Mia Found (Starting Fires Book 3) (38 page)

“
You’re leaving today,” he whispered.

“
Yeah,” I said, snuggling into his chest.

“
Before you go I have something I want to show you.”

We dressed and left the house, quiet as we drove to Paul’s mystery spot. Our bubble was thinning. The real world was encroaching, pushing in, poking, prodding. He held my hand, and I felt all of his emotions in the gesture. It was firm, the longing evident.

After twenty minutes, Paul pulled into an abandoned parking lot. It was seedy and isolated. Brown paper bags, and cigarette butts littered the ground and my eyebrows drew in.

“
Why’d you bring me here?” I asked.

Paul smiled, unbuckling his seat belt. “What? You don’t think this parking lot is beautiful?”

“
Umm…”

He chuckled. “This isn’t what I want to show you. Come on.”

Standing on the pavement, Paul took my hand and led me around one of the large brick buildings. We stepped through a narrow alley and then into an alcove. My hand went to my mouth and I gasped.

Lining the brick walls was the greenest, most beautiful ivy I’d ever seen. But more than that, so much more than that, was the graffiti painting the walls. Some were larger than life, covering an entire wall. Others were smaller and more intimate, but one thing was the same. They were all women, painted from various colors, their hair and clothes splashed and dancing. The similarity to my own work was obvious—though this artist had more life than I did. Not all the women were sad. Some even smiled.

“
Paul…” I walked towards a wall and gingerly touched one of the pieces. “This–this is amazing.”

“
It reminds me of you,” he said. “I don’t know who paints it. They never leave their tag.” Paul walked around the alcove, his hands in his pockets. His eyes focused on his feet, kicking rocks and debris away.

“
Not long after I moved here, right after I’d seen you the last time, it–it was hard, Mia. I found myself drinking every night just to numb myself. I’d sit on the couch and zone out, not feeling or caring about anything. We weren’t talking as much, and I know some of that is my fault. I didn’t make time for you as I should have. I stayed late at the office to keep from being alone. I took on every task they offered just to stay busy, but in all of that I lost you.”

Paul rubbed his chin, but then let his hands settle on his hips, his eyes refusing to meet mine. Whatever he was about to say felt important.

“
One day I saw an article about this place,” Paul said, his hand gesturing to the art. “You can imagine why it reminded me of you. After I left work, this is where I ended up. Mia, I sat here for at least an hour, just trying to feel you. I know you didn’t paint it, but it was enough. I could feel you here. When I miss you, this is where I come. I want you to know that no matter what, no matter what is happening in my life or yours, I always miss you. I carry you with me. I’m thinking of you. Needing you. No matter what. Okay?”

“
Okay, Paul,” I said, tears rimming my eyes. I thought about my home and was envious of him. There wasn’t a place I could go like this, somewhere that held pieces of him.

His old apartment complex sprang forth in my mind—the little pond resting in the middle with its wooden bench gazing out onto the water. Why had I never gone there before? Why had I never sought him as he’d sought me?

We stood on opposite sides of the alcove. The sun shone down on us. Pieces of the paintings burst to life as light hit. He was beautiful standing there, his green eyes made softer by the ivy at his back, his hair perfectly sculpted, his shirt tucked into his slacks. I imagined him coming here, standing in this place, thinking of me, wanting me.

“
I love you,” I said.

Paul gave me a bashful smile and reached out his hand.

I went to him.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

ONLY A FEW HOURS stood between Paul and me being together and Paul and me being apart. Soon he’d be driving me to the airport and we’d have our goodbye. I couldn’t let my mind dwell on that; just thinking about it made me want to cry.

When we returned home, Paul wanted to take a shower and I offered to walk Ferdinand around the neighborhood. I’d missed doing this. Letting this big beast drag me around was heartwarming. I took solace knowing that one day soon, I’d be able to do it as often as I liked.

After we made it back, I heard the shower running and peeked my head in. “Still in there?” I asked.

He laughed. “Actually I just got in. The office called and I had to handle something. I almost made it my whole vacation without having to talk to them.”

“
All right. See you in a bit then.”

My bags were already packed, resting at the door. The sight of them made my heart spasm and I glanced at the clock. Just over an hour. That was it.

Ferdinand came to my legs and gave me a nudge, barking as he scampered into the kitchen. I followed him to his food and water bowls, filling them up.

So preoccupied with my worrying thoughts, I barely registered hearing the front door open. The grating sound of key. The twisting of the handle. It all suddenly came together, and I froze, staring at the door dumbfounded, afraid that a serial killer was about to break in and Paul was clear across the house, naked and in the shower.

Instead of an axe wielding murderer, Liza appeared with a box in her hands. She was smiling as she walked in, casually dropping her keys on the counter.

“
Oh!” Liza yelped, noticing me. “Mia, you scared me to death. What are you doing here?”

“
Uh…” What did she mean, what was
I
doing here? What was
she
doing here? And why did she have a key?

“
Oh. That’s right,” she said. “I forgot you’d still be here today.”

“
I’m leaving in a bit. But…Liza…what are you doing?”

With a saccharine smile she held up the box. “I promised Paul new wine glasses. Is he here?”

“
In the shower.”

Liza set the box on his counter and sat on one of the bar stools.

Silently we assessed each other. I realized that I’d been wrong about her. She looked nothing like Fiona. They shared tattoos and colorful hair, but their eyes set them apart. Fiona’s held sorrow. Fiona was like a wounded animal, fighting for her life. Liza’s eyes were cool, calculating. She wasn’t the wounded animal, she was the huntress.

