A Wedding 1/3

When Mia got back to the hotel room the children were already fast asleep. Angela was in the kitchen making the twins lunches for school the next day. When she finished, Angela asked Mia if she needed anything further before retiring to her room two floors down.

Mia went into her room and got changed out of her dress. She pulled on a satin nightgown with spaghetti straps and the silk kimono robe that Eva had picked her up last year while traveling. Mia grabbed a bottle of wine and a glass before curling up on the sofa with her feet tucked under her to wait. Realizing it had been over an hour since she had gotten in, she considered texting Tim but decided against it. Maybe he was too angry to see her.

Mia poured her second glass of wine and drank greedily. She would love to forget this entire day, she thought. Realizing she was still wearing Nicholas's ring she looked at it. It was not something she would have ever chosen for herself. The pointy edges of the marquise diamond looked hard and cold to her, like the man. Mia took it off and set it on her vanity table.

Mia finished her second glass of wine and considered a third when she heard a light tapping at her door. She walked to the door and looked through the peephole. It was Timothy. Mia opened the door and let him in.

Tim stopped just inside the door looking at her up and down as the door swung closed. He put his arms on either side of her trapping her and pushed her against the wall with his body as his mouth captured hers. She could taste the bourbon on his tongue as he kissed her and wondered if he was drunk. Not that she cared, Mia was buzzed herself.

After several moments he pulled back and allowed her to pass by him. She started toward the living room, but he pulled her with him to the bedroom, shutting the door behind them. Tim kicked off his shoes and started unbuttoning his shirt. She wondered what he was doing but didn't feel the need to stop him.

"Let's go to bed. If we must talk about the fiasco that just happened, I want to do it in bed with you against me." Timothy told her. He kicked out of his pants and removed his socks.

Mia unbelted her robe and laid it over the vanity chair. She was now standing before him in lingerie, and she saw his reaction as he took in her nightgown that barely covered her ass. Tim sucked in a hard breath before reaching out and taking her hand. He pulled her to him and buried his face in her hair. After a long minute he moved to the bed and pulled down the covers, he climbed into the bed and pulled her in beside him.

For a while they just lay there wrapped up in each other not speaking or moving beside Tim's hand that ran soothingly through her hair.

"Mia, baby, we need to get married. That is how we stop this issue. How we stop them from trying to keep us apart? This is how we stop your brother from interfering." Tim said quietly with a desperate tone to his voice.

Mia considered his words. Did she want to marry Timothy again? Mia knew the answer was yes or why would she have gone on the date with him and been with him so intimately. Sure, she wanted to wait awhile but did that really matter now. All that really mattered was that she wanted him too.

"All right..." Mia said calmly. It took a second then she was flat on her back with Timothy above her.

"Could you repeat that. I'm not sure I heard you right." Tim questioned her with intensity.

"I said all right, yes, I will marry you!" Mia laughed. Tim's lips crashed into hers as he crushed her into him. His mouth was everywhere, her lips, her face, her throat. After a minute he pulled back to look at her with a big smile on his face.

"Maybe you'll be conscious this time." Mia said smirking. Timothy kissed her again before he climbed out of the bed.

"Hey where are you going?" Mia asked as he walked over to rummage through his pants.

Timothy came back and sat down beside her. Picking up her hand he slid a ring on her finger. She looked at it. It was a large oval cut diamond sitting in a yellow gold band that looked like vines with tiny little diamond leaves near the large stone. It was beautiful.

"I trust this one fits you better?" Timothy asked nervously. Mia got to her knees and threw her arms around his neck.

"It's perfect." She whispered against his neck trying not to cry. Mia couldn't believe that everything they had gone through had led her back to him after all.

"You know, most girls don't get to be engaged to two men at the same time. How does it feel?" Tim was baiting her.

Mia smacked him with her hand. "You're an ass."

"They definitely don't get to be married and engaged so this should be interesting." He laughed.

"I am glad you find this funny now." Mia pouted.

"I don't, trust me I don't find it funny at all. I find it terrifying. People are trying to steal you and my children from me and that is not the least bit funny. Tim said seriously, "but I am relieved because we are going to rectify the situation immediately."

"Now I want you to get some sleep. I will see you in the morning with a plan. We don't want the children to find me here tonight, do we? Plus, I will be up most of the night anyway." Tim told her grinning. Mia shook her head as Timothy got dressed. He leaned in and kissed her sweetly and then he walked out the door. Mia checked that the main door shut all the way then climbed into bed. She was out quickly despite her racing thoughts.

***********

Timothy took the elevator back to his floor. He was a jittery mess. He couldn't believe she had agreed so easily. Tim had taken forever going to see her because they had gone over every argument they could think of. She had simply said yes. Mia wanted to be with him. He was so happy that he became even more terrified of something going wrong.

Tim unlocked the suite and walked inside. Caleb was on the couch on his phone and when Tim walked in, he looked up at him confused.

"Why are you back already. Are you all right?" Caleb asked his friend concerned.

