Page 116 of Getting Down to Business

“You are so stupid.” Mia rolled her eyes. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

She couldn’t go into all the scary details about what was wrong with her. They had jobs to do.

“Too many things are wrong with me.”

“You’re in love with him, Liss.”

“No way.”

“You wouldn’t give a shit if he went out with someone tonight if you didn’t really care about him.”

“I don’t give a shit. He can do whomever he wants.” If she could say it without cringing, it might seem believable. Mia wasn’t falling for it.

“From the way he was looking at you, I’m pretty sure he’s got it all kinds of bad for you. There’s no way he’s seeing someone else. This is ridiculous. Why are you fighting this so hard?” Mia huffed and started to walk away. Then she returned. “And you are being stupid. I know. I used to think it was safer to not get close, but you know what? Not every guy is going to lie to you. Andy isn’t that kind of man and neither is Grayson.”

“I wish I could be sure that was true.” She couldn’t imagine Grayson hurting anyone or lying. But then she hadn’t imagined Donnie was capable of such a thing either.

“It doesn’t really matter if we want to or not. Sometimes our hearts take over. Do you love him?” It was a question now.

“Maybe.”

“And you told the man you love to go be with someone else?”

“When you say it like that, it sounds pretty stupid.”

“I don’t know what happened to you before. I know you’re hauling around a whole bunch of pain and heartache. You need to find a place to dump it so you can move on.”

“I can’t.”

“You have to find a way. This guy makes you happy. I can see it. You deserve to be happy.”

“No, I don’t,” she whispered under her breath as Mia’s phone rang. She held it out so Alyssa could see the caller before she answered.

“Hi, Kenley. Why are you calling so early in the morning?” Mia’s face broke into a smile and she nodded. Alyssa pulled out her phone to see that it was still on vibrate, and that she’d missed call and a text message:

The baby is here.

When the picture of the prune-faced angel wearing a tiny blue beanie came through, her heart twisted with loneliness. She had no idea she still wanted this.

She thought she’d pushed all those hopes and dreams far enough away that they would never see the light of day again. But she wanted things. Normal things.

Too bad she didn’t deserve to have them.

* * * *

Grayson stood outside the prison with his hand tapping his leg nervously. Even the building looked menacing. Maybe that was on purpose. Maybe it was supposed to make people want to walk the straight and narrow so they wouldn’t end up having to live in a place that looked so unappealing.

To make things worse, the sky was a dark gray with unsettling clouds moving in. He could smell rain in the air. A storm. How appropriate.

He walked inside, making sure to read every bold-lettered sign thoroughly so he didn’t accidentally do something that would keep him from leaving when his visit was over.

I can’t believe I’m doing this,he said to himself as he waited in line behind a bunch of scary-looking younger women and older women with defeat in their eyes.

He filled out the proper paperwork, and signed the consent form before he sat on the orange vinyl loveseat in the waiting area. One by one, people came and went until finally his name was called.