked up to the Xbox was the coolest thing in the world. Alex hadn’t wanted to help his brother as he had to be back at work on Monday and he wanted to spend his last two days with Mia and Zane, but she felt bad because he’d given up so much time to be with them already.

“So,” Beth said as she came over and sat on the sofa with two hot chocolates, handing one to Mia. “How is it really going with Mr. Hottie? I mean, from what I’ve seen, he and his family are beyond perfect.”

Mia took a sip of the hot chocolate goodness. “They are perfect. He is beyond perfect. I feel like I’m dreaming. I’m scared I’m going to wake up and it’s all been a dream, and I don’t have him or his amazing family, and I’m alone in the hospital.”

Beth took Mia’s hot chocolate and placed both mugs on the side coffee table. She then pulled Mia against her and into a hug. “It’s real. You deserve the amazing family and him.”

Easing from Beth, Mia stared up at her best friend, her green eyes shone and Mia knew that she was fighting not to cry. “Thank you.”

The tears dropped. “Mia, you were dealt a shitty hand in life, with what happened with Zane’s father, your parents, school, and so on, but those things have made you stronger. They’ve made you who you are today.” Beth squeezed her hand. “I don’t know how you do it. You’re a year younger than me, and I had both my parents’ support and Landon’s father. He may only see him once every fortnight for a couple of hours, but at least he does see him. You’ve raised Zane all by yourself, and have done an amazing job. You deserve this wonderful family and perfect man.” She wiped her eyes. “Enjoy it, Mia, and embrace them, because I know if they know what a caring and giving person you are, they will love you just like I do.”

Throwing herself at Beth, Mia hugged her friend. Right then she felt so lucky. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re awesome, and the best friend I could ever ask for.” They laughed and kissed each other’s cheeks until they broke out in giggles.

“Oh God, bro. If I knew this was going on at your house, I would come over a lot more. I’m in heaven.”

The voice came from behind them, and Beth and Mia separated, and Mia turned and saw Lockie, Alex’s brother, standing at the entry to the lounge room. Alex stood next to him, and behind them was Owen.

“Oh, don’t stop on my account,” Lockie continued. He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

She and Beth burst out laughing at the looks on their faces. Lockie wasn’t the only one who seemed to have enjoyed what he walked in on. Owen’s eyes were wide, and he had a huge grin. Alex’s blue eyes were dark with lust, and his lips were curled up in a smirk that said he was definitely having naughty thoughts.

Winking at Beth, Mia sighed dramatically. “We have been found out. Here I thought we had at least a couple more hours of make-out time before Alex got home.”

“Holy shit!” Lockie whacked Alex on the back. “You lucky son of a bitch. You can totally have a threesome with two hot MILFs.”

Alex groaned. She and Beth were laughing so hard they were holding their stomachs. They watched the guys adjust their pants and narrow their gazes on them.

Zane and Landon were so absorbed in Skylanders they didn’t even turn to see what their mums were laughing about. Mia did notice both Landon and Zane had moved closer to hear the TV.

“Oh, your faces were awesome,” Mia said between giggles. “Lockie, you’re sweet. It’s good to know I’m a MILF.”

Mia burst out laughing at the murderous look Alex gave Lockie. Mia felt great. It was nice to know men found her attractive. Especially hot ones. Lockie may have no tact, but what he’d said and the looks on their faces had given her a huge boost in confidence, and she knew as she looked at Beth that she was feeling the same way. Sometimes, being a single mum, you forgot that you’re still a woman, and you are your own person, separate from your children. It’s nice to know you’re attractive. A human.

Alex walked over to her and leaned down and kissed her. Mia savored him and almost forgot about the others in the room until Lockie made himself known again.

“Argh, there are children in the room.”

Alex eased away, and Beth glared at Lockie. “They haven’t even turned from the screen.”

“I wasn’t talking about them.” Lockie stuck his tongue out at Beth. “I was talking about me and my sensitive eyes.”

Shaking her head, Mia tried not to giggle at Beth’s huff. Mia hadn’t seen her friend like this before. Beth was giving Lockie a nasty glare, while he pretended to look innocent. Mmm, Mia thought as she looked at Alex to see if he’d caught it too. Alex winked at her, and Mia wiggled back in her seat as the guys came in and sat on the recliners.

Chapter 5

Work sucked. Alex had expected some ribbing here and there from his coworkers about Mia, but the pranks were too much, like high school applications, or replacing his name tag with
sugar daddy
. He’d forgotten the age difference between Mia and him. Mia didn’t act the way he thought a normal twenty-one year old would act. She had an old soul, and Alex never found it hard to find topics to talk to her about. She was smart and wasn’t afraid to ask questions and learn when she didn’t know something. He liked that about her. Alex knew women his own age who didn’t do that.

Alex was happy with Mia. If he could forget about their age difference, he was sure others would too. He would wait until work died down with their games before he introduced Mia. He hoped once his work friends realized how serious he was about Mia they’d quit the pranks.

Having just come home from work, rushing his shower at work, eager to get to Mia, Alex went in search of her, finding her in the kitchen. He stood by the entrance, enjoying his view. She danced around the kitchen to Snow Patrol as she made dinner. Mia had become so good moving around with the cast it barely hindered her. Her arse swayed as she stood before the stove stirring. He zoned in on the plump, round globes in the short summer dress she wore. Damn, she had a fine arse. He hadn’t realized he was an arse man until he met Mia, but oh, he was, and a boob man too, and Mia had an abundance of both.