"Mia said yes." Tim grinned, "No argument, she just said yes."

"That's awesome man, congratulations!" Caleb smiled getting up and clapping Tim on the back.

"I am a little shocked. I thought she would fight me on this." Tim told him honestly.

"Mia is a reasonable woman. She knows what makes the most sense. Plus, she has feelings for you so that pretty much nails it down." Caleb smirked.

"Do you think so?" Tim asked hopefully.

"I would have to be blind not to think so." Caleb said seriously.

"We have a lot to do to put a wedding together in the next couple of hours. We will need to put a prenup together. I don't need her brothers hounding me." Tim was busy thinking of things that needed to be done to make this possible.

"Nothing like a prenup to ruin a wedding." Caleb snarked sarcastically.

Timothy looked at him raising a brow. "I need it to say that anything that belongs to Mia Lane at the time of the marriage is to be retained by her regardless of whether we separate."

"Mia will need a dress." Tim remarked absently.

"Shouldn't we let Mia worry about her dress." Caleb asked.

"I don't want her to change her mind, Caleb. I'm worried. If all she must do is show up maybe, we'll get through it, and everything will be all right." Tim said walking over and grabbing his laptop.

"Have a little faith in Mia, she won't change her mind easily." Caleb said trying to understand his friend.

"She might change her mind on when and if we are going to stop this plan that the doctor and Dominic are running it needs to be sooner. I don't know what they have concocted for the next round so the only way to win..." Tim paused.

"Is to close the deal and end the game." Caleb finished. It was Barrett strategy 101. If you couldn't predict the plays, you finished the game before the opponent could outplay you.

"Let's get to work on this and see how much we can get accomplished before we need to pass out. I can't call the judge until morning so that will have to be an unknown for now." Timothy turned to his laptop dress shopping. Caleb grabbed his laptop and began working on wording the prenuptial agreement.

***********

The next morning early, Peyton knocked on Mia's bedroom door. Mia put on her robe and joined Peyton at the dining room table. Her children ate cereal while she sipped coffee. She told Peyton to wait as she kissed Ginger and Sage goodbye and sent them off with Angela to school. Once the children headed to school, Peyton plopped a stack of newspapers in front of her.

Each paper had one of various photos taken of her and Nicholas the night before. They had headlines like 'Lane Heiress to Wed Famous Doctor,' and 'Lane Family to Unite with Merches,' and even 'True Love at Country Club, Lane Heiress to Marry Dr. Merches of Merches Group.'

Mia rolled her eyes at the last one. What shouldn't have surprised her was that several of the papers had the full scoop on the proposal. Someone had talked. One paper even said Mia had a flair for the dramatic since she had gotten shy and kept everyone in suspense while she was on the balcony. Mia shook her head. This was ridiculous.

"Dominic has been calling nonstop demanding to know when you will be home or to be told where you are so he can talk some sense into you." Peyton told her.

"You didn't tell him anything, did you?" Mia asked worriedly.

"Of course not," Peyton replied.

"I will deal with him...later." Mia said slowly.

Thirty minutes later there was a knock on the door and Peyton went to answer it. Timothy walked in carrying a dress bag, a shoe box, and a piece of paper in his teeth.

"Take the paper," Tim said through clenched teeth. Mia did. "Look that over and tell me if there is anything that needs to be changed," he said as he walked into the bedroom and deposited the parcels on the bed.

Mia looked over the paper, reading quickly that it was a prenuptial agreement. Her eyebrows rose wondering what kind of terms were on this one. She finished reading confused. It protected her assets against Timothy but didn't stipulate any terms for his safety.

Mia rose and followed Tim into the bedroom where he was going through her jewelry. He set out a pair of diamond halo earrings that would look good with her ring. Timothy looked up and smiled. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms, Mia felt protected when he held her like this.

"Timothy, why are there no protections for you on that agreement?" Mia asked, confused.

Tim leaned down and kissed her softly, "Mia, I don't need to be protected. I will never let you go. There is nothing you could ever do that would make me want to be without you. There is nothing that I wouldn't give you if you asked."

"That is wide open Tim, how do you know I won't take advantage of you?" Mia questioned.

"Take advantage, please, let me do something for you. I know you won't because you didn't when I was still an asshole and deserved it. I signed my entire company over to you who I left pregnant and penniless, and you ripped up the document. I am not worried about money with you." Tim laughed.

"What about your family? I still don't want them around my children, ever." Mia said with agitation.

"Mia, listen to me, once Shelly is married, we never have to see them again if that is your preference. We can live our lives here in Norde City. If I have you and our children, I will be a happy man. I have been so happy to not have the constant turmoil and stress since I put them on house arrest." Tim told Mia emphatically.

"What if you go back to the way, you were? I don't think I could handle that." Mia asked quietly.

"Baby... the person I was doesn't exist anymore because of you." Tim replied.

"Timothy, have you developed feelings for me then?" Mia questioned him succinctly.