“On second thought, wine sounds good,” he said to Raven. He made a move for the kitchen, but Raven was already on her feet.
“Pull up a chair,” she said as she headed inside.
He moved a third wooden chair from the far corner, parking it next to Mia.
Raven came back. “I hope you don’t mind.” She handed him a clear acrylic glass decorated with colored umbrellas. “We got the last of the clean wineglasses.”
Raven and Mia had proper wineglasses, although they didn’t match.
“No problem,” he said, accepting the drink. He wasn’t fussy.
“Something going on?” Raven asked, looking expectantly from him to Mia and back again.
Clearly, she thought he was here on some pretext to cozy up to Mia. She thought he was just like the rest of the yahoos. He wasn’t.
“I wanted to warn Mia,” he said, deciding to come right out with it. The last thing he wanted was for Raven to sit there waiting for him to make a pass at her cousin.
Mia’s expression paled, and she quickly set down her wine, coming to attention. “Did someone show up in town? Did they find me?”
Too late, he remembered what Brodie had told him about her being harassed back home.
“Nobody’s here,” he quickly said, regretting that he’d made her worry. “It’s not that bad. I mean, it’s not dangerous in any way. It’s . . .” He wanted to call it insulting but decided the best route was to go with the facts, awkward as it was to broach this topic. He rubbed the back of his neck, before coming out with it. “It won’t surprise you to know that most of the guys here in town want to date you.”
“What makes you think that won’t surprise me?”
He wanted to call her on the false modesty. It had to have happened before, because she was the kind of woman all guys wanted to date wherever she showed up.
“Because you’re new in town,” Raven put in before Silas could say anything more.
It looked like they were all going to pretend here. Whatever.
“They couldn’t decide who should ask you first,” he said. “So, somebody came up with the brilliant idea to have a poker game.” He waited for the revelation to sink in.
Mia and Raven both looked confused.
“To decide,” he added.
Nothing.
“By who won.” It looked like he was going to have to spell it out completely. “The winner gets you—well, the chance to be the first to ask you on a date.”
Mia surprised him by laughing.
Raven didn’t seem to see the amusement, but she didn’t look angry either.
“You think it’s funny?” he asked Mia in astonishment.
She picked up her wineglass again. “Hey, I’ve been a prize before.”
“In a poker game?” He tried not to sound horrified. What kind of a woman allowed for that?
“No,” she said. “It was more of an auction.”
Silas sat back dumbfounded by her blasé attitude.
“Really?” she asked him, taking in his expression. “Your brain went there?”
“My brain didn’t go anywhere.” But it had. He’d immediately picture a raunchy auction with scantily-clad women and leering men.
“For charity,” she enunciated like he was daft. Then she included Raven in her answer. “People bid on lunch with a Lafayette model. A bunch of us did it. We made a lot of money for the local hospital.” She slid her gaze back to Silas. “Pervert.”
Raven laughed.
“I’m—” He realized that protesting would only make it worse. He took a swallow of the wine. “I just thought you should know,” he said.
“Thank you,” Raven said.
“I’ll play along,” Mia said.
“You don’t have to,” Raven told her, and Silas thought he was finally hearing a voice of reason.
Mia shrugged. “No big deal. I’m assuming you’ll know the winner.”
“For sure,” Raven said.
Mia looked to Silas with a challenge in her eyes. “I take it you’re not playing?”
“No.”
Mia shrugged. “Just asking.”
“I can’t believe you’re going to encourage them.”
“I can’t believe you’re such a stick in the mud.”
“So, you think I should gamble for you?” Exactly how much adoration did this woman need?
“I think you should chill.”
“I am—” Silas gave up. He’d done his duty. He polished off the wine and came to his feet. “Thanks for the drink,” he said to Raven.
“Thanks for the warning,” Raven said.
“Yes,” Mia put in belatedly, as if it had only just occurred to her. “Thanks for letting me know.”
“Sure,” Silas said without looking back at her. He headed out the screen door. He might have banged it shut, but it was rickety enough already, and he didn’t want to do damage. Raven had enough of challenge keeping this old place up without him making it worse.
He paced his way back to his pickup.
“Silas?” Mia’s voice surprised him from behind.
He paused, realizing she’d followed him.
“Wait a second,” she said.
He turned, not feeling particularly charitable toward her, and he let it show in his voice. “What?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
She gave a wave behind herself as she came to a halt in front of him. “For that, back there. I know you were only trying to be nice.” She hit him with what had to be a patented vulnerable look.
He wasn’t going to react to it. “Did Raven point that out to you?”
“No. Okay, yes.” She bit her bottom lip, looking genuinely sorry.
He kept the hard edge to his voice, hating that her act was working on him and hating that he wished he’d entered the poker game and won. “I wasn’t trying to be nice.”
“Trying to be noble then.”
“I’m not noble.” He wasn’t. He was just a guy trying to be decent, and wasting his time on the effort.
