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nothing but acceptance. I even had a teenage love that I have nothing but fond memories of. But the fact is that I picked these relationships. I found my birth parents. I forced my way into their lives. Hell, I forced myself on Carlos, for that matter. He had no choice; he never knew what hit him. I’ve always done the picking, Nick, and—”
    “—And for once you want to be picked,” he said softly. “I know. I’m picking you, Mia.”
    “No, listen to me…that very first day when you strolled into class? There were two girls sitting in the seats on one side of me and my backpack on the other. I saw you come in and my heart stopped.” She put a hand to her chest as if it ached. “I told the girls that James Franco was in the back row, and when they scampered off to check, I quickly kicked my backpack beneath the seat in front of me, making it look like I had nearly a whole row to myself so you’d take one of the seats. And then…” She sucked in a breath. “Then I broke the cardinal girl rule.”
    Nick was confused. “Girl rule?”
    “I didn’t wait three days to see if you’d contact me. I made sure to run into you the next day with brownies. I threw myself at you, Nick. Don’t you see? You had no choice.”
    He stared at her for another beat and then laughed.
    She smacked him. “I’m serious!”
    “So am I.” He let his smile fade, let his own intent ring clear in his voice. “So now you listen. Mia, I think of you from the moment I open my eyes to when I close them at night. You make me smile, you make me ache. You make me think, you make me strong. You make me frustrated as shit, and I honestly can’t see myself without you. I know you don’t quite believe that right now, and that’s okay. I can wait for you to catch up.”
    She shook her head. “I’m so confused. I really thought that this whole thing was your fault, but now I’m confused because you’ve changed your mind about commitment. I’m going to be a counselor, Nick. How can I be a counselor when I’m so confused? God, I was such a smug idiot.”
    “No, you’re the smartest woman I know. And if anyone’s the idiot, it’s me. A slow idiot.”
    She didn’t disagree with him, which might have made him smile if this hadn’t been so serious. “I didn’t change my mind, Mia. I always knew.”
    She stared at him, and he touched her, running a finger along her temple. He couldn’t help himself. “I just didn’t know how to make this work,” he said.
    “And you know now?”
    “No, but I want to figure it out. Together. Mia, I heard back about the job.”
    Her breath hitched, and she stared into his eyes. “You got it.”
    He nodded, taking in her expression. She was happy for him. He could see that clear as day. Past any sadness for her own heart, her relief for him was tangible. Tugging her close, he buried his face in her hair. Carlos was right. Neither of them deserved her, himself especially. But hell if he’d walk away. “I was going to tell you about it at dinner the other night, but then I couldn’t.”
    She pulled back and stared into his eyes. “Because you thought I would hold you back?”
    “No.” He tightened his grip on her. “I knew you wouldn’t. But you were talking about us going skiing next month, and then on a Valentine’s Day trip. I want to do those things, but I probably won’t be able to. And I didn’t know how to tell you.”
    “So you told me nothing?”
    “Not my finest moment,” he admitted. “Look, this is going to be a challenge for us, but it can work. Tell me you know that, that you still feel something for me.”
    “I feel lots of things for you, Nick. Probably too much. But that doesn’t change anything.” She turned away from him to the controls and adjusted their course. “It’s just too complicated,” she whispered. “You shouldn’t have come.”
    “I’ll always come for you.”

Chapter 7

    M ia kept her eyes on the horizon, but she didn’t have to turn around to