Try Me On for Size (24 page)

Wow. Was she really saying what Mia thought she was? A little hard to believe. Well, actually, no it wasn’t. Oliver was a decent and honorable man. She’d known that right after meeting him. He’d do anything to keep his mother happy, even something he didn’t want to do.

“I hate myself for making him think he had to do all that.” Tears formed in her eyes. “I should have known he was unhappy. What kind of mother doesn’t know her child? It’s my fault he felt forced to stay with a woman he didn’t love. If I hadn’t done that, he would have been free to be with you.”

“If he had come clean with me from the beginning, told me he was engaged, that he didn’t love her, that he was trying to get out of it, it might have been different.” Mia felt the moisture in her own eyes. “It’s very hard to trust someone after they’ve lied to you.”

Mia had forgiven him the first time he’d lied—the mistaken identity. But the second time? Could she forgive and move on? With him? Now that she knew why he had lied to her, why he’d kept his life so secretive, things seemed different. But were they different enough for her to put her heart on the chopping block again?

“Please try and trust him. He deserves a chance at true love, a chance I almost stole from him.” Ginny reached for Mia’s hand and squeezed. “And you deserve it, too.”

She smiled at Mia, an infectious grin, and Mia couldn’t stop her lips from turning upward.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Mia turned, and Oliver was there. Had he ever looked more handsome?

He smiled at the women. “What did I miss?”

CHAPTER
Twenty-Nine

O
liver couldn’t
control the joy spreading across his face when he walked back into the hospital room and saw his mother, her slender hand in Mia’s, as they chatted. It was if they had known each other for years. God, how he wished he’d met her sooner.

Mia squeezed Ginny’s hand and stood. “I need to get to the shop. If it’s anything like yesterday, they’ll need me.”

“Thank you for the visit, and the talk,” Ginny said to her.

“No, thank you.”

“Please come see me soon.”

“I will.” Mia turned and reached for her purse.

“I’ll walk you out.” Oliver opened the door for her and followed her into the hallway. “I’m really glad you came. She seemed to enjoy your visit.”

Mia nodded. “I did, too. And I meant what I said. I would like to visit again.”

“She’ll be going home tomorrow.”

“That’s great.”

Oliver shook his head as his vision blurred with tears. “The doctors are letting me take her home so she can die there instead of in the hospital.”

“I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

“No. The equipment will be set up in the morning, and hopefully by lunchtime she’ll be tucked into her bed. But definitely come by. Probably in the next few days . . . just in case she doesn’t—”

“I’ll be there. I promise.”

All he could do was nod. If he tried to speak, it would only come out in sobs.

Mia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tight. “I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”

He held her to him, trying not to break down or crush her rib cage as he hugged her back. He’d stand there forever holding her if he could. “You should probably go.”

“I can stay, if you want me to.”

She couldn’t even begin to imagine how badly he wanted her to. “No. You better go to work. Bryn needs you.”

She pulled back and met his eyes. “Will you call me later?”

He nodded and she stepped back, out of his embrace. His body shivered without her warmth. “Thank you again for coming.”

Oliver watched Mia walk away, wishing he could run after her, scoop her up, and never let her go. His heart broke watching her leave, and broke even more for what he had to face in his mother’s hospital room. But when he walked in, her smile was the brightest he’d seen in a while.

“That girl loves you. What are you doing here? Go.” She paused to catch her breath “You need to win her back.”

“I’ll talk to Mia later. Right now, we need to talk.”

She reached for his hand. “Time is so precious. Don’t waste it.”

Time was precious, and as much as he’d love to run after Mia, he knew his moments with his mother were far more limited. “I’ll make you a deal. If you let me sit here with you for a while longer, I’ll go see Mia the second I leave.”

Her smile returned. “Deal.”

“FINALLY!” PENNY
screamed when Mia walked into the shop. She stood behind the counter, a line waiting to cash out. “Where the hell have you been?”

“I’m so sorry. I had an errand to run, and that led to another. Then Bryn called about Oliver. I felt like I needed to go to the hospital.”

“How is she?”

“Not good. They think she won’t make it much longer.” Mia found it hard to say the last few words. How could she feel such sorrow for a woman she’d just met?

“How’s Oliver?”

“He’s devastated.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because I need to be. And besides, he’s just a friend.”

