Page 88 of Burden to Bear

“And that’s where you’re wrong, Mia. You aren’t a burden. Your baby isn’t going to be a burden. I liked you for you. I love you for who you are inside. Everything else, quite frankly, is a bonus.”

My lips parted in shock. Suddenly, I was the one feeling nothing but disbelief.

Brock wasn’t finished. “My brother is a single dad. Izzy doesn’t have her mom. If what you’re saying is the way you truly believe it’s supposed to be, that I’m not supposed to love you because you’re having a baby, then what you’re telling me is that not only should my brother never be able to find love again, but also that Izzy doesn’t deserve to have a mother figure in her life. Chris will be alone forever, and Izzy will never know what it’s like to have a mom. I can’t imagine that’s how you think it should be.”

As soon as he put that out there, I realized how badly I’d been mistaken. I’d gotten it all wrong. Because I didn’t think Chris should spend the rest of his life alone. And Izzy was the best little girl I knew. She absolutely deserved to have a mother.

“You’re right,” I rasped.

“Of course, I’m right. But I’m not mad at you,” he assured me. “We both clearly made some mistakes when it came to getting ourselves to this place. We’re here now, though, and honestly, that’s all I care about. I just want to make you happy.”

Brock wanted to make me happy.

I wanted him to be able to do that.

“Only if you’ll let me try to do the same for you in return,” I said.

He smiled, the tension dissipated, and he gave me a kiss. “That’s a deal.”

With that, we finished up our breakfast. Then we spent the rest of our day off together, doing our best to make up for the time we’d lost.

TWENTY-FOUR

Mia

“Take it easy this weekend, Mia.”

That came from Freya.

“Yeah, don’t go having the baby early just for a little bit of drama,” Jamie added.

I stopped my movements, turned around to face my coworkers, and insisted, “I have no intention of having the baby this weekend. But I am meeting with my ex’s sister for dinner tonight, so anything is possible.”

“Are you serious?” Paisley asked. “Even after you declined her brother’s proposal?”

“Is this supposed to be a friendly dinner?” Freya questioned me.

I held my hand up to calm them down, but it did little to help. Their faces were littered with concern. I hated that they were worried, but I loved that they cared. “Yes, I’m serious about the dinner, but I was mostly joking about anything being possible. Susie and I get along great, and she’s been nothing but supportive of me ever since she learned about the pregnancy.”

As my coworkers all seemed to relax a bit, Jamie said, “I think it’s great that you’ve been able to maintain a relationship with your ex’s family.”

They all smiled brightly at me, and it was Freya who said, “Well, then, enjoy your dinner tonight with your baby’s aunt, and enjoy the rest of the weekend with your new man.”

That brought the same smile to my face. “I fully intend to do precisely that. I hope you all enjoy your weekend, too. I’ll see you on Monday morning.”

“See you next week, Mia,” Paisley called out as we all stepped outside.

I received similar sentiments from the rest of my coworkers, returning them, as we made our way through the parking lot toward our cars.

It had been just over a week since the 4th of July holiday when everything happened and turned my world upside down in ways I never thought possible. The first day I returned to work afterward, my coworkers and I had shared details about the exciting things we’d all done with our time off. As they all freely shared, so did I. And the conclusion had been drawn that I’d had the most shocking experience of everyone.

So, it was no surprise as we left work today that my friends were teasing me about having a quiet weekend. For the most part, I fully intended to do just that, but tonight I was heading out to have dinner with Susie like we’d planned. I wasn’t necessarily nervous about meeting with her, but I was curious to hear what she had to say. I didn’t expect that Todd refrained from losing his cool with his family, especially considering how soon after Todd’s proposal, I received that text from his sister.

The only thing that worried me was what her reaction to learning about Brock would be. She’d made it clear months ago that she realized it was possible I could move on before Todd woke up to the reality of what he was giving up. But in a situation like this, I thought it was one thing in theory and something else in practice. I hoped her position hadn’t changed.

Because I wanted to be able to openly share the news of my new relationship with her. The last week and a half had been nothing short of magical. And considering Brock had always been such an attentive guy, I thought it said a lot about the kind of man he was in a relationship. He was that much better. I couldn’t have asked for anything more than what I got from him.

I finally made it to the restaurant where Susie and I planned to meet. No sooner did I park, she pulled into the lot. I got out of my car, waved, and waited for her to park. The next thing I knew, she was running toward me with such excitement in her expression.

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