“I don’t want to get in the way of their fun,” she said.
“Do you want to be their fun?”
“You know what they found online about me, don’t you?”
“Videos on the catwalk,” he guessed. “Probably details of your rich husband and his estate.”
“That I’m cold and unfeeling, a predatory gold-digging ice-princess.”
He stared at her in silence, trying to take in what she was saying. Is that how the world saw her? Is that how she saw herself?
“I don’t want them to think that. I don’t know how long I’m staying, but while I’m here, I want them to think I’m a regular person.”
“You’re not a regular person.”
She was about as far from being a regular person as anyone could get. She was rich and famous, or maybe it was infamous, but pampered and entitled too. The world—especially the male world—would lay down the red carpet for her if she so much as looked their way.
Well, not him.
“Do whatever you want,” he said. “It’s none of my business.”
Her shoulders drooped, and her eyes clouded with hurt that didn’t look like an act.
Damn. How had he turned into the bad guy?
“Fine,” she said, breaking eye contact, gazing past his temple into the darkening blue of the sky.
“I didn’t mean—” He cut himself off, not sure where he was going with that.
She gave her hair a little toss. “You think you know me. You think what the world thinks of me is true.”
“I don’t think anything.” Truth was, the more he saw her, the more baffled he became.
Her gaze turned brittle on him. “If you were right, I wouldn’t care what you or anyone e
lse here thought of me.”
Her words made a complicated kind of sense.
She pivoted to walk away, but he reached out, gently touching her shoulder.
“Mia.”
She paused.
He closed the gap between them, wishing he could press himself against her back, desperate to feel her warm body against his own. But he stopped short. “I don’t think I know you.”
She was silent for a minute, and he willed her to turn around, turn into his arms and hold him close, kiss him like he’d wanted for hours now, days now, ever since he saw her sitting in the FBO surrounded by her snooty luggage.
“Your loss,” she said and shrugged his hand off to walk away.
Regret hit him hard, and he leaned back against the driver’s door, questioning his own sanity.
* * *
* * *
Although she knew both Silas and Brodie were dead-set against the idea, Mia had said yes to the date with Zeke. He seemed like a nice guy, if a bit talkative. Raven had confirmed he was honorable and honest, well-liked by the people of Paradise. Not that Mia had come across any jerks in the town—even if Silas did have his moments. It seemed to be full of friendly, hard-working people who liked an unpretentious lifestyle.
So, she’d met Zeke in town on Friday evening, driving Raven’s clunky truck to park it in front of the WSA housing, around the corner from the Bear and Bar. Zeke had offered to pick her up at Raven’s, but Mia wanted to avoid any awkwardness at the end of the evening. She might change her mind, but she didn’t see a good-night kiss in their future.
There wasn’t much for night life in Paradise, but Zeke had taken her on a steep, bumpy four-wheel drive journey to a lookout over the Paradise Valley. It was a stunning view, miles upon miles of forest, river and mountains, and not a house, a farm or a telephone pole as far as the eye could see. It made her feel small. Oddly, it also made her feel safe, since the outside world was so far, far away.
They trundled back down the mountainside to the Bear and Bar for dinner. The place was hopping with Galina and WSA staff, plus a few local families. Mia had learned there were almost forty children in town, about thirty of them attending the Paradise School out on—and she could barely believe it—Yellow Road.
She and Zeke sat at a table beside the wall, and Breena had taken their order. Zeke went with a burger and fries. Mia had learned it was the specialty of the house and very popular. But since Breena told her a fresh produce order had arrived Friday, Mia decided on the house salad. There was only so much starch and sugar she could safely eat and still fit into the few clothes she brought.
She’d found over the years that she had more flexibility than most women in her profession when it came to caloric or carbohydrate intake, but she still had to keep it reasonable. So, when Zeke ordered chocolate cake for dessert, adding the optional whipped cream, she stayed strong and asked for a cup of coffee.
Halfway through dessert, Silas walked through the door. His gaze seemed to zero in on Mia, then it switched to Zeke. He frowned and looked away. He offered a smile to Mrs. France, nodded to a couple of other people, then turned and left.
Later, as Zeke paid the check, his friends called to him from where they surrounded the pool table on the lounge side of the building. He invited Mia to join the fun, but she saw a perfect opportunity for a graceful exit. She brushed away his offer to walk her to her truck—it was exactly half a block away with plenty of daylight even this late in the evening, although dark clouds were moving across the sun. She shooed him toward his friends and left with a cheery wave, feeling a sense of relief when she made it to the sidewalk.
There was nothing wrong with Zeke, but during the date she’d felt like she was back at her old job, schmoozing with contacts at an industry party, or chatting up Lafayette clients after a runway show. She’d forgotten how tiring it was to be “on” for an entire evening.
She turned toward WSA housing and rounded the corner. Raven’s truck was just three spaces down the road, and she pulled the keys from her purse, smiling at the whimsical fob that was a goofy cartoon leather moose head. It was adorable, and not at all Raven’s style.
