"Nothing happened between us yesterday," I clarified.
"I saw you at the bar together," Mia said to me, tone flat as if she longed to conceal how it made her feel.
"She was at the wedding with Marco. I didn't even know. Mia, I swear to you there's nothing going on between me and Amber," I told her firmly.
"I thought maybe that might be why—" Mia started.
"Why I called you a business arrangement?" I finished her sentence, realizing why she had run. "No, Mia! No. I was not trying to prove loyalty to Amber. I was trying to keep Marco away from you."
"What does he want?" Mia asked, letting my admission sink in.
I looked at her for a moment. The truth was the only plausible thing to tell her because avoiding it had led us into this mess. "He wants me to work with him and I refuse to. If he knows you mean anything to me, I know he'll try to use you somehow to twist my arm."
The hair on her arms rose. Mia wasn’t stupid, she knew this was a dangerous life. I gave a gentle tug at her wrists. This time she didn't resist and moved over the armrest and into my lap. It felt good to have her this close again.
"You know I'll be honest with you," I reminded her. No lie had left my mouth, but I’d been careful about what I let her know.
"Marco said something."
"What?"
Mia looked at me and I wished I could get into her head. "It doesn't matter," she said eventually.
"Are you sure?"
Mia nodded but then blurted out, "Amber."
"Mia. I have a past," I told her. Amber had stuck a stiletto heel between us and refused to pull away, leaving me to this damage control. "Amber is part of that, but tell me, are you a saint? No ex-boyfriends?"
"The difference is that they aren't acting like they're still dating me," Mia told me.
"We never dated." A small detail but it held some importance. I had never considered Amber as a girlfriend.
"Lucas."
I frowned at the use of my full name. "Mia, I can't help it. I've told her to stay away and I'll keep telling her but there's not much more I can do. You need to trust me."
"The last time I trusted you, you ended up in bed with her."
I flinched at the reminder. Mia would be the woman that put me in my grave, because either I’d risk it all for her or she’d kill me for fucking up. "I didn't know what I was doing."
"Really?" Mia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," I said honestly. "Okay, I knew what I was doing but things were a mess and I didn't know what I wanted. You had every right to be mad at me, but it will never happen again."
I looked at her, hoping that whatever had started to grow between us was not broken beyond repair. I hadn't even had a chance with her yet. Now, with everything that was happening I needed Mia more than ever.
"No more, Lucas," Mia told me. "No more telling people I'm business even if it's to keep me safe. You can't try to get in my knickers and then call me business."
"I haven't even gotten close to your knickers."
That earned me a slap to the chest.
"Lucas, I mean it. Whatever this is, whatever is going on between us, it can't happen if you're embarrassed or ashamed of me."
Pulling her tight against me, I dotted a kiss on her shoulder. "Mia, I'm not embarrassed or ashamed. I promise you that much." She relaxed against me and I continued, "I really am sorry for last night. I should have never left you alone, and then we could have avoided this mess."
I leaned down and kissed her, slow at first and then hungrily. Mia responded and I was grateful that the anger and seeped away from her.
