Mia resumed her normal routine of work, exercise, and what she loosely called ‘farm duties’ while trying not to brood over Aiden. It wasn’t the first time she’d experienced heartbreak. Not really. Her teenage crush on Noah had caused her all sorts of agonising grief and messed with her self-esteem. It had reduced her self-confidence. All because she’d never been brave enough to tell him how she felt.
Four years after finishing high school, he’d suddenly stopped talking to her. Mia had never found out why. She’d wept. She’d lost the best friend she’d ever had.
She didn’t want that to happen again. She’d like to think she’d grown up since then. But while her experience with Aiden wasn’t much different, at least she didn’t cry. She had nothing to cry about. Aiden didn’t want to risk his heart and only wanted to be her friend.
Fine.
But that didn’t stop self-doubt from creeping into her conscience. Was she just not girlfriend material? Was there something about her that turned men off?
She rolled her eyes at herself as she brushed her hair and tied it back for work. She had to stop thinking about it. Of course there was nothing wrong with her. She was a kind and considerate person. She wasn’t vain, but she didn’t think she lacked in looks either. Surely men found her attractive.
Mia slipped on her work shoes and sighed. Never mind now. There was nothing she could do about the way Aiden felt. He was the one who didn’t want a relationship and was denying himself love. And she understood his reasons, but until he decided to open his heart again, Mia could only move on.
She drove to work, feeling lighter. She always did on Fridays. She’d been back to work for a week now and while she loved holidaying, there was something revitalising about returning home to all things familiar. She’d thoroughly enjoyed this past week at the bank, the routine of her schedule and the camaraderie of her colleagues. She’d enjoyed talking to customers and helping them choose the banking needs that suited them.
Everything was normal. Right. She’d returned home on Monday feeling satisfied and a little confused. On Tuesday, her head had been whirring. But by Wednesday lunchtime, Mia had finally realised.
She had everything she wanted out of her job at the bank. It wasn’t what she’d grown up dreaming of doing, but she had an approachable boss, dependable colleagues, a steady income, and set hours. It gave her time to travel and ride her horses. And that’s all she wanted out of her career.
Family—that was her goal. Family is what would make her heart sing.
***
At five minutes to five that afternoon, Mia was cleaning down the tearoom when her colleague Nicole poked her head through the door. ‘Mia, there’s someone here to see you.’
She folded the cloth over the tap and frowned. ‘Who is it?’
Nicole’s smile widened. ‘Just come.’
Sighing, Mia crossed the tearoom, curious but not surprised by Nicole’s secrecy. She pulled open the door, stepped out onto the bank floor, and halted in her tracks. The door clicked behind her as Aiden turned in the centre of the empty room. His gaze landed on hers and her heart lurched. Damn, he looked good. He wore tan cargo shorts and a sky blue T-shirt that accentuated his bright eyes. Surrounded by desks, tellers, and the tall windows that overlooked the main street, he took her breath away.
Or perhaps it was the little girl nestled on his hip in a frilly pink dress that did all of that. Her dark hair hung in wavy pig tails with the frangipani hair clips Mia had picked out herself, and white sandals covered her adorably tiny feet.
Mia blinked. Her belly swirled. Aiden was here. With Ella.
Aiden and Ella were in Charters Towers at her bank at five o’clock on a Friday afternoon.
Why?
He stepped towards her, jolting her out of her surprise. ‘Hi, Mia.’
She swallowed, searched for her voice, and forced a smile to her face. ‘Hi, Aiden. Hello…’ she swallowed again, emotion rising inside her ‘…hello, Ella.’
His gaze fell to his daughter. ‘Ella, this is Mia. Do you want to say hello?’
Ella pressed her head to Aiden’s shoulder as she clung tightly to him, but her big blue eyes didn’t leave Mia.
‘Hello,’ she said and Mia all but melted. She gripped her hands together and resisted the urge to press them into her chest where an ache was rapidly building.
Ella was adorable.
‘I…I like your dress,’ Mia told her. ‘You look very pretty. What are—’ She lifted her gaze to Aiden’s. ‘What brings you here?’
She felt foolish for asking, but where Aiden was concerned, it seemed she was always foolish. What else would bring them there other than to see her?
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I thought it’d be fun to surprise you, but now I feel like I should have called.’
‘Oh, no.’ She waved her hand, dismissing his apology. ‘Don’t worry about that. I like surprises. It’s just…I wasn’t expecting to see you.’
Not after the awkwardness of the night she’d left Bali, but she didn’t need to say that to know they were both thinking it.
‘Yeah, well…’ He shuffled his feet, averting his gaze and smiling at Ella. ‘Maybe we were hoping to take you up on your offer to meet your animals.’
