Okay, this is the continuation of that cliffy, & you will also find out who the real mystery person is...I give credit to those who already know who the mystery person is! For those who thought of Michael being the mystery person, I tell you he's TOTALLY out of Mimi's life. So no more seeing Michael in the following chapters coz he's totally out of the picture. On with the show people!
Chapter Nineteen
Mimi gave a "beats me!" shrug & watched as he walked to the door. He opened it & blinked in surprise.
"Sora!" Stunned, he stared at the redhead standing on the step, her hands thrust aggressively into the pockets of her beige slacks. "When did you get back?"
"Just this afternoon. Matt, I have something to say to you." She looked over his shoulder & a muscle twitched in her cheek when she saw Mimi. "Oh," she said. "You're here, too. That's good." She walked past Matt into the kitchen & whirled around to face him. "Because what I have to say concerns Mimi, too."
"Sora," Matt said sharply, "keep Mimi out of this. I don't want you to upset her; she's in no condition to be…"
"I'm not going to upset Mimi." Sora's voice trembled. "I promise."
"If you do, I'll…"
"Matt, I don't want to upset either of you. Actually…" she took in a very deep breath, "I've come to apologize, to say I'm truly sorry for the way I acted."
As Matt watched in astonishment, he saw tears well up in her eyes.
"The things I said," her auburn hair bobbed as she shook her head. "I've been stupid…& incredibly self-centered. After Tai died, I…well, I just felt so lost, & needed someone to lean on, and you were there for me. But I held on to you more & more, instead of learning to stand on my own two feet. You've been the best friend any woman could have & I think I went crazy for a while, imagining you were in love with me…and believing I was in love with you when what I really felt was affection & tremendous gratitude because you've done so much for me & my boys."
Sora turned to Mimi. "Mimi, I've been so unfair to you. I don't know if Matt told you this, but I blamed you for taking him away from me. Whatever's between the two of you, it has nothing to do with me."
Mimi started to say, "Sora, there's been nothing…"
"As I said, Mimi, it's not my business. I didn't come here to pry; I came here to apologize & to tell Matt that I'm going to do something I should have done before. I'm going back to work. I had a lot of time to think when I was at my parents-in-law's house, & I've decided to go back to work and be the best single mom I could ever be to my boys. Actually, I'm starting next week." She gave Matt a watery smile. "I'm actually looking forward to it!"
"But what about the boys?" he asked.
"My Mom offered to help out."
"Sora, that's wonderful. Congratulations!" He was about to embrace her, but hesitated, & then he said teasingly, "Is it okay if I give you a hug?"
"Oh, you can still hug me!" Sora gave a shaky laugh. "I won't think any more into it, I promise!"
So they hugged, & then Mimi and Sora hugged, & Mimi brushed back a few tears and Matt said how he was going to miss her & the boys.
"I'll visit whenever I can," he said. "And if ever you feel you & the kids need a break, just pop up for a holiday. You'll always be welcome."
Sora left soon after. "I need to get home," she said. "I have loads of stuff to do & I want to get started. Will you drop by soon, Matt, & visit the boys?"
He promised her he would.
Before Sora drove off, she said quietly, "I'll have a talk with Yolei, Matt. Before tomorrow night, she…and everyone else in town…will know just what a foolish woman I've been!"
Matt said, "Sora, you don't have to…"
"Oh, but I do." Sora's eyes had a determined glint. "I have to set the record straight."
After she drove away, Matt said to Mimi, "Thank god everything's sorted out."
"You've been worrying about her all summer, haven't you?"
"I felt I let Tai down. I took responsibility for his family & I screwed up…I caused Sora more grief."
"Don't blame yourself." Mimi had come out in her bare feet & now she felt the gravel bite into her soles as she made her way back across the front steps. "Sora was lonely, & vulnerable…it must have been easy, & comforting, for her to believe she was in love with you…and vice verse."
He chuckled. "She said she went crazy for a while & she must have been. With a handsome face like this, who wouldn't?"
"Oh, I don't know," Mimi said lightly. "It has a certain charm. It's possible that…ouch!" she yelped as a sharp stone bit into the ball of her foot. "Hey, that hurt! I should have put on my sandals!"