Liza smiled, tapping her fingers against the counter. “You know,” she said. “I’d completely forgotten you two were dating. It’s remarkable that you’ve lasted. Most long distance romances don’t. I mean, especially when one of them is dashing off to hotels every couple of weekends with another woman.” Liza winked. “I mean it’s for work. But still. A lesser woman might have wondered.”

My mouth felt dry, like it had been hanging open. Taking a breath, I attempted to gain some confidence. “Maybe that’s why Paul likes me,” I said. “I’m not a lesser woman.”

“
Hmmm.” She propped her hand into her chin and studied me. “How much longer do you think you can keep this up? Paul’s my friend. I care about him. If you leave him out of the blue, I’ll be the one picking up the pieces.”

She
cared about him? My thoughts were so flustered that I ended up stuttering out a slew of nonsense. “You–I can’t–I mean–You’re such a–”

“
Mia!” Paul called, coming out of the bathroom in his towel. “I was thinking that maybe we could–”

He paused in the hallway, wrapping the towel tighter around his waist. “Jesus, Liza. I nearly came out here naked.”

Liza threw her head back with a laugh. “Wouldn’t that have been a sight?”

Her giggle made my skin crawl. Was she was flirting with him right in front of me?

“
Liza came by to drop off more wine glasses,” I said, not looking at Paul. “She gave me quite a fright when she used her key to get in.”

“
Huh.” Paul said, eying me, trying to gauge my reaction. “Well, uh, thanks for the glasses Liza. I gotta get ready so I can take Mia to the airport.”

“
No worries.” She waved a hand, rising from the stool. “I’d forgotten Mia was here. Since you’ll be solo this weekend, do you want to go out with me and Garrett to a concert?”

“
Uh. Maybe,” Paul said. “I’ll let you know.”

“
Sure just text me when you’re, you know, not dealing with all this.”

Liza waved goodbye and left, using her key to lock the door behind her.

My arms folded over my chest and Paul stood in his living room, eyeing me—waiting to know what I would say.

“
She has a key to your house.”

“
It’s not like that,” he said. “When I was going on all these trips, I needed someone to take care of Ferdinand. She offered.”

“
Why did she offer?” I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. “Can you think of any reason she would do that?”

“
No,” Paul shrugged. “I guess she was just trying to be helpful.”

“
You’re such an idiot!” My hands flailed around and I was shocked at my sudden outburst. “You really think that’s it! That she just wants to ‘help’ you. She wants you Paul. She wants me out of the picture so she can have you.”

“
No, she doesn’t.”

I hated how calm he was being, how blasé and relaxed. It only made me angrier. “How do you know that? You don’t. But
I
do because every time she’s around me, she throws those little things in my face. ‘Oh, I spend so much time with him.’ ‘Oh, Paul you’re such a wino, but I won’t tell Mia all your secrets.’ Bullcrap!”

“
Can I put some clothes on before we continue this?”

I huffed, waving my hand in dismissal. Within only a few seconds, he was back, jerking a shirt over his torso. “I work with her a lot, Mia. You already know that, but we’re just friends. Only friends, okay? We’ve never been and never will be more than that.”

“
Has she ever come on to you?”

Paul took a deep breath through his nose, letting it out in a huff. Without looking at me, he said, “Yes,” and I turned my back on him.

“
Once, Mia. Not long after I moved. Only once.”

“
What did she do?” I asked, staring out his window.

“
She tried to kiss me. When I told her no, she apologized and said she didn’t realize I was still dating you. She hasn’t tried since. But you should know after that I distanced myself from her. We hardly talked. But we’re friends now. Just friends. I don’t want her, Mia. At all. Even if I’d never met you, I wouldn’t want her.”

His hands fell on my shoulders and he rubbed them down my arms, stopping to wrap them around my waist. “I hope you know there’s no one else for me. But I’ll get my key back. You’re right. She shouldn’t have one. I’ll give it to someone else.”

“
You shouldn’t have given it to her in the first place,” I said with more calm. This is what she wanted, me to look like an insecure fool. “But it
would
make me feel better if she didn’t have one.”

“
Consider it done. Though if you’d been there when I gave it to her, I think you’d understand. I’d asked everyone in the office but her to help out with Ferdinand. When she knew I was looking, she offered, but all day I begged everyone else before I relented. She really was the only one available, and since I’m still gone all the time, I let her keep it.”

Less than an hour stood between us and the airport and I didn’t want to spend it worrying about Liza and her key and her stupid words. Instead, I followed Paul to the couch and lie down on his chest, letting the rise and fall of his breaths sooth me. The steady rhythm of his heart was like a clock, ticking away at our time.

“
I have something for you,” he said, breaking the silence. Only a few minutes were left. “I want you to look at it. Okay?”

“
Okay…”

Paul maneuvered out from under me and left the room, returning with a stapled stack of paper.

“
I found it a while back. Looking at it, I think it’s a good one.”

It was a job application for The Charles Dale Art Museum. I’d never heard of it, but glanced through the documents. It was beautiful. All the showrooms were exquisite and they had a large collection.

The description said, “Entry level position in a well-loved art museum located in a great community with opportunity for growth and trips across the world to sister museums. Starting salary of $45,000.”

This was too good to be true. “Are they still hiring? Do you think I could get an interview?”

“
If you want one,” Paul said. “Catherine is friends with one of the directors. She’s the one who told me about it.”

“
Yes. Of course. Yes, I want one. But I’ve never heard of this museum before. Where is it?”