Page 91 of Burden to Bear

“I met someone.”

My brows shot up in surprise. “You did? When? Who is she?”

Chris laughed, held his hands up in surrender, and said, “Relax. I’ll get there in a minute. First, I want to know more about this situation with you and Mia.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Is it solid? I mean, you said that she turned down her ex’s proposal and chose you instead, so I’ve got to imagine that means good things. But I guess I just want to know how you feel about where the two of you stand,” he clarified.

“It’s funny you mention that, because I was worried about the very same thing. But we discussed things, and we’re solid. I’m happier than I’ve ever been, Chris.”

Any of the concern that had been lingering for my brother was gone. “That’s awesome, man. I’m really happy for you. Izzy’s going to lose her mind.”

My niece would be ecstatic to know Mia was now my girlfriend. With Chris’s mention of his daughter, I had a question of my own.

“Is there another woman who’s going to be meeting her soon?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I’m not rushing anything. Apparently, doing things that way doesn’t work. It didn’t with Izzy’s mom. So, I’m doing it differently this time. I’m going to take it slow and see where I wind up, but I’m not keen on introducing anyone to Izzy until I’m sure about who it is I’m introducing her to.”

No matter what, Chris had Izzy’s best interests at heart. That little girl was the most important person in the whole situation, so I thought my brother was making a wise move by moving at a snail’s pace.

“So, tell me about this girl. Who is she, and where did you meet her?”

My brother’s expression instantly changed. If I hadn’t gone through everything I had with Mia for months now, I might not have recognized the change in him. But once I saw it, I knew.

“Well, it was three weeks ago when I met her,” he started. My brother took the next half hour telling me all about this woman he’d met. Not only had his expression matched mine from months ago, but a lot of his words were the same, too.

I had high hopes for him. I wanted nothing more than for things to work out for him with her, and that in the long run, it would only mean good things for both him and Izzy. Now experiencing it on my own for the last week and a half, I didn’t doubt for one single second that my brother and my niece both needed the love of a good woman in their lives.

TWENTY-FIVE

Mia

“I’ll be back shortly with your meals.”

“Thank you.”

As our waiter walked off, I returned my attention to the man sitting across the table from me and smiled. “These last couple of days have been so much fun.”

Brock returned the smile and reached his hand out to mine. After he gave me a squeeze, stroking his thumb along my knuckles, he said, “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I’ve had a blast with you, too.”

Sending a dubious look his way, I noted, “Well, maybe by this time next year, I’ll be capable of doing more than I did this year.”

“I’m not the least bit disappointed by what we did these past few days,” he assured me. “I don’t feel like I missed out on anything at all.”

That was a relief.

It was now Sunday afternoon, the start of the first full week in August, and the two of us had taken a vacation together. We hadn’t done anything extravagant, though. Both of us had taken a few days off from work and brought ourselves back to the beach for a short, romantic getaway. Brock had insisted he wanted us to be able to do these last few things together before the baby arrived, and I just couldn’t say no.

We’d had a blast, too.

It wasn’t that we’d spent our time riding on jet skis or going paddle boarding—God, I could just imagine how much of a disaster that would have been for me. Instead, we’d merely enjoyed a few days of lazing on the beach, listening to the waves crashing along the shore, visiting the local shops and restaurants, and even checking out some waterfalls when we wanted a break from the beach.

I hadn’t originally intended to go on any trips before the baby’s arrival, but when Brock presented the idea to me and shared just how much he wanted this time alone together, declining his request just wasn’t an option.

Now, we were here.

We’d reached the end of our trip, and after spending the morning going for a long walk along the beach and making one final stop at a shop in town, Brock decided to take us out for lunch before we started making our way home.

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