"Yeah, you should. But since you didn't…" Matt picked her up in his arms.
"Let me down, I'm far too heavy!"
"Heavy?" he rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, you weigh less than feather. I have you know that you're not fat. You only feel heavy because you have a cute little baby expanding in your tummy. So," he went on as he walked toward the house, "you think this face has a certain charm?" He sounded smug.
What she was thinking had nothing to do with charm, & everything to do with sex. She was thinking how virile he was & how feminine he made her feel. And how close her lips were to his throat, where she could see a pulse throbbing. She could also see beads of sweat on his chin & could sense how rough that dark-shadowed jaw would feel if she were to cup her palm over it.
"Most women do like men to look like men," she said with an airiness she was far from feeling.
"I'm not interested in what most women like." He walked through the open kitchen doorway, swinging her sideways so she didn't hit the doorjamb. "I'm only interested in what you like."
He came to a stop in the middle of the kitchen & looked down on her. She could see three flecks of silver in the center of his left eye, four in the right. She counted them while he held her hand against his fast-thudding heart.
"You can let me down now," she whispered. "I…"
He kissed her. Passionately. Possessively. Desperately.
She couldn't have fought him even if she wanted to, which she didn't. She was his for the taking.
His lips were warm, soft, seeking…demanding. And as his kiss deepened, although he gradually let her slide down to her bare feet, he still held her imprisoned in his arms. As if he thought she might try to escape.
Nothing was further from her mind. In fact, her mind had ceased to function. Excitement & need rushed through her with the violence of a tornado, a whirlwind that sucked away her caution & sent it to oblivion. She wrapped her arms urgently around his neck & kissed him back with such intensity, it aroused him to a point where he couldn't hide it. Nor did he try to.
A low moan came from between her parted lips…a moan that became a gasp as his tongue went in & sought out his mate, seducing it into a dance of desire that sent spirals of sensation sizzling to her core.
She tightened her arms convulsively around his neck & at the same time, took in his sexy manly scent. It filled her nostrils & aroused her so much it made her forget everything except this man & what was happening between them.
When he finally drew back, he was breathing hard, his cheeks were flushed & his eyes were filled with desire. "We can't do this," he whispered & pressed a trembling kiss to her forehead.
"Do what?" she asked dizzily.
"What we both want to do." He curved a hand around her neck, his fingertips slick at her nape. "Make love."
"But…"
"I didn't mean to go this far," his eyes made love to her, though his body didn't. "You have to be very careful. We don't want to do anything that might harm this baby."
Slowly, slowly, Mimi felt her delirium begin to fade, & as it did, she gradually came to her senses. Matt was right, she had to be very careful. She wanted to be very careful. And thank heavens for his power of self-control, for if it was her, she'd have let him take her right there in the kitchen.
And now…she was embarrassed. And also angry with herself for letting him discover just how much of a slave she was to her desire for him.
"Matt, it won't happen again. I'm ashamed at the way I behaved just now…please put it down to hormones run amok because of my pregnancy. I'm not in the least interested in making love to you, & under normal circumstances…"
"Mimi, don't."
Taken aback by his pained tone, she gazed up at him. His eyes were serious & fixed on her steadily. "Don't what?"
"Don't dismiss what just happened. You can say you're not interested in me, or in making love to me, but if you believe it, then you're fooling yourself. As I've said before, princess, what we had between us will never be over. And what I'm saying now is I'm not going to make love to you…not now, not yet. But after your baby's born & you've had enough time to recover, I'll be knocking at your door again. You can count on it."
Count on it? Count on him? She hadn't been able to count on him in the past. Why on earth would she be foolish enough to count on him now!
AN: Sorry if this chapter's short. I promise to make it up to you & make the next chapter longer. There's only a couple more chapters left in this story, & hopefully it'll be finished by the end of the week. Don't forget to review!
PnkSaKuRaSyAoRaNS2, crescentmoon-cat – thanks guys! Lol Veronica – you were actually right with Sora. You should've followed your instincts. Hehe! Keep R&R! Riven – sorry to burst your bubble, but it is Sora. You don't have to worry about her though, coz this will be the last time we see her.
