Standing in front of Mia's apartment door, Beau's stomach was in knots. He felt like a high schooler, picking up a pretty girl for their first date, not like a thirty-three-year-old billionaire waiting for a woman he'd been dating for weeks to come to the door. His palms were sweaty, and he was pretty sure any sort of pungent odor would send whatever was left in his stomach from a late lunch spewing all over the dismal carpet in the hallway.
When she came to the door, looking as gorgeous as ever in an emerald green dress, her hair up and the necklace he'd given her draped around her elegant neck, his breath caught in his throat. "Hi." Mia arched an eyebrow at him waiting for him to respond to her greeting.
Beau took a deep breath. "Hi. You look... amazing."
"Thanks." Her eyes dropped to the bouquet of antique roses in various shades of pinks, reds, and whites, in his hand and then flittered back up to his eyes. "Are those for me?"
"Oh, yeah. Of course." He thrust them at her a little too eagerly. Mia took a step back but then took them with a thanks.
"I'll just put them in a vase. Would you like to come in." She held the door open with her slender body as she invited him inside.
"Sure." Beau took a few steps in but didn't go far. It wasn't as if he'd never been in her apartment before, but he was anxious to get her in the car and see if it made him calm down any. The fact that she'd agreed to go out with him again after what he'd said the night before should've been enough to let him know she wasn't horrified. He remembered what William had told them of the conversation he and Mia had had when he drove her home, but it wasn't quite enough to convince him he hadn't ruined everything. They still needed to talk about the situation. Or would it be best to brush it all under the carpet and pretend he hadn't said anything at all.
Mia took a vase out of an upper cabinet, one she might not have been able to reach if she hadn't been wearing heels, filled it with water, and arranged the roses inside before setting them on the counter between the kitchenette and living room. "Beautiful." She smiled at the flowers for a few seconds, and Beau relaxed slightly, glad to have brought a smile to her face.
Picking up a small handbag that matched her dress from the counter, she headed toward the door-toward him. "Are you ready?" she asked.
Beau nodded. "Yes." Yet his feet were not moving. Mia stopped in front of him, that questioning look on her face again. More oxygen, another deep breath, and Beau turned to walk out the door, Mia following. She paused to lock the door, and then reached for his arm, which he gladly gave to her.
Conversation was never a challenge with her, yet as they made their way to his car, Beau couldn't think of anything to say that might somehow lead back to what he'd said the night before, a topic he wanted to avoid, for the moment, at least. So he said nothing.
He'd decided to drive. It seemed like a good idea since he wasn't sure how she'd feel about being back in the limo with him after what had gone on there the last time they'd been alone in the car together. Beau opened the front door of his Jaguar, and Mia slid in. He hurried around and got behind the wheel, clicking his safety belt into place before backing out of the spot.
"Where are we going?" she asked, her eyes gazing out the window and the windshield, but not at him.
"I thought we might try a new place that opened up a few weeks ago. It's a steakhouse. Do you like steak?" He should've asked before. He thought she did....
"Of course," Mia replied. A glance over at her told him she was smiling. "Who doesn't like a good steak?"
He could think of plenty of people, especially some of his ex-girlfriends who only seemed to eat lettuce. But he didn't make a list. "How was your day?"
"Boring," Mia said, blowing out a puff of hot air. "Except for lunch with Emily. That was fun. How was yours?"
A smile played at his lips as he thought about how nice it was of Emily to agree to go to lunch with Mia and ask her if she'd be willing to meet Shaylee. Not that Emily minded. She liked Mia. He had just felt bad about asking her to do him a favor that had nothing to do with work. "My day was pretty good. Busy."
"Are most of your days busy?"
She had never really asked him about work before, which he found odd, considering she loved marketing so much. "Yes, usually. But when Sam is out of town, it usually makes it more so. I get a lot of his phone calls."
"Oh."
He hadn't meant to mention Sam, but it was hard talking about the company without mentioning his brother. She was looking down at her lap now, and Beau wished he could take it back. Bringing up the other topics that quickly came to mind-Shaylee, the fact that Emily had mentioned Mia was considering going back to school, his confession that he loved her-were not good choices at the moment, so they fell back into an awkward silence he didn't like until they were almost at the restaurant.
"Where is he, anyway?" she asked, her tone a mix between wonder and betrayal.
"Sam?" He glanced at her and saw hurt in her eyes. "He didn't tell you where he was going?"
Mia shook her head, the audible, "No," barely registering in his ear.
Why his brother wouldn't tell his secretary where he was going was beyond him. "He had to go to New York for a couple of days to see a client. I thought you had access to his calendar."
"Only whether or not he'll be in for lunch," she replied.
This was Sam's first out-of-town trip in a while. Maybe the first one since he'd hired Mia, Beau couldn't remember. "Well, he'll be back on Monday."
She nodded, but Beau caught the look of disappointment on her face and had to look away. She missed Sam-missed the things he did to her. Beau just couldn't understand that. What was it about his brother that had good girls, modest girls like Mia, crawling out of their skin to be spanked and demeaned? If he started treating her like that in the bedroom, would she be willing to let Sam go? He didn't even think he could do the kinky things Sam did. He certainly could never spank a woman. That just seemed... wrong.
They pulled up in front of the restaurant and the valet opened Mia's door for her. Beau came around and waited for her, handing the keys off, trying to remember that this beautiful woman was here with him because she enjoyed his company, despite what she might also enjoy... with his brother.
They were ushered to one of the finest tables in the most secluded part of the restaurant. He could see Mia looking around, taking it all in, as she always did when they were at a fine establishment. The restaurant was nice. Everything was new, including the stark white table linens and the rustic tables and chairs. The walls were a brick red with dark green highlights, and the wooden floors matched the furniture perfectly. The décor was a tasteful cowboy motif that didn't scream "Fake Texas" like so many steakhouses tended to do. It was nice, with soft music playing in the background.
Beau insisted on pulling Mia's chair out for her, rather than letting the maître D get it for her, and then set down across from her, hoping he was able to keep his steak down and have the conversation they needed to have. Looking across the table into her eyes, he prayed he wouldn't screw this up-because he was pretty sure he couldn't live without Mia in his life.