Penny stopped what she was doing and turned to Mia with a you’re-not-fooling-anybody stare.

“Are you talking about this Oliver?” a male customer in line asked. “’Cause, honey, with a body like that, you’re either a lesbian or a big fat liar.”

Penny turned back. “Oh, she’s a huge liar.”

“Am not.” Was she back in junior high now? “There are good reasons why we’re not together.”

But if Mia was being completely honest with herself, all the reasons she’d had were eradicated after one short conversation with Mrs. Christensen. She’d finally understood why Oliver had done what he had. But she was still terrified. How could she know for sure things would be different?

Or what if he annoyed her down the road? What if she annoyed him? What if they tried the happily-ever-after thing and had kids and things changed? They’d be stuck with people they couldn’t stand. If Bryn were there and could hear her inner thoughts, she’d probably smack her on the back of the head and say, “Stop being stupid.”

But what if they did find that marital bliss like Bryn and Johnny had? And what if it was stolen away? Mia was not as strong as Bryn. She’d never be able to overcome a loss like that. It seemed better to stay far away from love.

The customer’s sassy statement pulled her out of her thoughts. “Nothing would keep me away from that luscious man.”

It was fear, plain and simple, that kept her away from Oliver.

Penny went back to cashing out customers and Mia got to work on the shop floor. The clientele seemed much more mixed today. Mia was back to doing bra fittings and rehanging several dozen bras. And more than once she was asked where the men’s section was. Her answer: “Coming soon.”

The shop seemed to calm down around dinnertime and Penny took off.

“I’m running for subs,” Bryn announced. “You want?”

“Oh, yes.” Mia had barely eaten all day.

Bryn knew what she liked on her sandwich and was back in less than ten minutes, handing over sweet onion teriyaki goodness.

“I got a call this morning,” Bryn said after a few bites. “From the owner of Club Paradise.”

“Seriously?” What would the owner of a gay club want with them?

“Yeah. He said he’s heard all the buzz we’re generating and asked if we were planning on adding a men’s line. I told him we’ve already discussed it and he suggested a lingerie show at the club. We’d cohost the event and provide all the lingerie. Mostly male models, but some female, too.”

“Wow. That could be really big for the shop.”

“I know. He said he came to the shop yesterday and loved everything. He wants Logan and Oliver at the show. Thinks they could bring in quite a crowd.”

Mia giggled recalling how uncomfortable Oliver had been about all the men touching his behind the day before. But even though he hadn’t been sure about it, he’d continued anyway . . . for her.

“And if it goes well, the lingerie show can be a seasonal thing.”

“Sounds like a good partnership.”

“I know. Did you ever think we’d be partnering up with a gay club?”

Mia shook her head as she dove in for another bite of her sandwich.

“So, things aren’t good with Oliver’s mom, huh?”

“No. Such a nice lady. It’s so sad. Lying there like that, sometimes not even being able to breathe properly, but all she could do was worry about Oliver. She wants him to be happy.”

“Sounds like a great mom.”

“Yeah.”

“I get the feeling there’s more.”

Mia looked up at Bryn. Might as well tell her. She wouldn’t quit until she knew the whole truth.

“She told me his fiancée is evil and he only stayed with her because he wanted to make his mom happy, while she basically waited to die.”

“Oh. How sad.”

“Yeah. She wants me to give him another chance. She genuinely just wants him to be happy and thinks I can do that.”

“I do, too. I think you can make each other very happy. Life is short, Mia. You know I know that. And obviously Oliver’s mom knows it, too.”

“What’s the point of loving someone if they can be taken away so easily? Why should I knowingly put myself in that position?”

Bryn’s eyes clouded with tears. “Because it’s worth it. Every fucking moment I spent with Johnny is embedded in my brain . . . forever. Even if we’d only had a quarter of the time together that we had, it would still have been worth the pain in the end. That’s how worth it real love is.”

Mia couldn’t control her tears anymore. “But—”

“But nothing. Don’t miss out on it because you’re scared.”

Bryn, Mrs. Christiansen, hell, even Kyle all seemed to know more about love than she did.

THE SHOP
picked up for the evening—a welcome distraction after the conversation over dinner. But it was slow enough that Mia could handle it on her own. Bryn had been there since nine in the morning, and at eight, Mia had to practically push her out the door and force her to go home.

