A Day at the Beach 3/4

Mia was startled a second later when she felt an arm wrap around her waist. She jumped but didn't pull away. Tim rested his chin on her head.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Tim said quietly not wanting to draw the attention of the twins and have Mia pull away.

"I was just really wrapped up in watching them. Sage spent so long in isolation in that hospital and yet he still is so attentive and generous to Ginger. I am amazed by them both." Mia told Tim.

"I feel the same way. I thought I would spend my entire life in solitude. Just me, alone with my thoughts. I thought I was content and had no need for anything else. I never thought I would have this beautiful life, but I will never let it go." Timothy vowed. His arm tightening around Mia's waist.

Mia didn't know why she was staying in Timothy's arms, but she didn't want to move away. Standing there with Timothy simply watching their children was incredibly peaceful. Sage suddenly looked up at Mia and Tim. As he took in their closeness, he tilted his head to the side trying to understand what he was seeing. After a moment he huffed and turned stomping up the beach. Sage flopped onto his lounge chair crossing his arms over his chest and scowled.

Tim sighed, "I don't know how to win him back to me."

Mia turned to face Tim and his hand slid to her waist. "Sage is like you. Arrogant and stubborn, easily frustrated and quick to anger, but he is also fiercely loyal and protective of Ginger and I. Sage doesn't trust you and thinks you will hurt us. It will take time and a lot of patience to win him over."

"I will convince him that I will never hurt you. I will never hurt any of you." Tim said emphatically. Then he moved his hands to either side of Mia's face before leaning down and kissing her sweetly, he touched his forehead to hers for a moment. Straightening he ran a hand through his wet hair and walked away toward the cabana.

Mia watched him walk away, not sure what to say or think. Did he really mean the things he was saying, she didn't know? Mia turned to check on her daughter and found her standing still a few feet away watching her with a tentative smile tinged with surprise on her face. Had Ginger been this close when Tim had kissed her? Did she see everything?

"Come on bug, let's go get something to drink," Mia told Ginger.

Mia took Ginger's hand and led her up to the cabana. They passed between Tim and Sage who were stretched out on lounge chairs quietly resting in the sun.

"Do you boys want something to drink?" Mia asked Tim and Sage. Grabbing each of their drinks Mia then handed out juices to the two children and waters for Timothy and herself. They spent an hour this way until it was nearing dinner time.

Mia pulled her shorts back on over her swim bottoms enjoying the way Timothy watched her movements. It was clear in Timothy's gaze that he wanted her. The intensity with which he watched her caused heat and electricity to race over her skin. The feeling was intoxicating.

Sage was still a little withdrawn when they sat down to dinner, but Ginger was her normal chatty self, maybe a little extra cheerful. She pulled Sage into conversation and halfway through the pasta Sage was laughing along with her antics. Timothy was enchanted by the two little people he had helped create and watched them with rapt attention, occasionally glancing at Mia with a smile. For her part Mia could not help watching Tim, he had changed so much. It was night and day.

Timothy was having an amazing day, but one thing was still driving him insane. He wanted to know where Mia stood with Nicholas. Being with her the way he had been today would be unbearable if she were pursuing the doctor.

"Mia, can I talk to you for a moment?" Timothy asked hesitantly. Mia nodded and they walked over to the lounge chairs. Tim didn't want to ask these questions, but he couldn't take not knowing.

"What is it, Timothy?" Mia asked.

"I saw your article in the society paper today. Is there any truth to it? Is there going to be a second date for Dr. Merches?" Tim questioned bluntly. Mia rocked from one foot to the other fidgeting.

Mia sighed, "No, there won't be a second date."

Not expecting that, Tim asked, "Why not?"

"Nick and I are not compatible. I do not have any romantic interest in him, and he doesn't have time for me or my kids. We went on a date to test compatibility and it went exactly as I expected, terribly. So that is the end of it." Mia explained. She didn't know why she was telling Timothy all these personal details, but she could not help herself. Tim was not sure what to think so he asked about the thing that was really bothering him.

"Mia, I saw him kiss you. That kiss was... well, are you sure there is nothing there?" Tim sighed agitated. He hated how much this bothered him.

"I'm not sure this is any of your business." Mia was embarrassed by how out of control that had gotten and in a public place too.

Timothy sighed and shifted his position. "Could you humor me please?"

Mia shook her head but spoke anyway. "It was just a kiss. It got a little out of control. Nicholas isn't the warmest of people, but he is very physical. There was nothing there that wouldn't be gone in a week. Happy now?"

Timothy grimaced as he absorbed her words. "Were you and Nicholas together in the past Mia?" Tim watched her trying to find the truth.

Mia kicked the sand and looked up at the darkening sky. "Together is a stretch," Mia scoffed, "and it would never have come up again, but Dominic has decided that I am going to marry Nicholas. Now that Sage is home, he doesn't see a reason for me to wait anymore."

"That kiss should never have happened. I knew better... I knew Nick would take advantage... He is an everything or nothing sort of man, but I thought it was harmless. I just wanted to be able to tell Dominic that I honestly tried so he would stop pushing me to marry." Mia explained sighing.