If she wasn’t so nervous, Mia would have laughed. ‘Right. Of course, you can. I just…I need to grab my stuff. I’ll meet you out front in two minutes?’
‘Okay.’
Aiden left. She turned to the door and punched in the security code, her heart racing as she rushed into the tearoom to gather her handbag.
Nicole was waiting for her, practically beaming. ‘Your Bali hottie is certainly hotter in the flesh.’
Nicole had seen Mia’s Bali photos on social media, so she knew all about Aiden.
Mia exhaled and fished for her keys. ‘Yeah, I didn’t expect to see him.’
‘All the better, right? Don’t let me keep you.’ Nicole’s grin broadened. ‘Go!’
Mia didn’t need telling twice. She rushed out the back door, into the outback summer heat, and met Aiden on the street.
Everything inside her fluttered once again. ‘I’m…I’m parked just down there.’ She pointed to her blue SUV. ‘How about you follow me home?’
She walked to her car, watching as he strode towards the black sedan and settled Ella into the back. Climbing into her car, Mia took deep breaths, but nothing could steady her. Her hands shook as she turned the key in the ignition.
He couldn’t have come just to see her. Right? Not unless…
She shook her head. Best not to think about it. Not to get her hopes up. But her heart was still racing as she drove home, keeping an eye on Aiden in her rear vision mirror.
She parked in the undercover carport and Aiden stopped in the dirt driveway behind her. She alighted and watched him, not speaking as he took Ella out and settled her once again on his hip.
He glanced at her house and smiled. ‘You have a lovely place. I can see why you don’t want to leave.’
She managed to smile herself. ‘Yeah, I’m well set up. Come on in.’
She led him onto the verandah and pushed open the door. Victoria and Jemima were there to greet her as they stepped inside. Smiling, she rubbed Jemima’s head, then lifted Victoria into her arms. She turned to Ella and Aiden.
‘This is Victoria,’ she told the little girl. ‘She loves cuddles and playing with balls. Do you want to pat her?’
Ella reached out and touched Victoria’s grey head. The moment her tiny hand sank into the cat’s fur, Ella’s smile broadened. ‘Pretty kitty!’
Mia grinned. ‘Do you like kitty cats?’
Ella nodded, her eyes glittering as her confidence grew. Mia introduced her to Jemima, then led them through the house and into the backyard. Timmy, despite his age, was jumping in circles at the door, his eyes bright and tongue hanging out the side of his mouth at the prospect of greeting visitors. Tess jumped up on Mia and was promptly told ‘down.’
‘She still doesn’t listen,’ she told Aiden, rubbing her dog’s head.
Together, they let Ella pat the dogs. Timmy enjoyed the attention, but Tess continued to run around the yard, excited that Mia was home.
‘It’s time I move Cindy and George out into the paddock,’ she said, toeing off her work shoes and reaching for her gum boots. ‘Have you seen a horsie, Ella?’
Ella’s pig tails swung as she shook her head. Aiden laughed. ‘Yes, you have! At the show this year.’
Ella seemed to have forgotten about that though as Mia led them to the stables. Her pulse had slowed, but nerves still rattled inside her about what else had brought Aiden out here. She’d ask, but first she went through her evening routine of moving the horses into the paddock for the night, allowing them to graze and roam in the cool. Ella seemed to like the animals, but she continued to cling to Aiden. Mia didn’t blame her. She only wished…
Sighing, Mia watched Cindy and George graze in the paddock. ‘So…you didn’t work today?’ she asked for lack of anything else to say.
‘Nope. Day off, because I have to work tomorrow and Sunday. So I thought…well…that we’d come and see you.’
She looked up at him and smiled. ‘You know I’m always pleased to see you. But I’ll admit…I’m not sure what brings you out here so soon.’
His eyes clouded and he swallowed, his throat bobbing. ‘How about we go back up to the house where we can talk?’
She nodded, left the feed buckets where they were, and led him back to the house. Her legs shook and she tried not to wring her hands. She offered him a seat on the verandah and went inside to get some drinks, using the time to gather her courage before returning outside. Courage that instantly vanished when her gaze landed on Ella standing on the grass, laughing as Timmy ran around her. Mia’s heart swelled hot inside her chest.
What was Aiden doing to her?
She pressed her lips together and concentrated on pouring them each a cup of lime cordial.
‘So, how’s work?’ he asked as Mia handed him a cup.
‘Good.’ She paused and sipped her drink, needing to wet her parched throat. ‘I’ve decided to stay working there.’
His eyebrows lifted. ‘Really?’