She pushed the key into the driver’s door and turned the lock. She pulled on the door handle, but nothing happened. Frowning, she reinserted the key, twisting it both ways, listening for the click of the lock. Nothing happened.
“Problem?” a deep male voice asked from behind her.
Silas, of course. He always seemed to be there when things went sideways.
She was glad of the help but not so glad that it had to be him. “Something’s wrong with the lock.” She wiggled it back and forth.
“You locked it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To keep—” She remembered Raven leaving the keys in the ignition. It was a safe bet she never locked her truck doors. “Habit.” She turned to face him, feeling a sense of defeat. “Can you try?”
“It probably doesn’t work,” he said as he stepped up.
“Brilliant diagnosis,” she muttered.
“You just can’t keep it to yourself, can you?” he asked as he took the key from her. He was gentle as he eased it back and forth in the lock.
“No,” she admitted, peering around his shoulder. Why did he have to be both so annoying and so sexy at the same time?
“This isn’t going to work,” he said.
“Maybe the other door?” she suggested.
“I’m guessing you locked it too?”
“What would be the point of locking one and not the other?’
“They freeze in the winter. The locks do. That’s why nobody uses them.”
“It’s summer.”
“Keeps us in the habit.” There was a smile in his voice.
She was amusing him. Great. “You just won’t let up, will you?”
“Let up on?” He turned.
“One-upping me. Mocking me. Making me feel like I don’t belong.”
“You don’t belong.”
She was too surprised by that answer to respond. She’d expected him to argue, to reassure her that he hadn’t meant to come across that way, he hadn’t meant to make her feel bad about being here. At least that’s what a normal person would have done.
“Why would you want to belong here?” he continued, looking her up and down. “If there was ever anyone who wasn’t your average Paradise resident, it’s you.”
It was an insult. She was sure of that. But she couldn’t quite put her finger on the right rebuttal.
She switched focus. “So, you mock me?”
“I’m not mocking you.”
She wasn’t about to let him get away with that one. “At least own it, Silas.”
He held her gaze for a long moment. “Maybe I’m having a little bit of fun with you.” He made a small space between his thumb and forefinger. “Little bit.”
She socked him in the arm, her knuckles coming up against sinewy muscle. “It’s not funny.”
“You’re the new kid in town. Own it.”
“So, you bully me?”
His expression turned more serious. “Is that what you think? Really?”
She didn’t, and she wasn’t going to lie. “No.”
Thunder rumbled overtop of them. There’d be lightning flashing in the sky as well, but they couldn’t see it since the sun was still up.
“How was your date?” he asked.
“Fine.”
“Fine? Really? Not disappointing or bad or dull?”
“Why would you ask that?” A drop of rain pinged the roof of the truck.
“Because you’re out here, and he’s in there, and it’s only ten o’clock.”
“He wanted to play pool with his friends.”
“Instead of seeing you safely to your truck?”
�
�It was half a block.” She could tell Silas she’d insisted on coming out alone, but that would give away the fact that the date had been dull.
“Yet, you ran into trouble all the same.” He sounded both self-satisfied and amused.
“It seems to be my special talent.”
He smiled. “Doesn’t it just.”
Her back went up again at his attitude, and she fought an urge to point out her successes. A modeling career for one, plus she’d helped Alastair run a mid-sized corporation. They’d succeeded in the international fashion industry, one of the mostly competitive spaces there was.
But another drop of rain hit, then another and another, a couple of them landing on her head.
“We should try the other door,” he said, extracting the key.
“I can do it,” she said, reaching for it.
Instead of giving up the key, he headed around the hood of the truck. “Unlike Zeke, I’m not about to leave you stranded.”
“I’m not stranded.” She followed, trying not to notice the way he walked. His gait was smooth, not quite graceful but contained and easy, his strides balanced, shoulders set square, arms moving slightly.
Her gaze dropped from his broad shoulders to the fit of his jeans. She wasn’t proud of her reaction, but he’d never know, so she indulged until he stopped and turned to the passenger-door lock. She raised her gaze, noting his profile was gorgeous too, nose straight, chin strong, chest deep.
The rain came harder and faster, heavy drops out of the thunderclouds, wetting his dark hair, plastering his T-shirt to his chest, highlighting the definition of his biceps and pecs, making her heart beat more deeply in the hollow of her chest.
“Bingo,” he said and pulled on the handle. With a satisfied grin, he opened it wide.
“You saved me again,” she said, admitting her appreciation.
He gestured to the inside, and she moved past him, turning at the last second before climbing in.
“Thank you,” she said.
He’d brought his hand to rest on the corner of the open door, so she was surrounded by him. It wasn’t a hug, nowhere near that, but she liked it anyway.
“No problem.” His voice was deep, his eyes intense. Now this would be a worthy good-night kiss.
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