Chapter Four

“You’re also… I don’t know. Making up for lost time, maybe. It’s like you feel so bad that you weren’t there then, so you’re killing yourself to be there now. It’s some kind of penance, but again, what you need to get straight in your head is that Nick made the choice to not let you support him. He didn’t talk to you, Mia, and he didn’t talk to me.” Those eyes were so soft in his hard face, and Mia saw real worry and regret there. “If he’d asked, you’d have been there. I know that, and he knows that, and you’d damn well better know that. He didn’t ask, though, and that’s not your fault.”

“It’s not yours, either.” She forced herself to speak though the lump in her throat. “I know that you’ve been running yourself ragged at The Rock, picking up the slack from Nick missing work. Katie said that you sleep maybe three hours a night, and that if you’re not running the gym almost single-handedly, then you’re spending time with Nick. So you’re also doing penance, Adam. Also punishing yourself for something that’s not your fault.”

Adam paused. “I know.”

“Do you?”

“Yeah, intellectually I do. Emotionally?” He gave her a tiny, wry grin. “Well, I’m working on it.”

She managed a tremulous smile. “How’s that going?”

“Like shit. But I’ll keep at it.”

Mia laughed and then – to her utter shock and horror – she gave a deep sob. Her hands went to her face to cover her embarrassment, but Adam didn’t allow it. Gently, so gently for a man his size, he dragged her hands down, held her wrists. She fought to stop the tears from falling, struggled to stop the tightness in her chest.

“Nuh-uh, sweetheart,” he said softly. “You go on and cry now. God knows, it’s about fucking time.”

Panicking, she shook her head, trying so damn hard to make this not happen. “But… I don’t want to cry.”

“You need to, Mia.” He touched her cheek with one thick finger, watched her lips tremble. “It’s OK. Let go. I’ll catch you.”

That was when the floodgates opened, in full force. In the face of Adam’s kindness and sweetness, Mia lost the battle that she’d valiantly waged for three weeks – and she lost hard and decisively.

She collapsed where she sat, just crumpled in on herself. Adam was shocked at how completely she fell to pieces, and he quickly pulled her into a hug. He held her close and tight, trying to not crush her small body in his huge arms. God, she was hurting, and all he felt was pain radiating off her in waves.

Mia curled up against Adam, shaking wildly. She didn’t even care how weak and stupid she looked right now – all she was able to handle in this totally broken moment was sucking in breath, and she wasn’t even doing that especially well. Her chest hurt from lack of air and the force of her sobs, and she just held on to Adam’s body as she drowned in a sea of grief and anger and confusion.

After a while, Mia realized that Adam was gently stroking her hair and saying something to her. She focused on his words, really put effort into making them out. He wasn’t saying anything special or earth-shattering – he was telling her that she was OK, that it was all going to be alright, that he had her – but as it turned out, she didn’t need to hear anything original. No, she just needed his touch and warmth. His strength and gentleness.

Slowly, she calmed again, but he didn’t let her go. Not until she stopped shaking and every tear had dried. Only then did Adam draw back and study her face.

“You good?” he said.

She nodded, swiping at her eyes to get rid of the last bit of evidence. “I’m sorry, Adam.”

“Don’t.” The word was a low rumble out of that massive chest. “Never again do you apologize to me for hurting, Mia. You’ve been so damn brave and strong for so damn long… and now you need to stop. You need to rest and hand over a bit. Let us hold you up. We want to, I promise you. Katie and Reena and Maggie are dying to be there for you, so just let them. OK?”

“OK,” she whispered. “I know you’re right.”

“I’m always right, hon.”

She managed a small laugh. “Does Katie know that?”

“Oh, hell, no.” He grinned at her. “And don’t you tell her I said that. She’d kick my ass into next week.”

“Next month,” she corrected him.

“You got that right.” He gave her another once-over, saw that Mia looked steady. “You need some more time out here?”

“No.” She got to her feet and he followed. “I want to go back to the waiting room.”

“OK, then. Let’s go.”

“Adam?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

He stared down into her eyes, those eyes that were such a soft, light brown that they actually looked gold. This woman was everything that Nick had ever wanted, and Adam was nothing but relieved and grateful that she was still here, even after Nick’s pig-headed idiocy.

Christ, Nick could so easily have shoved her away and for good – and God knows, he’d given that one hell of a shot. But if he had, then Nick would never have forgiven himself. Worse, Adam suspected that if he had, Nick would never have gone to Mia to explain or apologize. No, he’d have been too noble and fall-on-his-own-goddamn-sword to do that. In his mind, he’d have spared Mia all of this unhappiness… and he’d have been nothing but miserable himself.

Instead of letting Nick’s secret destroy them, though, Mia was here and she was committed to staying here. Despite her diminutive size, the woman had the heart of a warrior and she’d done nothing but fight for the past few months.

She’d fought for Nick and she’d fought for their relationship and she’d fought to keep his leg. Where so many others would have given in and walked away, Mia had stayed the course… and now she was gathering up her strength to pull Nick through whatever was coming, come hell or high water. Adam knew that.

“No, Mia.” His voice was so, so gentle. “Thank you.”