“I enjoyed his company.”
She turned, a huge smile on her face.“I hoped he wasn’t too chatty.”
I shook my head.Not being a big talker myself, I was glad to have someone else carry the burden of conversation.
Mia grabbed a couple of mugs and poured coffee in them.She stirred milk into one for me and brought them both to the table.
“You drink your coffee black now?”
She wrapped her hands around the mug.“Moving from place to place, you never know what’s going to be offered.It was just easier to get used to drinking it black.”
Typical Mia, putting herself last.“You like what you do?”
“Yeah.I’m helping people.”
I believed it, because it was what she did all the time.Even going to medical school had been about helping others.
“You didn’t drive?It’s pretty wet out there.”
“It’s not that far a walk.And—” She stopped abruptly.
“And?”Was there something about driving to my place that was a problem?
“My car is at the garage.”
She was looking at the table, not me.With high school Mia, that meant she wasn’t telling the whole story.Was it the same now?“A big repair?”With Bruce not working, money would be tight.
“It’s going to take some time.”
Did they have another car?Unlikely.What was she doing to get around?
She pushed back from the table.“So, another smoothie to start the day?”
“That would be great.”She was changing the subject, but I had an idea about that.
While she pulled ingredients out of the fridge and cupboards, I remembered to tell her that her stew had been delicious.
“Thank you.”
She put everything in the blender and capped it, then hit the blend button.This was an old one of my grandmother’s.It didn’t have fancy settings, but it was strong and reliable.It wasn’t long before Mia was pouring smoothie into a glass for me.
“Maybe an omelet for breakfast today?Or, I looked up some recipes for athletes.I could do a breakfast burrito?”
I raised my brows.“That sounds incredible.”
Her cheeks turned slightly pink.“Once I’ve fed you and checked your hand, what’s on the agenda for today?”
“I need to work out.Then maybe we can sort some of the boxes?”I was a little nervous about what we might find.
She nodded and started preparing breakfast.Had she guessed what might be in those boxes?She didn’t seem worried.
After eating, I had a call with the team.Checking on my hand, my mental state, my routines.Mia verified that I was being good and that the hand was doing as well as it was supposed to.With that out of the way, we headed downstairs.
While I started on the treadmill, Mia neatly stacked the boxes with my name on them near the couch.She arranged some garbage bags for anything I wanted to toss and had notepaper on hand in case I wanted to list things.Keeping an eye on her as she bent over, displaying her ass to perfection, distracted me from the treadmill and I almost slipped.
Mia looked over.“You okay?”
“Yeah.”After that, I kept my gaze firmly ahead of me, ignoring the sounds of whatever she was doing.