She smiled. ‘You seem surprised.’
‘Well…not really. I just…’ He shot his hand through his hair. ‘What about uni?’
Everything inside Mia softened. Her heart soared, free now that she knew what her future held career-wise. She’d felt better these past few days than she had in months and couldn’t be happier about it.
‘I’ve realised that uni was just a dream and not what I want. The opportunity for me to be a student has passed. I have a good job that I enjoy and that allows me to pay the bills. I’ll get to fulfil all my other desires—volcanos, musical theatre, sightseeing—by going on holidays. And one day, if I’m lucky, I’ll get to have a family. Which is what I really want.’
Aiden leaned his shoulder on the verandah post. ‘You look so much happier for knowing that.’
She nodded. ‘I am happy, Aiden. So thank you again, for helping me see that.’
‘You’re welcome.’
His gaze flickered to Ella. Silence fell and they each sipped their cordial.
But Mia didn’t want silence. ‘How were your last days in Bali?’
‘Very bleak to tell you the truth.’
Her eyebrows shot up before she could stop them. ‘Yeah?’
‘Yeah.’ He exhaled and straightened from the post, bringing his gaze back to hers. ‘It wasn’t the same without you, Mia. I missed you.’
Her hand tightened around her cup. ‘You did?’
He nodded. ‘At first, I wasn’t sure what it was. I felt so uncertain and confused. I came home and thought everything would feel normal again once I was back with Ella, but…’ He shook his head, glanced at Ella and then back at Mia. ‘I love my daughter. She means the world to me and I want her to be happy. I want to be a good father. But now, I realise that to do that, I can’t give up on the other things that are important to me. Like love.’
He stepped towards her, placed his cup on the table, and reached for her hand. Mia couldn’t move. She just stared at him.
His blue eyes softened. ‘I don’t want to be just a dad, Mia. I don’t want it to be just me and Ella. If we’re both to be happy and if I’m to be a good dad, then I need to give Ella more. So…I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to be just friends.’
Her heart cantered beneath his beautiful gaze. ‘You don’t?’
‘No. I’d like to date you, Mia. I want to give us a chance and see if we can be more. Because I think I could love you too. That I do love you.’
She bit down on her lower lip. Her heart lurched and cheekiness rose up to spread a smile across her face. ‘You do, do you?’
He smiled too. ‘Yeah. So, I came here today wondering if we could do that? If you’d like to have dinner with me and Ella tonight?’
She remained composed. ‘I’d love that more than anything, Aiden.’ Then on a laugh, she bounced on her toes and shot her arms around his neck. Her heart would surely burst as he gathered her close and pressed his forehead to hers. Mia breathed him in. Took a moment. Then lifted her gaze to his. ‘I don’t care what made you realise it, but I’m glad you did. Because we aren’t meant to live alone, Aiden. Or just with our kids. And I want to date you and Ella more than anything.’
‘Well, I wouldn’t ordinarily bring Ella on our first date, but—’
‘You’re a package deal. And I’ve been dying to meet her.’ Mia glanced at the little girl laughing on the grass. ‘She’s adorable.’
‘I’m glad you think so.’ He stepped out of their embrace and called Ella over. She came running and he scooped her up into his arms. ‘Can you thank Mia for showing us the animals?’
Ella beamed at her. ‘Thank you!’
Then her little arms shot towards her. Mia’s heart leapt. Aiden offered her over… And Mia took the little girl into her embrace. Ella’s arms wrapped around her neck and everything inside Mia turned warm and gooey. She inhaled and smelled cookies, flowers, everything that was nice, and her heart was lost.
‘I also realised,’ Aiden said gently, his hand dropping to rest at Mia’s hip. ‘That it wasn’t fair of me to deprive Ella of the chance to feel the love of a mother.’
Mia’s arms instinctively tightened around the little girl. She swallowed. Tried to find her words.
‘She does deserve to be loved.’ Mia lifted her gaze back to Aiden’s. ‘And so do you.’
Aiden smiled and wrapped his arm around Mia’s waist. ‘So, what do you say, friend? You want to risk it all and be more?’
She pressed her lips together and nodded. ‘I don’t know about risk, Aiden. I think I’m fairly certain about what I want.’
She wanted him. Marriage. Ella. To be a mum…
‘Then let’s finish what we started in Bali, Mia,’ he whispered as he lowered his head to hers. Mia’s chin lifted. With Ella tucked in one arm, she wrapped the other around Aiden and met his mouth with hers. This time, there was no uncertainty. Nothing held them back. It was a kiss full of passion. Heat. Desire.
Because this time, they both knew what they wanted. A future. Together.
The three of them had come home.