Page 42 of Claimed By my Frenemy

Mia finally moves, and I’m allowed to shake my hands out. I take a couple of deep breaths. Mia bends down for the next piece of film, but as she stands, her eyes catch on my groin area.

I can tell there’s no hiding what I’ve been thinking about, but I still attempt to turn away from her so it’s not as obvious.

“I probably shouldn’t ask what you’re thinking about, huh?” Mia finally says.

I burst out laughing. “Only if you really want to know.”

Mia bites her bottom lip and looks away. She wants to say something, I can tell, but she’s not willing to be completely vulnerable with me yet. And I understand it. I’ve been badgering her about this property, and she doesn’t completely trust me.

When we finish with the film, my arms are burning from holding them in such an awkward position for so long.

“This looks incredible,” I say, turning my head back and forth and taking in the effect.

“It does. We did a good job.”

“Yeah, we did. Thank you for letting me help.”

“Lettingyou help? You saved me hours of work. Actually, I don’t know how I could have done the window film without you there.”

There’s a moment of silence, and I want to say something meaningful. I don’t just want to head back to my resort and take over what’s happening there.

“Mia, I know things have been complicated between us, but I want to find a way to make this work. Not just the renovation, but us. I don’t want to keep fighting.”

She looks at me, her eyes difficult to read. “Theo, I… I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to give me an answer. Think about it. Think about if we could be a couple.”

“Again.”

“Yeah, again, if you want to count what happened in high school. You were my first girlfriend, but what I thought was a real relationship back then, well…I had no idea what I was doing.”

“And you do now?”

“A bit more.”

I nod, feeling a sense of relief. “I… Theo, I need some time to think about it.”

“Sure, take your time.”

A little smile plays on Mia’s lips. I don’t know exactly what she’s thinking, but I know that I want to explore things with her even more. And she didn’t say no. That’s what I’m going to hold onto.

21

MIA

After Theo leaves,I sit in the newly renovated sunroom, staring out at the garden. The newly tinted windows have transformed the space, and it’s hard to believe how different it looks now. It’s a lot like how I’m starting to see Theo. I never thought he would help me, and I certainly never thought he’d be so open and vulnerable.

When he admitted that he was afraid of failure, I just wanted to pull him into my arms and tell him that I feltexactlythe same way. I wanted to lay my head on his shoulder and stop thinking about all the worries that are weighing me down.

He’s not just some ambitious man trying to take money from any place he can.

Later that evening, I meet up with my friends at Groovy Grounds. It’s on the sound side of Oak Island, and we started coming here in our freshman year of high school.

It holds a lot of memories.

I can see that my friends are already sitting at a round table in the corner, but I stand in line to order my drink. A perky blonde whose name tag reads Addison smiles at me. “What can I get for you today?”

I realize that I’ve spent my whole time in line thinking about Theo instead of what I’m going to order. The panic in my eyes must show. Addison looks at me pityingly. “If you’re a strong coffee lover, I recommend the minty mocha. It has a Christmas feel to it. If not, our Frappuccino’s are pretty good.”

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