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For hied to ruin that pretty well tonight Disgusted with hiot into bed where he proceeded to stare up at the ceiling, counting the ways in which he’d screwed up

There were too ue that his life was in crazy flux, but that was an excuse, and he hated excuses His reaction to Mia’s invitation had been knee-jerk, and he’d hurt her

He felt like shit about that, but he knew in the end, it was for the best He had no business going to meet her family One, he had no family experience None Two, he had even less relationship experience Three, he’d applied for a job that was going to take him places, the first of which was around the entire country for the next two years

It hat he’d wanted, to defend the kids ere falling through the cracks of the system--as he had Mia, iven up at birth, too

But she’d been adopted Nick had been shuffled fro anywhere Mia knew all this about hiether

But what she didn’t knoas that he’d gotten the job

He’d been planning on telling her at dinner, and then they’d have celebrated Except that being with her, as always, took hi but her and how he felt when he ith her

And then there’d been the real proble her so anywhere

He’d been wrestling with that when she’d dropped her wedding invite like a boo spend Christmas--a holiday he’d never believed in--with her fa else he didn’t quite believe in

When he finally fell into an exhausted, restless sleep, he dreamed about the first time they’d met, in a Human Behavior class that he’d needed in order to counsel teens on a volunteer basis

She turned her head and gave hi look when he slid into the class ten over She was in glasses, her eyes nondescript, her brown hair piled up on top of her head She had a laptop perched carefully on her lap and the required reading opened in one hand

A nerd, he’d iirl He always tried to sit by the sreat study partners He s on the lecture

He realized heimportant, as she had a full screen of notes He leaned in to try to read over her shoulder at the same moment she turned back to him

Their lips nearly brushed

Her eyes widened and her lips opened in a little oh! of surprise His reaction wasn’t all that different Had he thought her nondescript? She was the furthest thing froreen and bri beat, and then turned her laptop his way to share her notes

"Oh, whoops," she said, quickly closing a screen "That was my research project for a different class" She bit her lower lip "You’re probably wondering about it now"

Actually, he wasn’t He wasn’t even looking at her screen He ondering hoas that she sreen He ondering if she earing a bra beneath that thin sweater, or if she was just chilly…

"I’ about human sexuality," she said

Okay, now she had his attention "You’re researching sex?" he asked "As in how to have it?"

"Hey, I kno to have it," she said, and then blushed gorgeously when she caught the teasing in his gaze

Later he found out she’d been adopted, too Drawn by this thing they had in coht, and they ended up in Central Park beneath the stars watching an unexpectedwishes, little wishes, wishes for everyone in her life…and he found hi-time

Normally he never talked about himself, but she pulled him out of his shell, and they talked until dawn Talked Never in his life had he just sat and talked with a girl he hadn’t yet even gotten to second base But she was different, and he shared things with her that he’d not shared with anyone

The next night, she brought him homemade brownies And unlike the brownies his rooether ever since Nick flopped over in his bed They’d had fun exploring the city together Exploring each other Getting closer than he’d ever let soet before

And that’s about when her ex had shown up

With a ring

Yeah, that had been fun

Carlos knocked on Mia’s door late one night Mia was shocked at the visit Nick was shocked when she asked hio home so she could talk to Carlos alone

Nick went downstairs and stood on the sidewalk, wondering if he was about to lose the best thing that had ever happened to hiest hour of his life later, Carlos ca, hood up and hands in his pockets as he headed down the sidewalk, never looking back

Nick took the stairs at a jog, his gut in knots

Mia’s shoas running, and he waited until she ca her, she stared at him, and slowly shook her head

And then her eyes filled with tears

His heart squeezed as he strode to her and pulled her in close

"He wanted ainst his chest

Nick went still "And you said…?"

"I loved hi I had I wanted to make it work, but he didn’t He told me to move on So that’s what I did He broke my heart, and I just broke his"

Nick let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and pressed his jaw to the top of her head

"I think you should go," she whispered