Still Into You
Still Into You
Copyright © 2015 by Ryleigh Andrews
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by
Cover Photos by
Lauren Perry,
Perrywinkle Photography
Mandy Hollis,
MHPhotography
Interior Design and Formatting by
Christine Borgford,
Perfectly Publishable
Editing by
Lisa Christman of Adept Edits
Mia
Indianapolis, March 2008
A lot had happened to Mia Devereux over the past month, but the one thing that hadn’t was contact from her fiancé, Ethan Christopher. Not one word from him since he walked out of her St. Paul hotel room that frigid day in February. What did she expect though? She’d called for the damn break.
Still, it didn’t make it any easier to handle.
She wasn’t proud of the way she’d dealt with it. In fact, she was hellbent on avoiding it.
Hell, she was avoiding more than that. Mia was doing her damnedest to hide from her past completely.
When Ethan didn’t contact her after their fight when she was in Sydney, when he didn’t tell her that he loved her all that time, when he didn’t visit her when she was in New York, all of that triggered feelings from her traumatic childhood. Her mother leaving and abandoning her. The way her father changed after her mom left—turning cold, no longer the man who lit up when she entered the room or the man who told her he loved her any chance he got—and became the man who criticized and controlled her life and showed her no love.
That night, Mia effectively lost both of her parents. That event shaped her life—no, was
still
shaping her life. Being abandoned scared the hell out of her and that hairline trigger made her think that’s where Ethan was going. He’d thought about cheating on her, said those words to her, and that scared her into action. She didn’t want to be abandoned again. Once by her parents was seriously enough. She’d had enough abandonment to last her a lifetime—she didn’t want any more.
Couldn’t
take any more. She loved Ethan so much that she knew if he left her, she simply wouldn’t survive. She’d rather feel nothing—numb—than feel the pain of Ethan leaving her. That’s why she’d called for a break.
She thought she needed time when she said it, but she really didn’t know what it meant. Hadn’t really thought it through. No contact from Ethan, now that she did expect.
Still, Mia missed him the last four weeks, felt empty without him. Aimless.
Now, she sat back in the warm limo on her way to meet her best friend, Luke Stapleton, for an early dinner. Ethan wasn’t the only one she hadn’t spoken to in the past month. It was too hard to talk with Luke; he was too close with Ethan. Plus he knew her too damn well. She had only contacted him that morning to find out when he was having a birthday party for his daughter, Kaitlyn, Mia’s favorite little person, who was turning seven that weekend. It was during that conversation that he pretty much tricked her into a limo and into meeting him at Flash headquarters where he worked.
It felt weird to be back in Indianapolis and not going to see Ethan, staying with him, sleeping with him in their bed . . . at their house. Instead, she was holed up in a damn hotel.
The limo stopped at the main entrance where Luke’s assistant, Betty, stood waiting for her. “He’s still in his meeting,” Betty announced as she herded Mia into the building. “But he wanted me to get you and take you to his office.”
“Thanks, Betty.”
“Not a problem. My daughters are going to see your concert this Saturday.”
“Oh, really? That’s so exciting! Let me get them some backstage passes! I’d love to meet them.”
“Wow! That is so nice of you!”
“How old are they now?”
“Twenty and seventeen.”
“Oh my!” she said with a smile.
“Yeah, sometimes I can’t believe it.”
“I’ll give Luke the passes tonight,” Mia said, taking a moment to look up to make sure she didn’t walk into a wall. The smile fell from her face and the small amount of happiness she’d felt drained away. Ethan strode down the hall towards them, looking so damn handsome in his casual clothes—a pair of well-worn jeans that he loved to wear and a white Flash polo shirt.
Four weeks without any contact from him and she had to run into him. A scheduled time at his place or at her hotel where she could have prepared what to say would have been better. But now, she didn’t know if she had the strength to talk to him.
“Thank you so much, Mia,” Betty said quite loudly and Mia cringed. Shit, she thought when she caught Ethan glance in their direction. She kept her head down, hopefully hidden from him.
Don’t make any sudden moves, don’t look up,
she told herself.
Just keep walking with Betty to Luke’s office. Focus on her.
“You’re welcome, Betty,” she said quietly, finally remembering to answer. With her eyes trained in front of her, she tried her best to ignore him, but with a quick flick of her eyes, she saw Ethan heading their way. “It’s the least I can do.”
“Oh, hello, Ethan,” Betty said and Mia closed her eyes.
Damn it!
Nope . . . not going to be able to handle this at all,
she thought as her heart instantly started to pound. She didn’t know if she was having a panic attack or if this was her body’s way of reminding her that she missed him, that she still loved him. That she was his.
“Hi, Betty,” he replied with his sexy as fuck Southern accent, and her limbs turned to melted butter.
Betty turned to Mia. “Luke’s office is just down the hall at the corner.”