"The problem is it was only harmless for me. I think Nicholas took it as a promise and now my life is all over the damn papers. We have people to stop this type of story from being published but Dominic said he did not think it was important. He let them run the article and that was after I told him that I would not be seeing Nick again." Mia vented in a frustrated tone.

"That's who stopped me from having the story pulled." Timothy muttered quietly.

"What, what are you talking about?" Mia asked alarmed.

"I was notified around three this morning the Society Gazette was to run an exposé on you and Dr. Merches. I fought to quash the story but there was another party fighting to have it published. The most I was able to do was alter the content and photo so that it wasn't so sensational and provocative. Do you want to see the actual story your brother wanted the paper to run this morning?" Timothy scowled and waited for a response.

Mia wasn't sure that she did, but on the other hand she felt like she needed to know how far Dominic would go to push her toward Nicholas. After a moment's hesitation she nodded, "yes, I would like to know."

Tim walked to the cabana and grabbed his phone. He ruffled Ginger's hair as he walked past seeing that both the children were still eating. He was still in awe that these two little humans belonged to him. Walking back to Mia, he signed into his phone and pulled up the file from this morning.

"Here," he said handing the phone to Mia, "take a look."

The first thing she saw was the photo of herself entwined with Nicholas and after reading the headline her hand came to cover her mouth in shock. A look of horror came over her features as the implications of what would have happened if this had been published rocked through her. Surely, Dominic would not try to trap her like this. Mia looked up at Timothy and saw his grim expression.

Mia shook her head handing Tim his phone, "There is no way Dominic would try to trap me like this. It would cause a huge scandal for the family if I refused to marry Nicholas." Mia could not believe it. Her brothers loved her and wanted her to be happy. "Can you send you send me this file, please?" Mia asked. Tim nodded, hitting a few keys and a second later her phone buzzed.

"This is the story that would have run if I had not intervened, and my sources swear that it was Dr. Merches himself that confirmed the impending engagement." Tim scoffed. "Do you think something like this would slip past Dominic?"

"No, but... he wouldn't." Mia murmured quietly.

"To keep you away from me, he would." Timothy affirmed bluntly.

"So again, I ask you, does Nicholas have a reason to think that he can convince you to marry him?" Tim questioned trying to get Mia to give him a straight answer. Mia looked at Tim sharply. She crossed her arms across her chest, her demeanor slightly defensive.

"I don't owe you an explanation. Tell me why you want to know." Mia responded.

Tim reached for Mia pulling her a step closer to him by her crossed arms. He ran his fingers along her jaw before dropping his hand.

"You and the twins are my family. I have made it clear that I will not give up my pursuit of you. I want to know what it is that makes the doctor think he has a claim to you. I find it hard to believe he confirmed an intention to marry you because of a first date that lasted less than an hour and one kiss." Tim didn't want to tell Mia that Dr. Merches had implied intimacy between him and her. He wanted Mia to tell him herself.

Mia huffed clearly uncomfortable with this conversation. She turned her body so that she could look out over the surf, her gaze drifting with a defeated sigh, she began to speak.

"When the twins were about eight months old Sage's health took a turn for the worse. He was barely clinging to life. I spent every minute I could with him just willing him to take that next breath and when I wasn't with him, I was trying to care for Ginger." Mia glanced at Timothy, noticing the stricken look on his face. Mia ignored it and forged ahead.

"I was at the hospital so much that Nicholas let me use his office and ready room to have a place out of the hospital wing to rest. Since I was a regular in his office, we ended up becoming close friends. Nick was not around much but he would check on me, reminded me to eat and sent me food so I wouldn't starve. He took care of me, and he fought every day to save Sage's life." Mia paused the memory playing in her head.

"Sage died," Mia glanced at Tim seeing the tightness in his jaw and the sadness in his eyes.

"Nicholas managed to revive him, but he was on life-support unable to breathe on his own. I have never felt so lost. I felt like there was no hope and I was exhausted, desperate, and alone. Nick knew how upset I was, so he brought me a bottle of bourbon. He said I needed to forget, and he was right, I did." Mia trailed off the memory of that night clearer than it had any right to be.

Mia took a deep breath before continuing, "We started a physical relationship that night, a fling. It wasn't serious or at least that is what I thought. I just wanted a distraction, something to take my mind off Sage's condition. Sage started to improve a few weeks later. I was spending less time in the hospital, and it was upsetting Nicholas. I thought we were just messing around, but he wanted to make things official, so I ended it. I told him I could not think about the future until my son was well..." Mia trailed off unwilling to look at Timothy.

Tim swallowed convulsively, trying to banish the image of the doctor wrapped around Mia's naked body. Tim was so jealous it felt like his throat was closing.

"How long were you seeing him for, in total?" Tim finally asked, his voice gruff.

"Umm, about two months, I think" Mia responded.

Tim nodded to acknowledge her, not trusting his voice to not falter. How could Mia claim there was nothing between her and Nicholas but had been intimate with him over and over for two months? It was no wonder that the doctor was fighting to win Mia's hand, he had every reason to believe that he could.

Nicholas had been biding his time until Mia was ready. They had a history, a deep friendship born from trauma and gratitude, and a strong physical relationship with each other. This was bad. Timothy knew that he needed to control his panic and pain. So, he took a deep breath and locked it away to deal with it later. He would not lose Mia.