Hello, I Love You

Chapter 4 - Trailer Trash Talk

"Tell me you didn't do this on purpose," he demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Paddy." Mia's voice sounded innocent, but Patrick knew she could lie with the best of them when she thought she was doing the "right thing". He held his hand in the air, motioning to the makeup artist that he needed a minute. She nodded and stepped across the trailer.

"Mia, I need to know if you're playing matchmaker."

"What?!?!" He grimaced at her obviously sincere reply.

"It's just..." Patrick trailed off, unsure of how to finish his sentence.

"Patrick James Gallagher, do you like her?!?!"

Patrick couldn't tell if his sister was ecstatic or furious, so he didn't know how to reply. His silence went unnoticed, however, as Mia continued talking.

"Paddy, I admit. There are times over the course of my friendship with Kylie that I thought she was perfect for you," Mia confessed. "But she was married, so it was a moot point. Over the last year, it hasn't even been on my mind. She has had a really rough time of things."

"She's stronger than you give her credit for, Mia," he interrupted.

"What? You spend an hour with her and now you're a Kylie expert?"

"I can tell you that based on the stories you've shared, she was nothing like I expected," he admitted. "I expected some fat, desperate cow." Mia gasped at Patrick's bluntness. "Oh come on!" he baited. "You made it sound like she was suicidal, Mia. The woman I met last night may have been knocked down, but she's a fighter. She's not as weak as you think."

"And you think a week-long fling with you is going to make her stronger?!" Mia huffed. "Paddy, she may seem strong, but that bastard ex-husband of hers messed with her sense of self-worth, and a fling with you would only exacerbate that."

Patrick tried not to feel hurt at his sister's words. Since when did she view him as such a bad guy.

"You're not a bad guy, Paddy," she sighed.

Shit. He'd said that out loud?

"You're just the epitome of what messed with her head in the first place. Alec made her feel like she wasn't enough because the whole world loved him. He made it seem like he was doing her a favor by stepping up and marrying her when she got pregnant."

"And how is that like me?" Patrick argued, hurt at her assessment.

"He's a big fish in a small pond, Paddy, but you? Your pond is the whole freaking world. A fling with you would only confirm that she was good for a fuck, but not good enough to keep around," she stated frankly.

"In other words, hands off my friend," he muttered.

"In other words, yeah," she murmured apologetically in reply. "Paddy, I love you, and if you weren't a famous actor on the other side of the country, I'd tell you to go for it, but you and I both know your life is over there. Kylie's kids are here. She's a good mom. She'll put them first."

Patrick nodded for a moment before realizing she couldn't see him. "Thanks, Mia. I'll keep away from her."

Hearing the longing in his voice, she replied softly. "She did a number on you, huh?"

"I don't know what the hell she did," he grumbled. "Mia, I gotta finish and get on set. I'll talk to you later."

"Love you, Paddy," she called sweetly, but her only reply was the dial tone.