The last hour the shop was open was usually the quietest of the day, and that night was no exception, even though it was busier than most nights. Every sale made Mia smile, and finally she felt as if she could relax. The shop was safe.

The rest of her life was a mess, but at least that one thing had worked out as planned.

The door chime sounded, almost closing time, and in walked part of her mess. Oliver.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the hospital?”

“She refused to sleep unless I promised to come see you. And I always try to keep my promises.”

Mia smiled. She had just met the woman and could already envision her saying that to Oliver. “She’s one tough lady.”

“Sometimes she’s so strong it’s hard to imagine she’s as sick as she is. But she’s ready to go home tomorrow and be in her own bedroom with her own things.”

“Is she scared?”

“If she is, she hasn’t let on. She’s known for a couple years that she didn’t have long. I think her doctors are surprised she made it this far. She’s been planning her funeral the last six months, right down to the color of linens at the breakfast afterward.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She always loved planning a beautiful party. I think doing that and having control over something in her life helped get her through these last few months with her sanity intact.”

Made sense. Mia wondered how she’d feel if she had that kind of time to prepare for her death. And would it be easier on Oliver and his father having had so long to prepare? Bryn had lost Johnny so fast there hadn’t been time to think about anything but the sadness and emptiness.

But no matter what, everyone was destined to lose the ones they love. She couldn’t see how it was all worth it, like Bryn had said. Mia had just met Mrs. Christensen and it was breaking her heart to know she’d be gone soon.

“So, I thought maybe we’d go over to Club Paradise tonight,” Oliver said, yanking Mia from her thoughts on death. “See if anyone can tell us anything about Chris. What do you think?”

“Don’t you need to go home and make sure everything is set up for your mom?”

“Most of the equipment was already delivered and they’ll set everything up in the morning. There’s nothing else I can do tonight. Besides, it might be good to focus on something else for a little while.”

“Let me close up and we’ll go.”

Mia shut down the computer while Oliver flipped off the lights and neon sign in the shop.

“So, what does one wear to a gay bar?” Mia asked.

“There’s no way you’re getting me into leather pants and a mesh shirt.”

“Come on! You know how many more dildos we could sell if I dressed you up like that?”

“I draw the line at hot pink Speedos.”

“You can always wear that to the club. That would go over real well.”

“Uh, I’ll stick with my jeans and button-down.”

That was fine with Mia. Those designer jeans were sure worth every penny. Cheap denim didn’t wear like that. And the button shirt thing with the sleeves rolled up—so hot.

The perk of arriving at a nightclub at nine thirty: no line. That also meant there was no one there. But that worked to their advantage. They took seats at the bar and immediately a mesh-shirt-wearing bartender approached.

Oliver turned to Mia, hushed tone. “If you’d dressed me up, I’d be in the same outfit as the bartender. How embarrassing would
that
have been?”

Mia giggled as the bartender eyed Oliver and asked what to get them. Scotch and a glass of wine. It took only a moment for him to fetch the beverages.

“Never seen you here before.” The bartender leaned on the counter, completely ignoring Mia.

“Um, actually, we’re looking for someone. Do you know a guy named Chris?”

“Oh, honey. Do you know how many Chrises I meet? Between the men, women, and trannies, at least a dozen a week.”

Oliver looked to Mia. “Great.”

Mia’s turn to talk. “What about a Grant?”

The bartender seemed to be searching his brain.

“Short, skinny, kinda nerdy. Loves the Wizard of Oz.”

“Oh, I think I know who you mean, but around here he goes by Marvel.”

“As in Professor Marvel?” Oliver asked.

Mia tried to hold in her burst of laughter. “I guess it’s better than Toto.”

The bartender rolled his eyes. “So what do you want to know about him?”

“Does he hang out with a Chris?”

“You know, I have seen him with this one guy a lot lately. But he uses a bunch of different names. I think Chris is one of them.”

Oliver pulled out a fifty and slid it across the bar. “If you see that guy in here tonight, can you let me know?”

“Sure, baby. But I’d do it for just a squeeze of that fine ass.”

“Uh, we’ll go with cash instead.”

He shrugged and took the bill. “Suit yourself.”

“So what do we do now?” Mia asked Oliver as the bartender left to take care of someone else.

“I guess we wait.”