Chapter Twenty-Three
Logan
I asked Mia to meet me at the Cordiale, the Italian restaurant in Mia’s hotel. I’d heard the lunch menu was great, and I needed to see her. I’d spent more time than I’d like to admit thinking about her last night.Why had I kissed her? Had she written her angry letter? Had she spent the night crying or feeling sad at all?
Her ex had done a number on her, and I knew she had been holding on to so much, more than she realized. One day, I’d help her get over it, we’d work on it together.
“Morning, Ms. Moretti.”
My head snapped in the direction of the host standing by the front door of the restaurant.
Holy fucking shit. My jaw slackened, and I felt my heart stutter.
Her caramel hair had been cut and shaped with added highlights of honey, bouncing with every step in my direction. Her heels looked flawless with her tan legs and pencil skirt and off-shoulder long-sleeved shirt. She looked like a new woman, a complete one-eighty from yesterday’s version of Mia. She was smiling and practically glowing.
“You look …” I didn’t know which synonym of beautiful to use because simplybeautifuljust wasn’t close to how she looked right now.
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, and I had to put my hands into my pockets to stop myself from reaching out to rub my thumb against that lip.
“I got a haircut this morning and finally used one of the personal shoppers we have on staff. Nothing like a new pair of panties to get your morning kicking off right.”
She started following the host with the menus to our table, and all I could think of was what her new panties looked like. From the lack of lines in her tight skirt, I’d say she was wearing a sexy thong.
Lord help me.
These next five weeks were going to be hell on my libido if she was going to be flaunting her perfect ass in front of me every day.
“Thank you, Tom,” she said to the host as he held out the chair for her and then helped her scoot in across from me on the square table near the window with a perfect view of the beach.
“Thank you,” I said it to him as well for seating us despite it being his job. It was nice to hear gratitude, no matter what, and I liked to make people smile as often as I could. “Okay, spill. What happened?” I had an inkling as to what had happened, but I still didn’t feel like she was ready for it. Maybe I would be proven wrong.
“Let’s order, and then I’ll divulge.” She looked over the menu and told me that it changed frequently, so they could attract people who weren’t staying in the hotel as well as the customers that were. Always new dishes to keep people satisfied instead of growing stale on taste.
She ordered the mushroom risotto, and I kept it simple with spaghetti and meatballs.
A bread basket was brought out in front of us with a plate of oil and herbs to dip in if we so chose.
I took a bite of the warm bread and expectantly looked at her.
She huffed and drank some of her water before letting me in on the events that had passed since we parted ways yesterday.
“I ended up writing my angry letter to Wallace. It was hard, and I cried. I didn’t realize how much I’d been ignoring when it came to him. But then I got to a part of the letter, and I know you’ll think I’m crazy, but I saw this tether in my head. It was attached to him. All I needed to do was snip it, and I’d be free of him. So, I forgave him. And myself if I’m being honest. For letting myself get so down and dealing with everything I had. Once the pain was out and I faced it, I just knew what I had to do. I had to let him go for myself and my future.”
She grabbed a piece of bread and ate it while I sat there in awe.
“I’ve got to tell you, I feel like I shed a dead part of myself. Like I can be anyone and do anything. I don’t even know who I am or what I want, but I feel like, for the first time in so long, that I’m free to figure it out. Nothing holding me back.”
She ate her bread and waited for me to say something. Twice today, she had me at a loss for words.
“I’m so fucking proud of you, Mia. You have no idea.”
She blushed and looked out toward the beach.
“You’re pushing past all your barriers at lightning speed. Hell, by the time our six weeks are up, you could be teaching people about life and letting go. I’ve never been happier to be proven wrong.”
“Thanks. It just felt like the right thing to do. I can’t explain it.”
I knew how she felt. When I’d had to write my letters to my ex-wife, that was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do, right under forgiving her. It was like a weight was gone inside that you hadn’t even known was dragging you down. And Mia had just done it without taking any break to feel that pain. She’d just known what to do.
